I'll be offline for most of the week. I've hiked the Grand Canyon every year since the mid 1990s, and I started bringing my son when he was about five. This year he has a school project that he can't miss, but I'm taking daughters, ages 10 and 11.
The great thing about hiking the Grand Canyon with your children is that the imensity and age of the canyon makes you realize how insignificant your life is. Then again, the children make you realize how important your life is. Each of them answer the question "what would the Universe be like without me." But the answers are very different.
Here's a picture of Daniel and me on the Silver Bridge at the bottom of the Bright Angel trail in 2001. The next picture is the two of us in the same spot last April.
I love how as your son grows, the load on your pack shrinks! That's as it should be, passing the responsiblity onto the shoulders of the next generation.
Posted by: Carol | October 01, 2007 at 12:29 PM
The Grand Canyon is also an awesome reminder that human beings are recent arrivals on an ancient Earth, a planet where natural processes have been working the landscape for millions of years.
Posted by: Tuco | October 01, 2007 at 02:50 PM
Greg glad to see you spending time with your children - not all lessons are learned in the classroom. Some lessons are best learned in nature.
Too many people spend their time saving the world and losing their families - I appreciate the balance you model for all of us.
Posted by: ron | October 01, 2007 at 04:27 PM
WHAT!!!!
You are not going to bring your laptop with you. What kind of hiker are you?
ha ha..
Just kidding..
Have a great trip and let us know all about it when you get back :)
Posted by: Carolyn | October 02, 2007 at 03:41 PM