As many of you know, Darin (my Hubby) and I have been training for the last couple of months for our Grand Canyon Adventure: To hike from the North Rim down to the bottom, across and back up to the South Rim….IN ONE DAY. Mission accomplished!!!!!!

We planned for 26 miles, but we were able to drive from the lodge to the start of the trail, saving us 2.5 miles. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but let me tell you, after hiking up hill for the last 9 miles of a 12 hours hike, carrying a backpack with 3 liters of water in it, shortening the finish by 2.5 miles is a BIG deal! The total hike turned out to be 23.5 miles.

We started at 4am in the pitch dark with head lamps…yes, I wore a silly looking head lamp, begrudgingly…and that allowed us to watch the sun come up in the canyon, which was breath taking. It also got us through the hottest part of the canyon before the heat of the day. It was in the low 40s when we started on the North rim and was in the 90s at the bottom. The photo below is of the moon as it receded at dawn. None of my photos do the Grand Canyon justice!!

Phewwwwww! It WAS quite an adventure is all I can say. Don’t think I’d do it again (like that) anytime soon, but the entire experience has changed my perspective on some things at this stage in my life. It was a great experience for Darin and I to share.

I love the below picture. “The Box” is what they call the very bottom of the canyon and it was my FAVORITE part of the whole trip. Looking up was surreal and made us realize how very small we are in the scheme of things. Again, none of the photos were really showing how vast and gorgeous it was, which is why I was trying to show how massive the canyon is by holdings arms up above my head in the corner of the photo. But here’s why I love this photo….look above my head. Doesn’t it look like a rainbow of some sort? You couldn’t see it with bare eyes, it only showed up in the photos! Like an angel!

We were on this trip with another couple…our friends from Arizona and they are HUGE hikers. They were the ones who really for us interested in doing this, but unfortunately they encountered some issues about 4 hours into the hike and had to turn back. Darin and I had to go it alone and that was NOT the plan!!! This photo just seemed like a perfect example of how although sometimes we might feel like it, but in fact, we are never really alone. It inspired both of us to keep on!

So that’s that! Why? Lots of people have asked us why we would want to put ourselves through that…..the exhaustion, the blisters, the extreme fatigue and sore muscles. As I’m riding home from the airport writing you with it all behind me, I think the answer is because we believed we could.

At my age, it’s no longer just about weight. I don’t want to be a slave to the scale. I’m SO tired of that!! It’s about health, vitality, strength, using the gift of Life we’ve been given. Really making a conscious effort to LIVE.
This trip was about finding common goal to work toward and accomplish with Darin. We spend a lot of time cheering our kids on and we love it…but this trip we were cheering each other on to meet our goal. To me, it’s about keeping life challenging, exciting and fun. Really trying to live the gratitude I have for life. Pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones once in a while helps keep it all in perspective!!!!!

Love,

Terra 🙂