Operation Canyon Rising 2024 is complete! It was an amazing experience for all. As the Canyon always does, it heals and inspires.
The North Rim was beautiful and it symbolized how life can be at times–calm, beautiful, peaceful. We talked about how each of us got to this place at this moment in our lives and what we bring to this journey.
The next morning at 4:30 am, we started on our 14-mile journey to the bottom of the Canyon wearing headlamps to light our way. The temperature was very cool. As we descended and the day wore on it got very hot, over 100 degrees, and the sun beat down on us unmercifully with almost no shade. We all suffered but kept moving forward. We worked through the pain together and we arrived at Phantom Ranch at 6:30 pm, just as the sun set.
We all had a good night’s sleep and the next morning we were very sore but in good spirits. We gathered after breakfast to check in with each other and discuss some of the lows we’ve encountered in life and how we want to process those. The rest of the day we relaxed, talked, and enjoyed each other’s company. After another good rest in our cabin, we started our trek up to the South Rim at 5:00 am, once agin, with headlamps guiding our way. Now we had to hike uphill for 10 miles and it was, again, a grueling journey. It took almost 12 hours but we made it to the top and were greeted by a wonderful crowd of people cheering us on. It was a very emotional experience for all and we were exhausted. We had a celebratory dinner that night with many of the folks who cheered for us.
The next morning we met at an overlook where we could see the North Rim and the rest of the Canyon we walked through. We had accomplished so much as a team and we all made it. We know life is a journey, like the Canyon, and we discussed how we want to move forward and rise up to meet the inevitable challenges we will face.
We leaned on each other as a team, and became very close. We’ll be there to support each in life as we did in the Canyon. The big takeaway we had was to always keep moving forward, no matter how tough things get for us, and to reach out for help and to friends when the going gets real tough.
As a side note, we have not been able to determine that anyone else has ever completed the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike on crutches as Sarah had!
Sarah Mauney Evans
August O’Niell
Steve Otero
Leonard Anderson
Valerie Schmitz
Sydney Mulder
Tim Sneed
Steve Connolly
A huge shout out to our Guides from REI Adventures, Adrian Bluford and Kenzie Bell they were absolutely wonderful!
Thank you also to our sponsors who made this trip possible:
Texas Best Properties Real Estate
Operation Canyon Rising 