A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

Fedarko, inspired by a book his dad gave him, thought he’d explore the Grand Canyon by river. Interning with a river tour company, he only became skilled enough to row a supply raft which hauled trash. He learned to love writing about the canyon and other wilderness areas, traveling with National Geographic photographer Pete McBride.

At McBride’s suggestion, they embarked on an end-to-end traverse inside the Grand Canyon from east to west, in several different expeditions. For their first section, an experienced group of canyon explorers welcomes them for 12 days—they don’t even last a full week. Their backpacks are way too heavy and disorganized and they didn’t prepare for all the off-trail walking, hiking, climbing, or rappelling among the many layers of rock. Daily, there is the challenge of reaching a safe camping spot before dark, in case of flash floods, and always being on the lookout for the next source of water, however tiny. Then there’s the need to consume massive amounts of calories and taking care of their feet.

Through the generosity of more experienced hikers, Kevin and Pete prepared for their next venture into the canyon, with the support of still others caching their resupply buckets and driving them to and from the canyon’s rim. Gradually they make their way west, with breaks to plan the next hike or for Kevin to visit his ailing father. This story is told with much more depth than many other real-life adventures, including lots of the history and prehistory of the canyon and the people who lived there and the artifacts they left. They met with members of the Navajo and Havasupai tribes, and Fedarko relates both sides of the recent influx of thousands of tourists from Las Vegas visiting the western Grand Canyon by helicopter.

The stunning beauty of the inner canyon is well described, making readers understand the appeal of this often extremely hot and always challenging journey, which made a huge impact on the author. Peter McBride has published a book of Grand Canyon photographs and there is a National Geographic documentary about their journey, Into the Grand Canyon, neither of which I’ve seen, yet. Many photographs by McBride are included in A Walk in the Park. This is a memorable and enjoyable read for those who enjoy armchair travel or real-life adventure tales.

Brenda