Hiking our way out of the Grand Canyon was definitely the longest hike I’ve ever done, let alone with 25-30 pounds on my back.

It was very long, very hard (going uphill pretty much the whole time) but it was one on the best hikes ever. I actually ended up finding that getting out of the canyon was easier than going down. It’s not as hard on the knees, the Bright Angel trail was a little more gradual and went through side canyons, which I deeply enjoyed. More so than the wide openness of the South Kaibab trail.

It’s really surprising for me to think that hiking uphill for 9 hours was very cool, because normally I would curse gravity and beg for a little flat or downhill. The big differences with most uphill hikes I’ve been on were that this time:
– I knew exactly how hard (steep) and long (9.5 miles) it was going to be
– I was mentally prepared for endurance
– I knew it was the only way out and no matter what, I just had to drag myself out of the damn thing.

I really learned a lesson on what mental power can do to the body. From now on, I just need to be fully aware of what I’m undertaking for my brain just shut up and enjoy. Good to know!