Off to the Canyon
... To the Grand Canyon, that is. Time for the spring desert trip, and a return to the big hole in the ground.
Just for fun, here are a few books I've read about the Canyon, some of which you might enjoy. Oddly, I don't seem to have reviewed many of them.
The Man Who Walked Through Time, Colin Fletcher. An absolute classic, the account of the first person to walk the length of the Canyon, below the rim.
The Promise of the Grand Canyon: John Wesley Powell's Perilous Journey and his Vision for the American West. John F. Ross. A good account of Powell's journey and a thought-provoking look at his all-too-accurate assessment of the ability of the western lands to sustain agriculture.
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons. John Wesley Powell. The man's own account of the trip.
The Emerald Mile. Kevin Fedarko. The story of 3 crazy river guides and the fastest trip ever through the Canyon, on the waters of the 1983 flood. Also tells about that flood, and how close the Glen Canyon Dam came to failing.
Brighty of the Grand Canyon. Marguerite Henry. A classic and highly romanticized story. My review is here.
Breaking into the Current: Boatwomen of the Grand Canyon. Accounts of 11 of the first full-season female river guides in the Grand Canyon. It is telling that one of the women profiled was the leader of the trip I took in 2021. The prose isn't great, but the point of the stories is valid.
Grand Canyon Women: Lives Shaped by Landscape. Betty Leavengood. Short biographies of 18 women who lived and worked at the Grand Canyon. It made me wish I'd gotten there sooner, though again, the prose wasn't great.
There are lots, lots more such books. I will no doubt pick up a few more at the Park bookstore when I'm there. This time, maybe I'll get around to posting reviews!
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