2006 Grand Canyon Adventure :: Day 7
Today I woke at dawn. As I stepped out of my tent I found myself staring directly into the eyes of a deer only several feet from me. The deer was as startled as I was and I believe we both jumped several feet into the air. It however bounded off in an instant, leaving me to gather myself and start my morning routine.

I am not used to going to bed at 7:00pm and getting up with the rising sun. My father has always told me that it is the most beautiful part of the day and I believe he is right. I woke with mixed feelings. I did not want to leave the peace and tranquility that I have found in the canyon, but I was also excited to be finishing the last challenging leg of the hike, which was the ascent of the South Rim. I did not know how challenging it would become.

Because I did not want to leave, I decided to hike once more to Plateau Point to watch the effect of the rising sun on the ever changing colors of the canyon. When I arrived I was surprised to see four Asian men walking about the large table rock that hangs at the edge of the inner canyon wall. I asked them to take my photo and one of them told me in broken English that they were all priests. I assumed that they were Buddhist and I noticed them setting up an altar for a service. In fact, they were Catholic priests and they conducted a mass entirely in their native language. Many of the words and phrases of the service were sung, and I was very impressed by the beauty and sincerity of the service and how it seemed to blend in perfectly with the grandness of the canyon views. At the end of the mass a most amazing thing happened. As the very last words were sung, two enormous condors suddenly appeared over our heads and circled the table rock we were standing on. They flew so close that you could here the air rushing through their giant wings. After several minutes they flew off together down into the canyon and as suddenly as they had appeared they were gone. I took that as a special sign. I felt as though I had been blessed by both man and nature.

In the Grand Canyon life takes hold in the most improbable places. Flowers blossom and trees grow from the dirt filled cracks of boulders and sheer rock walls. A wide variety of animals has adapted to this unique environment, making the inner canyon come alive with their presence. One of the amazing aspects of the canyon is the way the colors change throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky. There is a harmony of nature that bursts forth with the rising sun in an array of purples and greens and yellows and reds. Throughout the day these colors seem to dance across the walls and floors of the canyon in a timeless rhythm. It is this rhythm of nature that makes the canyon a vibrant, living display of time and life. It was these colors that were imprinted in my memory as I turned from the table rock and began the climb toward the South Rim.

I felt good and was ahead of schedule climbing toward the rim when I heard the sound of distant thunder. I was approximately half way toward the top and very suddenly it started to rain and hail and the temperature fell dramatically and the wind was gusting strongly. The Bright Angel trail gets many day hikers and many of those people were caught unprepared for the change in weather and were struggling to get back to the top. I helped a group of three nurses from Tucson and I felt good about being able to do that. When I reached the top I saw my uncle and father and we had quite a happy reunion. I greatly enjoyed that they were there to meet me and to listen to my stories about the hike. They took me to their room and I enjoyed perhaps the longest and hottest shower that I have ever taken. We then went to dinner at the Arizona Room at the Bright Angel Lodge and I had the best steak dinner that I have ever tasted. I could not have asked for a better ending to my adventure than to be with two of the people that I admire and respect the most.

My hike across the Grand Canyon exceeded my expectations. It has reached the goals that I was hoping to meet as a fund and awareness raising event, and on a personal level I have gone beyond what I had hoped to accomplish. The ultimate goal I believe, is to help more children and families through the expansion of our unique housing services. If anything, my adventure has helped me to believe more than ever in our programs and the power within each of us to change the world one step at a time.

Trip Completed