2006 Grand Canyon Adventure :: Day 1
Today has simply been unbelievably inspiring. Every step I took on the hike into the canyon was an experience that I will remember and cherish forever. What started as an effort to explore the inner workings of pledge driven adventure events, and to raise funds and awareness for a new initiative to serve the critically ill children of military families, has become much more personal to me. For me, it has become a challenge to test my own commitment to our mission, and, on a more personal note, it has become a quest to examine my own life. Perhaps, if I am lucky, I will leave here with a clearer personal inventory of knowing where I have been and where my life is going from here.

Today started at 5 a.m. Although I had slept rather restlessly I was eager to get on the trail by daybreak. I was also looking forward to the opportunity of my father going with me to the trailhead along with his brother, my Uncle Bob. They are attending an Elderhostel educational program on the South Rim. I know they would be giving anything to go with me on the hike, and in an earlier day they would have. We arrived at the South Kaibab trailhead at about 6:30. Although I did not see them, my father said he saw two young women getting ready to also go into the canyon. It was very cold, perhaps in the upper thirty's or low forties, and after a very warm and heartfelt goodbye I started down the trail.

The South Kaibab trail drops about a mile to the floor of the GC. The first mile or so of the trail was very steep and I was in the shade the entire time. For several hundred yards, I could hear the voices of my father and uncle and eventually they tapered off leaving me in total silence except for the slight sound of wind blowing through the canyon. The trail was rocky and several times I slipped as I tried to get used to the 50 plus pound weight of the backpack. I was also perhaps a little too excited and moving faster than I should have been. About 3/4 of a mile down the trail I rolled my ankle on a loose rock and for several seconds thought I had sprained it. Moving forward I slowed down and made a mental note that this would, at times, take all of my concentration, and concentration has always been my biggest challenge in life.

Entering the canyon via the S. Kaibab is a dramatic experience. Around every turn along the swithback trails grand views unfold before you. The view is so grand that you have to stop to take it in. At the first rest stop I met two young women who were hiking to Phantom Ranch. Along the entire way we leapfrogged each other down the trail and it was fun to have someone to share the excitement with. They also had a lot of hiking experience as both had recently completed college and were working in outdoor leadership programs. The hiking was hard but the view was stimulating and kept me amped up the entire way. Along the way I spotted a number of bighorn sheep clinging, what seemed like impossibly, to the sides of canyon walls. By the time I got to the bottom at Bright Angel campground I was pretty tired.

Day 2