At the time, Fink, now 67, and Hull, now 65, used the trip to honor the elder Fink, also named Irvin, who enjoyed grabbing a can of beans and hiking on Ice Mountain above Tyrone every Sunday.

In talking about that rim-to-rim trek made in September 2023, the two said it was hard … and hot.

It also was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or at least that’s what Fink believed.

That thought was short-lived, though, as when the duo returned, Fink showed off his pictures and told stories, which in turn inspired his grandson, Levi Benjamin, to ask his grandfather to take him, too.

Irvin Fink Jr. recently returned from his second time hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim. Fink was joined by his son-in-law, Jo Benjamin, and grandsons, Levi Benjamin, 12, and Caleb Benjamin, 15. Courtesy photo

Recently returned from that second trip, Fink said, tongue-in-cheek, that he’d “need a good reason” to hike the Grand Canyon a third time.

Preparation is key

Fewer than 1% of visitors to the Grand Canyon hike the rim-to-rim trail each year, according to the National Park Service.

Ranked as strenuous, the 21-mile hike is not just a typical “walk in the park;” it requires a lot of exercise and preparation, as well as a permit.

Preparing for the hike is a bit like doing homework.

The group travels on a trail in the Grand Canyon as they complete the rim-to-rim trek. Ranked as strenuous, the 21-mile hike is not just a typical “walk in the park” — it requires a lot of exercise and preparation, as well as a permit. Courtesy photo

“I didn’t do a lot of homework in high school, but I did a lot of homework to prepare for the trip,” Fink said with a laugh.

For instance, permits for overnight camping can take at least four months to secure.

“Permits aren’t a given,” he said.

Once the decision was made to go back to the Grand Canyon, Fink’s grandsons Caleb, 15, and Levi, 12, and their dad, Fink’s son-in-law, Jo Benjamin, 47, took on the challenge together.

Fink’s wife, Kathy, feels like her hiking days are over, so she decided to skip the trip, along with their daughter and Jo’s wife, Dorothy Benjamin, who stayed behind to care for the couple’s 18-month-old daughter.

Irvin Fink Jr. and his sister, Ellen Hull, were inspired by their father to hike the Grand Canyon in 2023. Their father, Irvin Sr., enjoyed grabbing a can of beans and hiking on Ice Mountain above Tyrone every Sunday. Courtesy photo

With the permit in hand, the group got busy exercising and gearing up for the hike that was scheduled for June 7-9.

To train for the physical intensities of the Grand Canyon, Fink and his family began hiking during the early springtime rain in the local mountains around Tyrone.

Caleb and Levi had an advantage, as they play on the Moshannon Valley School District’s basketball teams, Fink said.

Hull said when she was prepping for the 2023 hike, she went to her primary care doctor and got a physical.

“I needed to make sure I didn’t die in the Canyon of a heart attack,” she said.

Irvin Fink Jr. enjoys a can of beans in honor of his father, Irvin Sr., as son-in-law Jo Benjamin and grandsons Caleb (second from right) and Levi accompany him at Cottonwood Campground during their trip to the Grand Canyon. Courtesy photo

When she first began training, she couldn’t go uphill without stopping, but “by the time before the trip, I was doing seven miles uphill,” Hull said.

Fink admitted he didn’t do as much to prepare for this last trip as he did in 2023, but he has continued to remain active, and regularly likes to hunt and hike.

Not only did the family exercise to prepare for the trip, they also packed necessary supplies for surviving the hike — moleskin bandages, water filtration kits, freeze-dried food and energy bars.

“Everything you have to survive is in your bookbag,” Benjamin said. “If you run out of something, then you’re in trouble.”

Embracing Arizona’s beauty

The group enjoys a meal at Bright Angel campground. Courtesy photo

With Levi in the lead and taking the South Kaibab trail from the south rim, the family set out at 5 a.m. Saturday, June 7, when morning temperatures were cool.

That coolness didn’t last, though, as the sun came up and the temperature started to rise, they said.

“Once the sun came up, we knew it would take a lot of (mental) and physical strength” to complete the hike, Benjamin said.

“The first few miles weren’t bad, but once we continued, we were like, ‘what the heck,'” Caleb said.

Temperatures were in the 100s, Benjamin said. Coupled with the gear-filled backpacks they all carried, it turned into a very hot hike.

Reaching the Cottonwood campsite that first night — conveniently located near a creek — the group pulled out their tents and sleeping bags.

Levi swam in the Bright Angel Creek to cool off.

“It was really hot at the bottom of the canyon, and we were very tired,” Caleb said.

While they only had three days to hike in and out of the canyon, Fink and his family had a chance to see desert life from an exclusive perspective.

“It’s just unreal,” he said. “You look into the sky and see hues of reds and tans and browns, and as the sun goes down, the colors change a bit. It’s spectacular.”

“It rained before, so the Colorado River was high,” Benjamin added. “We got to touch it, and it was awesome.”

Caleb’s favorite sight was Ribbon Falls, a unique waterfall where visitors can stand behind the cascading water.

Something they did not expect to see was a scorpion on the second day.

“I saw it on my dad’s hat while we were filling up our waters,” Levi said.

Benjamin quickly knocked his hat off and Fink swept the scorpion off with a stick.

In addition to the scorpion, the family saw many squirrels and lizards living near the bottom of the

Canyon.

“There were so many critters,” Benjamin said. “You don’t expect some things to live down there.”

On their last day, the group ate a can of beans to honor Fink’s father before climbing up and out of the Canyon and into their vehicles.

‘Cooler in person’

Rim-to-rim Grand Canyon trails take hikers over a variety of terrain, from rocks and dirt to grass and pinyon trees, all with a varying elevation — starting at about 7,000 feet on the south rim, to about 2,400 feet at the floor of the canyon and topping out at 8,000 feet on the north rim.

It’s a hike that few consider.

“A lot of people probably don’t know” about it, Fink said, noting he first heard about the rim-to-rim hike after visiting the Grand Canyon with his wife in 2019.

Now back from their adventure, Caleb and Levi said they plan to brag about the trip when school is back in session.

“It was my idea to do it,” said Levi, noting he asked his grandfather about the hike after seeing the photos from the 2023 trip. “It was so much cooler in person.”

Fink, retired from the state Department of Corrections, remains active in his everyday life, but has no immediate plans to return to the Grand Canyon.

Benjamin, however, wants to return.

“Maybe I will take my future grandchildren next time,” he said. “It was one of the hardest, but most fun, things I have ever done in my life.”

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.

The hikers encountered lots of wildlife in the canyon, including lizards, a scorpion, squirrels and a mule deer. Courtesy photo