Journey to the Center of the Earth and Back in One Day

Flying from the opposite side of the country my parents had an unexpected adventure ahead of them. They were planning for a difficult hike of the Grand Canyon, but didn’t expect the difficulty of doing it in one day without careful planning. A twenty mile hike may seem easy when you’re talking about it, but when you experience it, it’s another story.

Leaving the hotel around nine o’clock, they asked for directions of how to get to the canyon trail head. What they expected to be a quick walk, turned out to be a two-hour trek along the rim of the canyon. Finally at the beginning of the trail, it was already eleven o’clock. They wasted two hours just getting to the trail!

Starting down the trail at eleven o’clock, they planned to complete the trip in one day. Usually most people camp out at the bottom of the canyon, but my parents wanted to accomplish this hike in just a day. They continued down the steep trail for about four hours before reaching the bottom and the Colorado River. Exhausted and only half way through the hike, they rested. With little time to spare, they ate lunch quickly and started the harder part of the hike back up hoping to reach the top before nightfall. It was 3:30pm. After a few hours the day began to darken to dusk. A few more hours and they were hiking it was pitch black. It didn’t occur to them to bring a flashlight. At this point, they weren’t sure whether they should just sit down on the narrow trail and wait for morning or finish the hike. It was impossible to know how many more hours of hiking they had ahead of them.

Continuing up the trail they stumbled upon a young mountain goat. The trail was not wide enough for my parents, who were single file, and the goat to pass each other. Each step my parents took, the tiny goat stepped back. They decided to stand still, hug the wall and finally, the frightened goat walked by.

Ready to give up for the night, they were delighted to see the clear night start to brighten with the rays of a full moon. This gave them light and enough hope to finish the hike. My parents continued up the trail with only the moon as light. After about two more hours they reached the top.

At the top, and after 10:00pm, my parents were devastated to discover that all the busses and taxis had stopped running for the night. They had another two-mile walk back to the hotel. With no water or food, they made their way to a convenience store, their only source of food at that hour. Finally making it home they laid down and slept. Unable to move the next day, my parents learned an important lesson: always plan and be prepared when on a big hike. Better yet, don’t try hiking the Grand Canyon in one day!

-- by Steven J. Linowes, age 14