As I stood on the rim of this masterpiece and took a peek, my heart pounding so loudly, I couldn't believe what was happening! I was embarking on the much anticipated adventure of my life! I couldn't wait to experience this walk of a life time! This is what I had been waiting for, I had prepared for months! I was ready! I couldn't sleep the night before in anticipation. I have been to the canyon a few times before, but I have never hiked! Not even a short trail!
Hiking was more of a recent hobby of mine! Or focussed hiking! I have walked up and down trails before occasionally. I have carried my kids and done these walks on many occasions. But I did not own a hydration pack till 3-4 years back or ever bring out my hiking pole till 12 months back! Then COVID happened. With COVID and nothing else to do M and I took to long walks every day, walks around the neighborhood soon turned into 6-7 mile rendevouz every morning! Living in Georgia there is no dearth of trails with natural beauty, so soon we took to exploring the various trails in GA. I love running, so slowly I started to run these trails when I had time to go off on my own!
My family, aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, BIL are all hikers and runners. All on Strava driving me crazy with their stats. And if nothing I am competitive! So I started dreaming! Time to prove my mettle! I cant be left behind can I? So when a friend asked me if I wanted to hike the canyon I jumped both feet in! I am not sure if my friends were even considering becoming the mules themselves as they continued to remind me all year! But I roped them in! The trip was booked and I started dreaming!
If you know me you know I am a planner. And I am known to be enthusiastic to a fault! So when someone said Grand Canyon rim to rim I ordered a weighted vest and took to the mountains! I started off at 12 pounds and trudged up and down hills. Soon the 12 became 16 and 20 and the vest became a backpack with sand bags and water! And the backpack grew to 42-45 pounds in weight! On weekends we would be up, at 5 AM driving to the north GA mountains in freezing February to hike with fellow crazies! Having equally crazy friends helped! My love for the mountains and outdoors grew! And so did my craziness! I joined FB groups, bought books and read blogs. I researched hiking the canyon and the Appalachian trail (after all that is in my backyard)!!
I learnt the stair stepper is great tool! Now that was great news, because guess who loves the stair stepper! I took to it like possessed. I climbed 100-150 floors at least 2-3 times a week and loved it! The pace grew, the timing improved and my family thought I had completely lost my mind! Every weekend Cheeky and M would tell me that I was already ready and I was just insane! But I was enjoying the journey. M for his part joined me on many hikes and bike rides, it gave us an opportunity to do something we both loved, bond together and keep our marriage intact 😏 As the weather grew warmer, our hikes started earlier. It helped that I live a mile from the 2nd tallest hill in Urban ATL. Albeit this hill (or mountain as the southerners call it! The Californian in me refuses to call it a mountain), is all paved and houses a neighborhood! Sweat Mountain is the name! I sometimes ran up and down this hill, but at other times made a spectacle trudging up and down with my backpack!
As the weeks and months disappeared and Oct drew closer I prayed for anti-jinx! After all the prep I did not want anything to go wrong! A light twinge in the foot and I found I was starting Plantar Fasciitis, but that too did pass! I went to a conference the week before the hike and while others drank and partied, I hydrated! I was in full anticipation by now. I could barely get through the week. I didn't sleep for at least 2 days before the hike! But nothing prepared me for the beauty that awaited me!
It was important to me to be well prepared. I believe that the preparation allowed me to focus not on my ability to do the hike or any aches and pains! Instead it allowed me to focus on experiencing the Canyon! We took 4 days to do 24 miles. I think this is easily done in 2 days if you train well, but just the privilege of experiencing the canyon for 4 days is amazing! 4 days where we unplugged. 3 nights where we slept under the stars with just the tent in between me and the sky! 4 days where we were one with a land that's million of years old!
I liked to walk ahead of my group whenever possible. Mainly because I wanted to savor the anticipation. I would look forward to every turn we took and the change in scenery that lay ahead at each turn! And it never once disappointed! Every turn was a phenomenon in itself! Many a times I thanked God. I felt so grateful and privileged to be there, to be able to experience this phenomenon in person! For the journey!
Sometimes the sound of camaraderie with my dear friends was so welcome! We sang bollywood songs loudly, teased each other, enjoyed dipping our feet in the cold creek after a days walk, enjoyed a nice cold lemonade at the basin! Or simply talked and bonded during the walks, or in the camp, or lying in the tent late evenings waiting for sleep to engulf us.
At the end, the hike and the canyon was phenomenal. I can't wait to do it again, maybe a different experience next time. I have some lessons that I will take away and learn from. I certainly have Canyonitis! I can't wait to take M along and the kids if they will come, and can't wait for them to experience this for themselves! I leave you with some pictures from the hike!
No comments:
Post a Comment