Trek into the Canyon

Good morning everyone,

I hope all is well as we head into the Christmas week! I will be headed back home to the snow  tomorrow and I am not going to lie, I am kind of reluctant to leave the sun, heat and the gorgeous canyons of Arizona to come back and swap my bathing suit for a winter coat.

Regardless, I am coming home with some incredible experiences such as a hot air balloon ride and trekking the Canyon with my father.

It all began about a month ago when we were joking about going away for Christmas (Let’s be clear, my father was joking about going away, I take adventures very seriously). We have friends in Arizona and I had never seen the Canyon. It seemed like a logical choice. Pair that with the fact that trekking the Canyon was on my father’s bucket list and it was a done deal.

One month later, we were headed to the rim of the canyon, trekking poles in hand.

You guys – I was completely and totally blown away by the canyon. It defies explanation and gets me one step closer to my life dream of seeing the seven wonders of the world.

We took our time heading down into the canyon, stopping often to take in the beauty, take pictures and chat with other trekkers. We made it down to the base in the early afternoon and we spent the rest of the day exploring the north side of the trail.

We also checked out the main lodge for some hot coffee and chatted about the day.

The reviews of the food did not disappoint. We had a fabulous stew and cornbread dinner and packed it in for the evening for our 5 am start the next morning.

My dad had a goal of hiking the vertical 19 km in 7 hours and I let him take the lead and set the pace that he was after. I was surprised at what a fast clip he maintained and I was pretty sure we were going to scorch his goal.

As the altitude got higher, we stopped a bit more to make sure that we were properly hydrated and feeling good but we had no real road blocks and we just kept climbing up!

In a whopping 4 hours and 50 minutes, we crested the top of the south rim. It was so incredible to see my dad’s reaction when he realized how fast he hustled out of the canyon. Next stop, everest!

I was so proud of him and so grateful that I was raised by an active father which allows us to do things like this together. And then there is that key thing of getting along with each other well enough to do it.

I have always looked up to my dad and we have similar personalities which allows us to chase goals and follow our dreams. I was asking him about a big risk he took in his business while we were hiking and I asked what his back up plan was.

“Back up plan? There was no backup plan! I just jumped in with both feet!”

And this is why he is my hero.

Following the trek, we headed to Sedona to check out the rock formations there and had dinner at a fabulous restaurant and gave a cheers to the trek.

Have you ever trekked the canyon?

What is the next adventure on your bucket list? – Mine is the newly added Klondike 100 Miler in Alaska – I am hoping to tackle it in 2015. Anyone want to come? ADVENTURE!