It’s not just a Canyon!

It’s not just a Canyon. It’s the Grand Canyon!

This was the sentence, constantly in my mind during my five days inside of the Canyon. As simple as this sounds, if you’re inside it takes you a while to really understand the Greatness of that Canyon!

In the Fall Semester of their Firstyear all UWC USA students have one week of Southwest Studies. It is called like that because the school offers several trips to explore the American Southwest. Amongst trips to the Mexican Border, several trips inside of New Mexico (including wilderness, meditation, photography and a lot more) I decided to go to the Grand Canyon.

After ten hours of a really long bus drive, which I spent sleeping on the most comfortable pillow that I know ( 😉 ), over 70 students arrived in our Camp at the rim of the Grand Canyon. Even though „the rim“ sounds really close, we actually couldn’t see the Canyon until the next morning, when we watched (bibbering because of the cold) the sun rising over the Canyon.

In my hiking group „The Fellowship“ we were nine First-year students from India, Belgium, Austria, Spain/UK, Somalia, US (Alaska), Canada, Mexico and Germany and our two instructors from Latvia and the US.

The first day inside of the Canyon was cold and rainy. The second as well. The third and fourth as well. Only the last, the fifth day when we had the hardest climb back up to the rim to make the sun was shining non-stop and heating up the Canyon.

Our instructor’s advice to enjoy the shadow as long as we could before the burning heat of the Canyon would cook us the next day turned out to be unnecessary since the sun wouldn’t come out for the next three days.

Our Campsites were really beautiful every evening. The first afternoon, after 14 miles of hiking we girls decided to climb up the Canyon we’d just hiked down and were rewarded with an amazing view.

our Campsite down to the right, between the trees

On the second evening some of us went down to the Colorado River to see it in an amazing blue color. I was too tired, stayed in the Camp, taking a shower under a little waterfall.

The third night we camped directly next to the Colorado River. It was the third night that we would wake up in the morning, being completely soaked because of the rain.

And then we already had to go back up, halfway until Yuma point. A small Camping Site somewhere above the Colorado River.

After a really steep climb, which I had to complete in my wet sneakers since my hiking boots broke on the third day, we all got granted some hours of free time before setting up the camp.

Most of us seeked some alone time, somewhere on a rock. I was lying on the edge of a rock above the Colorado River, together with three others. All of us first admiring the view, then closing our eyes and listening into the wide Canyon, then falling asleep only a body length from the edge.

It was an amazing experience. I woke up by the sound of the wings of a raven. I’ve never heard before the sound a bird makes while flying. I wished I could fly like the bird out into the Canyon.

The next morning we all woke up extra early to move our sleeping bags back to that edge, to watch the sun rise above the Canyon. It was an amazing experience accompanied by our instructor’s „ultimate Grand Canyon Soundtrack“.

After not having seen any dangerous animal over the whole trip we almost ran into a tarantula on the very last meters before exiting the Grand Canyon.

Meeting with the whole group in the Campsite again was exciting, but also a little bit shocking. I just wanted to take my backpack and crawl back into the Canyon with the little group of people who had become my family over those days.