Grand Canyon, Three Years After

I have a naturally good memory for dates - it's not something I have to work at, I just remember birthdays, anniversaries, and days of note. So I've noted that the past three days are the three-year anniversary of my Grand Canyon backpack with John and Ted. In some ways it seems like it happened yesterday, but in more ways it seems like so much has happened since then that it should be 5 or even 10 years ago.

Pack break, Hermit Trail (10/3/2009)

From Grand Canyon Backpack, Day 1, 10/3/2009

I can still say without a doubt that it was the most fun, most beautiful, most exciting, and most memorable outdoor thing I've ever done.

I re-read my blog posts of the trip today (it starts here), and I'm so happy that I wrote down my thoughts at the time. Re-reading it now transports me back there in a visceral way - the sights, the sounds, and the *feel* of hiking into the canyon come back to me.

My primary thought on looking back at it is the same as it was being there at the time - the sheer *immensity* of it. Everything is on such an unbelievably big scale. Of course you get a sense of that standing on the rim looking out at it - but to put a pack on your back and hike down into it just felt like walking into another world.

Sunrise over Grand Canyon, Day 3 (10/5/2009)

From Grand Canyon Backpack, Day 3, 10/5/2009

I will never forget my sense of disbelief as we approached Santa Maria spring, maybe an hour and a half into the first day's hike. We could finally get a view of the inner canyon, and it seemed *preposterous* that we could be going so far down. I would have found it easier to believe that we'd be putting parachutes on and jumping to get down there.

Three tired and happy guys (10/5/2009)

From Grand Canyon Backpack, Day 3, 10/5/2009

Our two nights on Hermit Creek, and our day at the Colorado River were magical, and the experience of watching the full moon rise over the canyon at our campsite is one of the handful of images that you burn into your brain and give thanks to the powers-that-be that you were fortunate enough to see in this lifetime.

There are countless beautiful places on this Earth, and many that I'd love to experience and hike. But if I'm given the choice of one place I can go, you'll find me with my big pack on, heading for some remote campsite deep within the Grand Canyon.