Depending on the weather, seasons and time of day, the views and moods of Grand Canyon are as endless as a child’s kaleidoscope. Clouds can add mesmerizing shadows as they creep across the famous chasm. Lightning adds pizzazz, rainbows add mystical auras and snow can soften angles and offer a fluffy white blanket. All of these can be truly magnificent, however, walking alone, along the rim of The Canyon, in the moonlight, can be as eerie and spooky as an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Somehow, the silence seems to be exaggerated in the dark. It can feel like something ominous is lurking, “down there.†I have heard that there are subspecies of birds on the North and South rims that are quite capable of flying across The Canyon and breeding, but they don’t. One theory is that when they fly out over one rim or the other, they become frightened or disoriented and return to their familiar habitat. Walking along the rim at night can generate a similar sense of disorientation.
Each year, millions of nature lovers flock to the Grand Canyon hoping to see the single greatest page of evolution/creation on planet Earth. Many are awed, some overwhelmed, some confused, and some so baffled that they leave disappointed. Most find their I-phone or other small-format camera essentially useless. Even those with the larger format 35 mm S-L-R can not capture the Canyon’s magnificence. Even if overjoyed, or profoundly inspired, most reluctantly agree with Major John Wesley Powell:
“The wonders of the Grand Canyon can not be adequately
represented in symbols of speech, nor speech itself. The
resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers
in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration
combined must fail.â€
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Some photographers accept Powell’s resignation and creatively focus on the smaller pieces of glass in the Canyon Kaleidoscope.
This photo represents such an attempt. The intentionally narrow, vertical frame, accentuates the depth of The Canyon. The mind and soul are drawn to deeper and deeper depths. Even so, only those who have hiked to the bottom realize that the photo stops at The Tonto Platform. Typically, when hikers arrive at this level, they are surprised (shocked) to see an additional 1800 feet drop to the Colorado River. Of course, when the return trek begins, hikers become intimately aware of the depth with every upward step. Hikers ascending the Bright Angel Trail are usually encouraged when they reach Indian Gardens, but any joy is often short-lived when they realize that they still have 3500 feet of vertical to walk. It is not uncommon, even for experienced hikers, to “hit the wall†which is a feeling that they may never get out. It is during these times when people have to “dig deep†and draw on energy reserves that they may not have known existed. It is also during these times of physical exhaustion that they often experience mental and spiritual revelations that simply can not be experienced from the comfort of the El Tovar Hotel.
One of the most commonly underappreciated aspects of hiking the trails is the creative talent and effort that went into engineering and building them. Looking at this photo, it is numbing to think that sections of The Bright Angel Trail cling to the Canyon walls and “switchback†their way either up or down.
Hiking down to rocks that are 1.2 billion years old helps hikers deepen their sense of universal mystery and may remind them that there are 100 trillion galaxies behind the moon they are seeing. Celebrate the mystery.