Your friendly accountant takes on the Grand Canyon—auditing every mile, reconciling every snack, and hoping the numbers work out on the way back up.
Last year I watched and supported my friends as they hiked the Grand Canyon. This year after a lot of preparation I got to complete a life goal of hiking the Grand Canyon. As the less outdoorsy person in my friend group I didn’t think I would be able to ever complete a hike that was 18 miles long with over 5,000 ft. of elevation gain. (Before this year the longest hike I had ever done was 5 miles). It was both mentally and physically challenging and after 13 hours and a couple of long breaks I got to the top of the canyon.

Going down the canyon at sunrise on the South Kaibab Trail is absolutely stunning to see and experience in real life. It made me blissfully unaware that eventually I will have to hike up the canyon which is the most challenging part that is mentally hard to prepare for but the scenery and being able to see the river made me so happy because I was on the way to completing my goal. After getting to the bottom we took a nice long break by putting on new socks (which was a must), putting new band aids and moleskin on blisters, and refilling our water to start heading up the canyon.

As I started going up the canyon to get to the Tonto Trail I quickly realized how much I needed to mentally prepare myself for the hike up. Looking up from where I was I started to doubt myself on whether I would be able to complete it but I had no other choice but to keep putting one foot in front of the other as the heat was pounding down on me. Before starting on the Tonto Trail my group and I took a nice long break in the shade to cool down and get energy back before starting our final stretch.

The final stretch consisted of the Tonto Trail and Bright Angel Trailhead. The Tonto Trail was a good zero incline break to give my legs some rest before heading up the last 5 miles on the Bright Angel Trailhead. As we finished the trail it was a lot cooler and seeing the sunset on the way up the canyon was just as magical as watching the sunrise. Couldn’t have done it without my amazing support system. With my partner staying with me every step of the way and keeping me positive while my best friend and her partner hiked ahead to keep cheering me on until we reached the top. Couldn’t have done it without them.