Bass led tours into the bottom of the Grand Canyon via the Bass Trail, utilizing old Indian routes on the north and south side of the river, thus making cross canyon travel possible. He established a tent camp along Shinumo Creek on the north side of the Colorado River, complete with an orchard and garden (tended by Ada). Initially Bass used a boat to cross the Colorado River, but in 1908 he stretched a cable across the river and attached a cart. This cablecar allowed for human and animal passage (with eyes wide and feet dry).

With prospector John Waltenberg, Bass mined for asbestos and copper in the Grand Canyon, but his flair was more for entertaining than manual labor. He made trips to the eastern United States to tell people about the Grand Canyon (and his camps), wrote poetry, lectured, and dabbled in local politics.

He was one of five members of the first Election Board of the Grand Canyon in 1911 in the "biggest state in the Union and biggest hole in the States." (Arizona officially became a state in February of 1912.) Bass also spoke for the needs of his friends, the Havasupai, in Washington D.C. and helped establish the first school in Supai village.

Supai woman and Burden Basket, circa 1915.

While he was away, Ada had the responsibility of running the camps, raising the children, tending the gardens and orchards and keeping the home fires burning. All the children were part of the Bass workforce, but it was Edith, the eldest, that bore most of the responsibility, and she began riding and guiding at an early age.