Life Reset in the Grand Canyon RE: Backpacking the South Rim

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. ”    

Hermen Hesse

There was a period of time when deep sadness filled my life. Some of my darkest days occurred during a 3 year period – coulda filled a bathtub with all the tears. There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed. I wanted to literally run away, join the Peace Corps and live in some obscure 3rd world country just so I could try and forget the pain.

The word unhappy was amplified by 1,000. What I didn’t know, is that this dark period damaged friendships beyond my wildest dreams and came to light just recently – disappointing but also understandable – sort of – I guess.

What’s that quote?  “When One door closes another opens, but no-one ever tells you how long the hallway is.”  So true. Good news is, I emerged from the sad darkness and have been well on my way to a new chapter – to some of the most personally fulfilling days of my life, which happen to include the best person I could have ever found for me. My insides are calm and happy like they have never been before!

Once I emerged from the dark days, I decided to celebrate new beginnings and was determined to do something physical, maybe lose a few lbs., take some cool photos, meet some interesting people. So, I picked an adventure to the Grand Canyon. The particular itinerary I chose was a 3 night, 4 day (30 mile) backpacking trip at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon – the Grandview/Hance Trail route.

It was fabulous for so many reasons, but mostly cuz the guides were great (cute, smart, fun, interesting and worldly), the scenery was to die for, and my trip mates were incredibly smart and made me laugh on a daily basis.

I wish I would have been in better shape – we carried 35 lb. packs – but I wasn’t – so….it was a solid 10 on physical challenge for me. My legs burned so bad after the first day, I literally had to lift my legs with my hands to cross them. Wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish and envisioned the humiliation of a helicopter rescue. “I want to be THAT girl” – said no-one ever.

It was a physical butt kicker, you have to bury your own poop, you may emerge with some black toenails, a few blisters….but the memories of the Canyon will stick with you forever. The ~5,000 feet of decent to the Colorado River and the 5,000 foot slog back up to the rim of the Canyon can be a life changing experience if you are in the right frame of mind.

It snowed on us at the rim, rained for 6 hours straight on the day we made it to the river, but we also had a tremendous amount of sunshine.  To be honest, the memories of the bad weather are faint…perhaps it’s what keeps us going back for more.

I would say, of all my adventures, this is in the top 10. Could be because it represented a total reset of life for me…..it did the trick and kick-started a whole new perspective.

If you are looking for something to help kickstart a positive change, I highly recommend something like this.

Cheers to new beginnings and a ridiculous amount of new adventures.

….i choose this….

Pam