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Full story in July edition of 812 Magazine
(GRAND CANYON, AZ.) – Three Ripley County residents have just returned to Southeast Indiana after a rare experience at the Grand Canyon.
Less than one percent of the Grand Canyon’s five million annual visitors take up the challenge to hike from the North Rim to the South Rim.
The rigorous hike involves a 14-mile descent to the bottom of the canyon, where temperatures can reach 120 degrees, and then taking the 10-mile journey to climb back out on the other side.
Holton resident DeDe Fields was joined by her niece, Anna Mays and her husband Lee Mays, of Batesville.
Before starting the journey, the avid hikers knew that the trails had already claimed the lives of three people this summer.
The 36-hour hike presented serious dangers from the heat, along with possible flash flooding while at the bottom.
They reached Phantom Ranch which is known as the ‘most exclusive inn in the world’ and had to keep their bodies cool as temperatures reached 110 degrees.
“Once you’re down in the canyon there’s no room to feel sorry for yourself or that you made the wrong choice. Therefore, you have one choice,” Lee Mays said.
That choice was to climb out.
But first, they had to choose between the South Kaibab Trail or the Bright Angel Trail. Both options presented their own challenges while hiking up thousands of feet of elevation.
The three hikers were hot, tired and breathless as they went step-by-step hoping to bring the journey to an end. It was the adrenaline that kicked in and helped them reach the infamous Bright Angel Trailhead stone to bring the hike to an end.
“Although the views are spectacular and jaw dropping from the upper rims of the Grand Canyon, you cannot fully appreciate the vastness and diversity of this natural wonder until you hike down and through it," Dede told The 812.
This full story will be available in the July edition of The 812 Magazine. Click the image below to subscribe and receive our next issue:
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