Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA)

When find yourself down in the Canyon where the Tontotrail forks, your eyes searching in the frayed rocks for the way up, you start wishing you could choose the other option. Choose the trail which leads you through the barren valley right above the Colorado River, the trail which you could follow leisurely for another while.

But the gaze up speaks for itself. The naked rocks tower above you and you have the impression of drowning in their mighty shadows.

The rays of the morning sun which is still hidden behind the cliffs is glaring so that you turn your head away immediately, looking now wistfully along the jagged tear of the stream, where you could keep wandering at a carefree pace, enjoying an easy but picturesque hike.

Enough of dreams! The plan has to be kept and after a short break (energy bar no11) you start the climb towards the top of the Canyon.

First the way leads you upwards quite a while in a lengthy Zigzag over the gradual rise filled with debris of dismantled chunks.

After the last turn your eyes follow the path which seems to lead directly into the face of the mountain. You can’t distinguish where you are supposed to continue in the fissured, weather-beaten rocks. A look at the map reveals that the upcoming part is named Cathedral Stairs and begins right where the cliffs and the trail meet.

Up to the sky! In some mysterious way there is a winding path hidden in the furrows of the vermilion stone.

You find yourself surrounded by mighty cliffs and you can only catch glimpses of the cloud-spotted sky above and, through narrow fissures in the rocks, of the canyon formations. It reminds you of frescos and stained glass windows, animated by the rays of the sun. No human could build God a more worthy church. The rough Canyon gives you security and a sense of delight. Walking transforms into meditating, being detaches from thinking. You feel that you’ve arrived in one of those precious moments where you live only the present.

But for me the union of human being and nature was going to end in a confrontation. The further we advanced in the fierce territory the more challenging it got. Ice and broken off Rocks impeded our way. After reaching a small crest we found ourselves gazing over an overgrown, skinny bit of a slope overshadowed by overhanging cliffs on the left and cut off by a sheer precipice dropping down at least 200 meters on the right. My heart started beating fearfully.

Was our way really going to lead us over this narrow piece of land? We couldn’t discover a trail in the jungle of brush and rocks. And actually it was only just a few indentations and cairns, set up by cautious hikers, which pointed the direction. Fear and exhaustion were my untiring opponents but my body and mind developed a sudden, inexplicable strength hitherto unknown. Merciless this strength was going to be pushed to its limit. With each meter which we covered above the snow line the white coat got denser and higher until it reached our knees.

The beauty of the canyon disappeared from my eyes, focussed on the ground.

I didn’t look up until the snow was darkened by a threatening shadow; then I could see a huge cloud front coming closer from the other side of the Colorado River.

The clouds bathed the rocks in a blue shimmering light giving the scene a frightening beauty.

Realizing that from now on not only would we have to fight against the mountain but also against time, I tore myself loose from the dark attraction of the approaching danger. From now on it was the circumstances and no longer the motivation which dictated our pace. Unresting, step by step we tried to win the race against the wind. Silently we accepted the first soft snow flakes a herald of our defeat. But winning was no longer important, only reaching the finish line.

A sign! Life came back into our exhausted bodies and we accelerated our pace to read it:“Hermits Rest” . On top of this we finally discovered footprints in the white powder which were not ours. One last knoll. Exhilaration fuelled us during the last few minutes.

“Wait for us, wait for us” we yelled, hoping to find people at the scenic overlook who could take us back to the Grand Canyon Village 12 km away.

A ranger and two older men, the originators of the encouraging foot prints formed our welcome committee.

Pride, relief and admiring faces transformed that moment on the small snow-beaten crest into one of the happiest of my life. That last gaze over the Grand Canyon, wrapped in white has burned itself in my memory forever.

I whispered to the Canyon :“I passed your test. Thank you”. Then I turned around. Smiling.

~ von Annemarie am Mai 7, 2008.