Deep dive into the Grand Canyon yields amazing scenery, if not solitude

Roughly 6 million people visit Grand Canyon National Park in a year, but fewer than 100,000 of them spend a night in the park's backcountry.

My wife and adventuring buddy of more than 30 years had never seen the Grand Canyon, so we figured, why not really visit the place. The only person willing or crazy enough to come along on our wilderness jaunts is my wife's brother, a physician from Iowa. He joined us with his good humor and roomy van that eased the marathon commute from the Chicago suburbs to Arizona.

To venture below the canyon's rim, visitors must walk, raft or ride a mule. We