When students shared their experiences at Grand Canyon, parents were often surprised to hear that the day after reaching Phantom Ranch, their sons/daughters were given a “free day” to explore the Inner Canyon. Even though most had aching legs (and some had blisters) most eagerly hiked the 12-mile roundtrip from Phantom Ranch to Ribbon Falls. These were the same young adults that groused about taking out the trash or making their beds.
It was as if some primordial urge was calling them to venture forth. Many had experienced a John Muir-esque baptism under a Yosemite waterfall and they were eager to discover what Ribbon Falls had to offer. Part of the mystique waiting for them may have been that they would be exploring one mile deep in the Earth; among rocks nearly two billion years old, at a site that less than one-in-1,000 tourists would visit. Consequently, even though nearly 8 billion people roamed the Earth above us, for 15 splendid years we had Ribbon Falls all to ourselves.
Of the 6 million annual visitors to Grand Canyon, fewer that 1% hike to the Colorado River below the rim. A large majority of these hike down to Phantom Ranch and back up a day or two later, missing out on the wonders and marvels of Ribbon Falls.
Despite tired feet and legs, most students returned to Phantom Ranch with rejuvenated spirits as if they were returning from a mystical place.
Explorer, Major John Wesley Powell intimately understood their dilemma. He spent three months navigating the Colorado River though Grand Canyon and although a gifted writer, he described the futility of attempting to use words to describe Grand Canyon:
“The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by 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.”
Organized religions do not have exclusive rights to matters of spirituality and many students’ experiences at Ribbon Falls resonated with John Muir’s concept of being “born again.”