The Grand Canyon, located in Northern Arizona has a depth of nearly one mile. To put this in perspective, that’s about the same depth as 660 toilets (yes, I did the research). In July of 2005, I decided to visit what is often referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World. I will attest to its wonderment… and the painful reality of reaching its bottom.
Not only did I decide to visit the Grand Canyon; I decided to scale its depths; to descend its walls; to walk my ass down a very long, winding, unrelenting trail to the bottom of what seemed like hell. This was July afterall and I am capable of being very naive. The temperature was deadly at a skin bronzing 100 degrees. After receiving directions from a friendly ranger, he thwarted my enthusiasm with news that a young man had died just a week prior to my descent; attempting to hike down and back up in one day. I had no such ambitions, but was instantly discouraged.
But that didn’t stop this adventurer. No, I was on a mission; a mission to seperate myself from the thousands of other would-be tourists gawking at its surreal mass from look-out points and tour buses. I was going to be different, I was going to enter the void - to feel, breath, smell and taste the walls of 2,000 million years of geologic history.
October 24th, 2005 at 6:58 pm
That unit of measure sparks one question in my mind– is there a toilet at the bottom of the grand canyon?
October 24th, 2005 at 7:21 pm
Does the bear shit in the woods? The answer is yes and it comes in many forms. Human waste is increasingly becoming an issue within National Parks and so they kindly ask that humans bury their fecal matter and try to relieve themselves at least 200′ from any streams or other bodies of water. In some cases, rafters are asked to carry their fecal matter out with them. As they say, “pack it in pack it out.”
This of course, only really applies to those hearty souls brave enough to venture into the remote wilderness. Out-houses and bathrooms are available throughout the general park area and yes, even at the bottom of the canyon. Thankfully, bears are strictly prohibited from using them.
October 25th, 2005 at 1:27 pm
How do one spend the night on the bottom of the canyon? I’m really excited to hear the continuation of this story.
October 25th, 2005 at 1:30 pm
[…] Think about that… 2,000 million years of geologic history! In my previous post, I mentioned, in a melodramatic sort of way, my desire to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to fully experience what nature has made available over the last bazillion years or so. […]