My Grand Canyon Experience

Our trip to the Grand Canyon was a true test of will and character. We set off down the canyon on the South Kaibab Trail around 10am. The air was pretty chilly, about 30 degrees, and the snow and ice at the top made for a pretty difficult descent.   After about 4 hours of hiking we made it to the bottom where it was much warmer. Once everyone got to the bottom we sat down and relaxed by the Colorado River (which is huge) and then finally headed towards our cabins where we would stay the night down at Phantom Ranch! The dinner they provided for us was great, so much food we could barely walk after.

 

The next morning we got up extra early and headed up the Bright Angel Trail which is about a 10 mile hike back to the top of the Grand Canyon. On the way up, is when we were truely testing our character.   The hike was mentally and physically challenging but we all finished and felt great afterwards! The Grand Canyon is a place that you can't  really describe because it is like no where else in the world. We are so fortunate to have gotten the chance to hike it. We were told that we were part of the 1% of 1% of the 5 million people who actually hike down and back up the Grand Canyon in two days.  We felt pretty accomplished!!

 

By: Paige Boyer

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Best Class At Otterbein!

The trip to Arizona was an amazing experience for me. I was nervous before the trip, wondering how hard it would be for me and whether I'd get along with all these people I didn't know very well. As soon as I met everyone at the airport, I realized I was going to have a fun two weeks. Everyone got along great, and we worked really well together through out the whole trip.

Our hikes were definitely hard, but as the days went on, we found ourselves struggling up the mountains less, and truly beginning to enjoy our hikes. I tried to take a lot of pictures, but it was so hard to capture the things I was actually seeing.

I chose this picture because I took it at one of my favorite places we visited, the bottom of the Grand Canyon. When we crossed the bridge coming off of the South Kaibab trail, there was a small beach along the Colorado River. We all met there and relaxed on the beach and rocks and enjoyed the warm sunshine. The water was freezing! It was the most beautiful sight on the trip for me. I was also amazed that we could go from slipping down the top of the trail on ice to taking off our layers down to our shorts and t shirts to enjoy the sun at the bottom.

I am so glad I went on this trip with everyone. It was a great experience and a lot of fun. I keep telling Dr. Fischer I'll be tagging along next year!

Claire Shively

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Worth a Thousand Words

Fisch told us to bring a camera so we could blog about our pictures. I didn’t do this. Cameras on outdoor adventures never work for me. You are either here or you’re not. My taking the images that I see and freezing them in time and putting a time around the important bits won’t change that fact. A photograph destroys what you are trying to capture. These vistas can’t be seen through a lens.
A camera provides such a small sliver of reality. One tiny cropped angel, a small fraction of a second.

The experiences I want to share are far outside these barriers. Watching a shadow of the far ridge creep up the rock you’re sitting on. Feeling that shadow reach your body and begin leaching your heat away. Hearing seven distance birdcalls even if you know nothing about birds, then noticing how much better their hearing is when they all stop at once and minutes later a hiker walks by.  The terror of a wasp landing on your arm, its stinger half an inch long. Watching it slowly crawl down your forearm, over your vains, not daring to move only to have it fly away.

These things you can't find in a photo album. They only way to do it is to step out your door walk till you can't find anything built by humans -sit down, be quite and wait.


Theodore Gorman

Leigh's blog

I never would have thought I'd get the chance to travel across the country to hike in the mountains for two weeks. And I definitely didn't think I would do it for class credits. But the time I spent in Arizona during J-term was a really great experience. I met people I never would have known otherwise, and saw places I never have before. The picture below is of one my favorite views, from the top of Bear Mountain. But it is just one of the many beautiful places we went in Arizona. The more we traveled through the state, the more I was sure I want to go back again and see even more. I can't say enough how happy I am I took this class, and I will remember the experiences forever.

Leigh Dardio