Just Grand

On Saturday we visited one of America’s most famous landmarks, the Grand Canyon. As we first came upon the edge I think we all felt a certain level of pride and excitement, though varied among the experienced mountaineers and the inexperienced. Although it was a cool Saturday afternoon, there were a lot of people walking through the park. Not just Americans either, because I heard several different accents from groups that we past. As we walked around, I couldn’t help but ask why the Grand Canyon was such a celebrated landmark. I mean why were people from all over our country and even others like Denmark, France and Scotland coming to the Grand Canyon? I didn’t really get it until my group went for a hike on the Bright Angel Trail. It took about two hours to complete and by the end I understood why so many people flock to the Grand Canyon and why it is such an icon of American culture.

I think part of it is that it represents the frontier, and the ideals of Expansion and Progress. Since the founding of this country, we have been constantly expanding and moving west. And to a certain degree, the Grand Canyon is still uncharted territory and I think that there is a level of nostalgia that comes with that. When people look at the Canyon I think that it helps them to understand what the settlers and even the Native Americans before them had to endure in order to survive. I think that most people appreciate being a part of something bigger than themselves and the Canyon may serve as that point of contact. It certainly has a timeless quality that draws you in.

At the same time I think that the Great Canyon experience was at least for me an embodiment of the American Dream or what is started out as. You start out looking at this vast open space, completely tailored by nature, appearing to be almost untouched by human hands and you think about the opportunities that are possible. So you take the risk, and you hike. For a while it’s great because it’s new; the challenge invigorates you. You laugh and sing as you go along, embracing the romance of the journey. And then hard times set in, and the challenge is overwhelming. You struggle more than you ever anticipated to struggle. You wonder why you even came on this stupid “adventure”. You stop and re-evaluate and as you look around you get a glimpse of the beauty, the romance that urged you to go in the first place. When I looked at that hike, I knew without a doubt that I had to finish it, but I questioned my success as I hiked almost breathlessly up the incline. Slowly but surely you make some progress, and as you see people ahead of you move on and succeed you gain another burst of encouragement. And then you see the peak about thirty feet ahead. Then it’s twenty feet. And Ten Feet. You turn back to see if there’s anyone behind you, and offer a word of affirmation to those still plodding carefully and hopefully in your footsteps.

And as you take those final steps and think about the naïve expectations in the beginning, the raw reality coupled with the awe inspiring beauty in the middle, the bittersweet feelings of completion in the end, you realize that it all was worth it. Standing at the peak again you are changed. You’re stronger. You’re wiser. You know what it means to work for something. I think that’s what behind the American Dream, and that’s what you get when you hike the Grand Canyon.