Читать книгу One Best Hike: Grand Canyon. Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Hike from the Rim to the River—and Back онлайн

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Introduction

“Stand at some point on the brink of the Grand Canyon where you can overlook the river, and the details of the structure, the vast labyrinth of gorges of which it is composed, are scarcely noticed; the elements are lost in the grand effect, and a broad, deep, flaring gorge of many colors is seen. But stand down among these gorges and the landscape seems to be composed of huge vertical elements of wonderful form.”

—John Wesley Powell,

Explorations of the Colorado River and Its Canyons

The Grand Canyon is one of the most recognizable natural features in the world: It earns a spot as one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is the best-known national park in North America. Five million people visit the Grand Canyon each year to enjoy the incomprehensibly grand views from the rim. However, as John Wesley Powell candidly wrote in 1875, you haven’t really visited the Grand Canyon until you descend below the rim.

Each time I visit the Grand Canyon and stop at my first rim vista point, I anticipate the indescribably grand view, sit down, and stare in disbelief at the landscape. Can this place really exist? But the view satisfies me for only a short period of time; the rim views have an aerial feel and I want to be on the ground exploring. As I stare at the canyon, my mind begins to travel downward, tracing side canyons, following plateaus, and peering toward the river.