Just Roughin It Guided Hiking Trips in Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Olympic

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Incredible, memorable, beautiful trip. Jeremy was knowledgeable, friendly and fun to be around. The others in our group, Sid and Suzanne were also great! The food was beyond my expectation and there was plenty of it. I haven't stopped raving about the trip. I can't wait to bring my son out there when he is old enough!

By Kate Kloss on 2013-04-30

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Jeremy, the guide was really great. Knew a lot of stuff and helpful. I did not expect this good quality of food at all. It was simply awesome. I can not think of how it could have been any better. Highly recommend it.

By Sid on 2013-04-25

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Well we have been roughin it for 25 years. What a great pun. So we took the adventure of a life time. We began our adventure early out of phoenix; all we needed was our clothes and good health. We met our guide Steve who showed us our first nights campsite below nearly 4000 ft down. Like we knew what we were looking for. Steve did. That’s a good thing he was our guide.

We arrived early evening the tents were the easiest to set up all the poles were connected you couldn't screw it up. The hardest part of the night was blowing up the air mattress after a nine mile hike down 4000 feet. It really wasn't a problem cause as Steve cooked us a great meal did all the cleaning as it was canyon Z time for this group.

The next two days were much easier hikes as we traveled to Hermits Rapid. Who would have thought there was a beach there? For you a beach fan it’s worth the trip the view is spectacular. Well, one small down fall the water was 40 degrees but it felt great. That’s right we spent the night on the beach of the Grand Canyon at the rapids and the stars were really bright as we watched the space station cross the sky. Wow! Really incredible. Oh yeah did I mention Steve cook another great meal and did the dishes so we could play in the sand.

Day 3 the weather changed a bit from 85 and sunny in the canyon in April to a cooler and windy day blowing in clouds and a bit of rain. No fear we had a short hike up the creek and found a campsite that was rock covered. Had lunch played some cards did a bit of exploring on the old camp site where and old cable car entered the canyon to bring supplies into the camp. It is now an abandoned but the remains are there. So much for leaving it as you found it. (What you carry in, you carry out)

The final day 4 up early as we had a big hike. Steve had our coffee ready and breakfast was before sun up. We were on the trail early. As we ventured up we notice the north rim was snow covered we of course were in shorts as we had only a few drops of rain. It is amazing how elevation plays a huge roll in weather conditions. As we continued our assent we pass a few dissenters pealing layers as it had snow that night on the South rim as well.
We had lunch with only 1000 feet to climb the wind had picked up and temperature had clearly dropped at that elevation. Steve "Air Walker" kept us motivated to get to the top.

By two we had reached the summit. Steve presented us with gift of our accomplishment and my wife treasured the Certificate of Complete ion it is now Framed! Go Figure.

My wife coined Steve as "Air Walker" as he seemed to float over the rocks. He never seemed tired or winded as the rest of us. Steve was a great guide as he always seemed to know when to rest reminded us to drink more water and enjoy the canyon when not walking on a cliff.

Enough of my rambling, what an adventure! If you are healthy and have clothes Justroughin It does the rest. No cooking, Cleaning, Trying to find a water supply, and snacks lots of snacks. By day 3 we were holding valuable commodities for trade with our fellow hikers. What a great experience!!

By Ed & Dorine Garbash on 2013-04-20

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Clearly, this was one trip I will never forget, a father and son(2) outing in one of the 7 Wonders of the World, the truly majestic Grand Canyon. This was a first class experience right from when our guide Steve picked us up at our motel in Phoenix. The ride(approx 4 hrs.) to the GC was very quiet and refined. Steve was excellent in explaining everything to us from do's and don'ts and provided us with a very informative geological history/creation of the GC, including the colorful flora. The equipment provided was top notch and meals were very nutritious and tasted great, Steve prepared all the meals and even washed our dishes. This is better service than I get at home. Steve was very pleasant to be around and made everyone in our group of 5 feel very welcomed and comfortable. To describe the views in the the GC, well I can't, a picture even doesn't do it justice, you have to see it in person.

This was a 5 star trip!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Emil Spitkoski on 2013-04-15

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Let me begin with one word: amazing. Cliche, maybe, but entirely accurate. From the first moment we stumbled out of the car onto the rim, buzzing with excitement (and, let's face it, a little exhausted from the early start), we were overtaken with a one-two punch: the breath-taking beauty of the Canyon, and our personable, prepared, all-over excellent guide Gavin.

The Hermit Trail is a less popular route: one day down, one day at the bottom exploring, and one day back up. It's definitely a more strenuous hike (we're all college kids in decent shape so we fared pretty well) but completely worth it for the amazing views all the way down. I had rafted the Grand before, and gotten another view of the Hermit rapids, but I am so happy I got to experience it from another perspective.

How about Just Roughin' It? From our first meeting, it was clear that our guide was (a) knowledgeable, experienced, and prepared, but also (b) an awesome guy who was there to make sure we stayed safe and had fun. He went out of his way over and over again-- whether it was making sure our packs were well-adjusted, preparing delicious meals (crepes at the bottom of the canyon = you know you're in paradise no matter how sore your muscles are), taking some amazing pictures of us, pointing out sights we wouldn't have noticed, telling great stories, the list goes on and on. Gavin never made us feel bad about having to take extra breaks when we needed them, and was always positive and upbeat. I strained my knee on the hike back up, and he not only helped me wrap it, but also (ridiculously heroically) carried my pack AS WELL AS his own for the last half mile, one of the hardest verticals of the hike. Yea, basicaaaaaally: Gavin rocks. A+++ to JRI for their awesome guides.

To sum up: this was a great way to spend our spring break, and a trip I would highly recommend. Prepare to be sweaty, sore, and love every minute of it.

By Amalia Hawkins on 2013-03-26