Kolb Brothers | Meetings in the Middle of Somewhere

Grand Canyon National Park

There are few words that adequately describe seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Trekking down, 7.2 miles down the South Kaibab Pass, a new and more incredible vista around every corner, seeing geological history, layer by layer, the changes in colour and texture of this ancient earth material, feeling the change of the temperature, which heats up during descent, and witnessing the accompanying ecology that follows hand in hand.

Its set me to thinking about the hardy individuals who ‘pioneered’ their way across the country and must have endured somehow against many obstacles. People like the Kolb brothers, who had the vision to see both a business opportunity and the will to share this extraordinary place with countless millions of awestruck people through their photography and cine film of their adventures.

The tiny Ghost Ranch at the very bottom, is a beautifully crafted and truly organic set of dwellings mostly made from stones and timber were designed by Mary Jane Colter, a pioneering woman Architect of the early 20th Century. Her buildings, which are designed not to be seen from above, are for the weary visitors and Rangers who need shelter from this harshest of environments.

Even though the Canyon is in the hands of the National Parks and their hardy bunch of dedicated Park Rangers now, by my staying at Ghost Ranch overnight, then seeing the remains of the Pueblo Indian village, and walking the 11.5 miles back up the Bright Angel Trail, in the footsteps of all those Indians so long ago who lived here and used this walk, it has brought me to more deeply admire the Canyons earliest inhabitants courage, creativity and strength, to live in this harsh and incredibly hot climate.

It really was an amazing adventure and test of endurance too…my dodgy knees, wonky hip and temperatures of 120F in the shade. A well timed dramatic thunder and lightning storm and accompanying cooling torrential downpour made the final and steepest final three miles up, slightly less physically challenging.