What goes to a mind of hiker hiking for 16 hours in Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim?

I have hiked the Grand Canyon from South Rim to North Rim in a day! Even I myself cannot fathom how I did that! It has always been a bucket list of mine since the Grandeur had revealed itself to me decades ago. I have learned and watched documentaries about it, how the transformation through millions of years allowed us to be inspired and be in awe. I have read numerous articles of the hikers, the campers, the runners, that had done it not once but multiple times. Through it all, I thought it was reserved for the fit and adventurous and the wild. But, as time passed by, the more I dream of it, the more I wanted to be able to do it. The first time I hiked the canyon was South Rim to river then back up. I thought, that was hard! But never did I think that it was regrettable. The Grand Canyon can be appreciated so much more when you hike through its paths. It takes an idea, and true friends to make that idea a reality. And so we did. Did we do anything different, special, to train for the Grand Canyon? I am telling you, nothing really can prepare you for it. It's 25mi! Coming in, we knew, it is a matter of will and determination to finish. When you have no more strength, depleted with energy, you still have the legs and the lungs, your mind will push and deliver you to the end.

Here are some thoughts I had through this 16 hour hike that is filled with nature's magnificence, a lot of solitude, and a lot of reflection.

1) Dream! It all start with that spark of one-day-i-want-to-do-blank. Simmer in it, read about it, watch about it, think about it. But don't stop there, let this dream fuel you towards achieving it. I had an aversion to hiking, I still do at times, but that dream is so strong that it kept me going to be a better hiker.

2) Set that goal. Take the plunge. Once you set that goal, the mindset starts long before the hike starts. There should be no room for doubts, for fears, for thoughts beyond finishing. No what-ifs, no complaining before it even starts, just solid mindset of finishing.

3) We started hiking at 4am. It was dark. When there's darkness, look around you, find the light radiating from others. Use their light to guide your path. Use your light to shine a light on other's path.

4) As day breaks, the beauty and magnificence slowly reveals itself to us. Oh what a joy! Pause once in a while to look up, it's not quite bright, but you know the sun will be up.

5) Life, as in the Grand Canyon hike is a series of Switch Backs. Switch backs after all allows for a slow, manageable ascent and descent. Patience. Patience. Patience.

6) Respect the power of nature. The Colorado River has sculpted this canyon for millions of years, we are but a speckle of dust. That if we let mother nature takes its course through us, She will carve us the grandest of life.

7) If you put one foot over the other and another and another, before you know it you are somewhere you always wanted to be. Staying still may feel nice, comfortable, easy. But it gets you nowhere. When we have to climb 4000ft after 20mi of hiking, there's no question about it. We got to keep moving. No matter how tired, no matter how long it takes, we know we'll get there.

8) And when it's all said and done, you look back at how far you've come. You do not even know how you got there. You don't even know how you did it. You don't even know why you did it. But you knew this feeling was what is missing. The Knowing. The Knowing, that no matter how long it takes, how difficult it might be, your mind, your body, will get you there. And Knowing that your body and your mind, will not fail you. So take care of it. Take care of your mind, take care of your body. Bring along with you people who are strong, who are willfull, who are funny, and who will walk next to you, behind you, before you, in this hike called Life.