Our Story

Dave Thayer — Canyon Dave

Dave’s love of the Grand Canyon began as a boy when he first hiked the Kaibab, Bright Angel, and North Kaibab Trails. By 18 he was a regular. By 29 he had backpacked 1,750 miles on the canyon’s many trails and slopes, and has since rafted the Colorado River ten times.

He studied at Yale and earned his Master’s Degree in Geology from the University of Arizona. For eight years he was a Professor of Geology and later Science Division Chairman at Yavapai Community College in Prescott. He then became Curator of Geology at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, overseeing its exhibits, geology programs, and field trips.

Dave has published extensively on the Grand Canyon — trail guides, scientific articles, and two books: Geology of Grand Canyon along Bright Angel Trail (1986) and Introduction to Grand Canyon Fossils (2009).

In 2001 he founded Canyon Dave Tours. He personally trains every guide in the history, geology, and ecology of the canyon he knows so intimately — producing what he calls the “Grand Canyon Supergroup.” The name is a geology pun: the Grand Canyon Supergroup is a real sequence of ancient rocks in the canyon’s inner gorge.

Leonor Schlachter — Leo (pronounced Lay-oh)

I’m from Bogotá, Colombia, where I was an avid rock climber and mountaineer. I represented Colombia at the First Women’s Andes Mountaineer Meeting organized by Chile in the late 1980s, and spent the following decade climbing the snow-covered peaks of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia. When my brother took me to the Grand Canyon on a visit to Arizona, I knew this would be the next chapter of my life.

I was very taken with the fact that to hike the Grand Canyon you walk down — I had always climbed up. So I moved to Arizona in 1998 and majored in Parks and Recreation with an Outdoor Emphasis at Northern Arizona University. While studying, I worked as a field instructor for the backcountry guides program and hiked many of the North Rim trails. Summers I volunteered with the Conservation Corps, building steps on trails I had already come to love.

I am a teacher at heart. After my children arrived, I went back to university and specialized in Waldorf Education, teaching indoors for more than a decade before my heart called me back outside. Joining Canyon Dave Tours gave me the chance to deepen my knowledge of geology, biology, and the canyon’s incredible natural history — learning directly from Dave and Dora. I love spending a few hours one-on-one with our guests in this astonishing place.

In my free time I enjoy cooking, films, and hiking the beautiful trails of northern Arizona with friends and family.

Linda Edwards

Hello, I’m Linda. I came to Arizona to earn a BS in Environmental Planning and a Master’s in Public Administration from Arizona State University, then spent years working with chapters on the Navajo Nation. I retired in Flagstaff and have spent the best years since outdoors — skiing, hiking, boating, RVing, and fishing. I love sharing what I know about the canyon’s nature and history with every guest I meet.