Damn. This isn’t the post I intended to write. As I was sitting down a mile and a half into the Grand Canyon, facing a steep ascend of the same distance, I was ready to continue complaining about the pointless of hiking and my disconnection from nature. It is a little pathetic, but I was seriously nervous that I would not be able to make it back up. Even if I did, I couldn’t imagine that it would be anything but pointless. I felt that I was just wasting time that could have been better spent in Vegas.
The previous two days had been spent in the most beautiful areas that I have ever been. On Tuesday, we had camped amongst the Red Rocks of Arizona. The next morning, we went swimming at Slide Rock State Park near Sedona. Slide Rock is the kind of place that you imagine only exists in movies, screensavers, and thousand piece jigsaw puzzles. We spent a pretty perfect morning there…natural water slides, 8 foot “cliff diving”, and swimming was exactly what we needed. It is without question the most scenic place I have ever been. Additionally, I learned a cool piece of trivia from one of the locals. Apparently, the nearby high school in Yuma is the only high school in the country with “The Criminals” as their mascot. So if anyone is still shopping for a birthday gift for me, I highly recommend a Yuma Criminals t-shirt.
After leaving Sedona, we headed northwest to catch the sunset at the Grand Canyon. If you haven’t been before, I suggest you make a point to. As Alex said, “Sure it is a hole in the ground, but it is a REALLY BIG hole in the ground!” The sunset was amazing, something photographs don’t ever truly capture. The experience was only made better by a few of the fellow travelers that we met. There were the Philly girls who thought Truong looked like someone who could get them “some tree”. There was NRA Mike who didn’t believe in science, talked a lot about how he wanted to die, and took quite a liking to Tes. There was Robert, a friendly middle aged insurance salesman from Connecticut who we ended up talking to for nearly an hour. But my favorite has to be the 10-year-old boy who witnessed Tes and Emlen kissing and exclaimed “Grandpa! Grandpa! Look!”
The next morning, we woke up at 4:00 AM (!!!) and caught the sunrise over the Canyon. Then, we went on the previously mentioned hike. And it sucked as much as I feared. Truong and Julia coasted (even running for a brief stretch). Tes, Emlen, and Jon seemed to feel it, but never looked too stressed. It kicked my ass. If it would have been practical, I would have quit, put on my Ipod, and went back to bed. Short of a helicopter ride, though, stopping wasn’t an option. Fortunately, everyone took plenty of breaks and was very supportive. When we reached the top, I was surprised to find that I did feel like I accomplished something. I tried to repress it at first, but I couldn’t deny that I felt a real rush coming out of the Canyon. It truly was a memorable. Corny as it sounds, for a brief moment I felt that I was part of something bigger.
What I’m Listening To: Devil Town – Bright Eyes, The Killing Moon – Echo & The Bunnymen, & Tunnelvision – Here We Go Magic
Next Stop – Las Vegas
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