Dee

Lundgren

“Why am I doing this?” I asked myself.

I was wet. I was cold. And there were nine miles to go.

The weather forecast rain the rest of the day with no let-up.

As Bob and I put on our hiking boots and clothes that morning, complaining or quitting wasn’t part of our vocabulary.

Three months ago, we decided to hike the 9-½ miles down and then up the Grand Canyon. We booked the flight to Arizona and began training (consisting of 5-mile walks to my favorite coffee shop). I also began watching others hike the Canyon on YouTube. In every video, the sun was shining and the views were captivating.

I didn’t figure on rain in the Arizona desert. And I certainly didn’t figure that I’d have to straddle the path that had become a small stream. Green mule droppings and mud, mixed with orange runoff from the rocks created a wet mess.

I thought I was well prepared — good boots, poles, rain poncho, and warm clothing. The bright yellow poncho kept water off my head to my upper legs for a few hours. Slowly the elements won out and every piece of clothing I was wearing was soaked, except for my feet. Finally, the waterproof boots were no match for the foot of water I had to walk through. Now I was completely drenched.

The scenery was majestic on the trek down, but I missed most of it with eyes glued on my next step. At one point I slipped, falling on my hands and knees landing in the disgusting mud mess. I was grateful I didn’t break anything. If I had, there was no phone service for several miles.

As I plugged along one step at a time I kept telling myself that I was going to make it no matter what. I was going to keep taking the next step. Then the next step and then the next step.

Finally, we reached Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon. There I enjoyed a steak meal swapping soggy stories with the 40 or so other hikers that also braved the elements.

After the meal, I slept in the dorm in the only clothes I had — wet ones. The next morning, we rose before sunrise with headlamps lighting the way. I was grateful the rain had stopped during the night. It ended up being a sunny day.

A friend on Facebook asked me what I learned through this experience. What came to mind was my philosophy about the Christian life. You just keep taking the next step.