A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon

by Kevin Fedarko

We’ve been friends for so long, I can’t remember which one of us is the bad influence.

Even when nothing seemed to be going our way, he held fast to the belief that something absolutely marvelous lay hidden within the folds of each disaster, and that if we kept our wits and maintained our senses of humor, we would sooner or later be permitted to partake in the magic.

“Believe it or not,” he exclaimed, “you and I don’t even have to worry about being in shape.” That sounded odd. How could we pull off an expedition such as this without being in top physical condition? “Because,” Pete said, sensing my skepticism while warming to his revelation, “the hike itself is the thing that’s gonna get us in shape for the hike.”

How would it feel, I wondered, to be part of an unbroken human lineage that anchored you to this ground as deeply as a field of century plants—and by virtue of those roots, to know that the land belonged to you, and you belonged to the land, in a way that white visitors such as us could only dimly perceive?