This has become a fascinating discussion and I think you are handling a perplexing situation quite well. To me, your description of your group and your collective capabilities reads like the preamble to many rescue events carried out by the NPS in Grand Canyon. They get a lot of work.

One thing that is peculiar to hiking the Canyon is that you begin your trip with a descent rather than a climb. This has the effect of wearing out your legs and then presenting you with a major challenge, the uphill thrash to your car. This can set the stage for a bad situation, as your ailing body struggles upward.

At your level of experience, the Hance is not a good idea. You might do it and find the experience so negative that you will give up any further backpacking. This often happens when someone gets in over their heads. It is better to start with something easy, even trivial, gaining experience and learning to cope with problems. Out of maybe three hundred SAR victims of which I had personal knowledge, the one common denominator was inexperience. There were perhaps two exceptions to this generalizaion.

Go easy and upgrade the difficulty of the trips you attempt and you will comfortably find the kind of trips that both challenge and reward you. This varies with the individual, which probably accounts for the diversity of opinion you are finding. The beauty of outdoor pursuits is the huge diversity of situations you can encounter. Just remember that what is an easy walk in the park for A, is the challenge of a lifetime for B.

Anyway, best wishes and good luck on your future trips. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />