Bummer, Dude

Sometimes we have to live with disappointment. After a crappy day Tuesday I came home to find a letter from Sierra Club in my mailbox. The Grand Canyon hike I signed up for 8 months ago has been cancelled. I have wanted to hike the canyon for as long as I can remember. I've been training in my neighborhood by walking up steep hills with a backpack full of water bottles and books. I have already purchased non-refundable airline tickets. (is there such a thing as a refundable airline ticket?)

First I felt disbelief. Then anger. I felt like Ken Mattingly who was set to pilot Apollo 13 when he was "grounded" for having been exposed to the measles.

I reacted quite bitterly to the letter and I was not someone you would want to hang around with last week. But I did manage to find a hike through a private tour company. It won't be as neat as Sierra Club's because it's going down the North Kaibab trail on the north rim and up Bright Angel on the south rim, which are the most commonly taken routes. I am afraid it will feel touristy and not remote and adventurous. This hike costs more and I had to change one of my plane tickets which cost me $125. The good news is that I am still going. Ken Mattingly finally made it to the moon on Apollo 16, and darn it, I am hiking the Grand Canyon.