The first thing that strikes you is the size.its really big. i
mean massive. bigger than big brother. bigger than carol voderman's
pay cheque. bigger than vanessa feltz' buttocks. after that the sheer
beauty of what you are beholding will leave you breathless. the grand
canyon, one of the seven wonders of the world, is truly awesome. a
product of 2 billion years of erosion through the arizona landscape by
the colorado river, it is a gift from mother nature unsurpassed in
magnitude and beauty.
Visitors have a number of options available to view the canyon.
depending upon your budget you can entertain yourself by taking a
stress-free stroll around the rim, ride a mule a couple of miles into
the canyon or go for a bird's eye view in a helicopter. the only real
way to appreciate the magnificence of the canyon is to hike down it
yourself.my gilfriend and i opted for the latter option and decided to
reach a point called angel's landing.
Angel's landing is a 6.5 mile descent into the canyon, about
halfway down the full trail, and it provides a great view of both
where you've just come from and where you could go if you're
superhuman. the colorado river, looking like nothing more than a piece
of thread from the canyon's rim, is far more impressive from this
point.
If you do find yourself in this part of the world and decide to take
up the hiking challenge then please be prepared and be aware of the
following:
1)it's hot! the heat at the rim can be 30c+ and it gets hotter as you
descend further into the canyon (it reached 50c at angel's landing
when we were there) so make sure you take at least 4 litres of water
and plenty of salty food to replenish fluids and nutrients lost
through sweat.
2)depending on your fitness level you need to allow 12 hours to hike
to angel's landing.the important thing to remember is that you're
hiking down on the journey into the canyon usually in the morning when
teh temperature is deceptively cool. You are then faced with a 6.5
mile fairly steep hike back to the Canyon's Rim in almost unbearable
temperatures. Know your limits people!!
I've now been to more than 20 states in the USA and I've still never
encountered anything quite as magical as the Grand Canyon. And guess
what?? It's still growing!!!!
Paradise Found Tours maintains a website
for The Grand Canyon at
http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for
Grand Canyon tours, special news, fees and other pertinent
information.
Other valuable resources: