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Lana's story of success
How one young lady used her power
Here's Lana's story:
One teenage girl that was hiking out of the Grand Canyon with us stopped at about a mile and a half to the top. She’d been hiking all day. And her legs were tired. She sat down on the side of the trail. She could see the top of the Grand Canyon. She also saw a lot of switchbacks on the trail to get to the top. But as she sat there, one thought occurred to her. If she stayed where she was, she might have to live in the Grand Canyon. And she didn’t want to live in the Grand Canyon. She wanted to get out. She wanted to get home and be with her family. And she wanted the thrill of getting out on her own two feet. But in order for her to get out, she needed to keep moving. And she needed to use her hiking poles more effectively. I showed her how to dig the pole into the ground and push off with the strength of her arm. When she did that, she used more power than just her legs. She dug in over and over again until she was out. Then when she was out and at the top, she looked back at how far she’d come. And she had gotten herself out of the Grand Canyon on her own two feet.
She had won the day. She was able to get back home to her family. Just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She always had the power to get out and get home. What she needed was specific instructions on how to get it done. And then she had to do it.
Why am I telling you this story? There are not enough opportunities in this world for teenage girls to do something this powerful with their bodies. What they see are bodies that are to be dressed up, filtered, and doctored to please someone else. And I’m on a mission to end that.
There are many reasons why teenage girls flock to do this hike with me. They know this hike is demanding and hard. They know they can’t fake their way through this hike. I have done this hike over 25 times. I’ve seen all the mistakes that can happen on this hike. I’ve learned how to avoid them. And I help you avoid the mistakes and discomforts I see first-time hikers experience.
But this hike is more than a story of hiking in a natural wonder of the world. It’s leaving whatever doubts you have about your body at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. And getting up and doing something powerful. Getting out of the Grand Canyon is like nothing else in this world. It’s intoxicating. And it’s why I have girls that want to come back again and again.
I'm doing our next hikes in Spring 2023 over spring break. I'd love to have you join us on this one-of-a-kind experience. To find out more on how you can join us this spring, please schedule your invitation call. .
PRO TIP
Using hiking poles takes at least 25% of the weight off your legs. The goal is to use the strength of your arms to help you move forward. But this can cause another issue: a hot spot on your hand where you grip the pole. To prevent this, place a piece of moleskin on your hand where you grip your poles.
How getting what you want develops problem solving skills
Esme gets her boots
I hike with teenage girls and moms in the Phoenix Mountain Preserves as part of their training. They think it’s so they won't gasp for air on the hike. And that’s true. But there’s more to it.
I’m looking at what they have on their feet. Why does that matter? If there is a problem with their feet on these hikes, there is going to be a much bigger problem in the Grand Canyon. Every time we finish a hike, I ask about their feet. Because that’s an easy problem to solve before we get there. They can either buy new boots. Or they can borrow some.
But there was one teenage girl who was wearing worn-out tennis shoes on these hikes. She had saved up her money by babysitting and other odd jobs to come on this hike. And she told me she wanted to hike again and again after the Grand Canyon. So borrowing boots wasn’t going to work for her. Could I have gone out and bought her a new pair of boots? Of course. But then I realized we weren’t exploring all options. So I emailed the manager at REI. I shared her story. He said she needed to come in and get fitted for boots. And he’d take care of the rest.
So we drove to REI. There was a boot fitting specialist waiting. He took us to a special room with a chair for her to sit on. Then he brought in the boots he thought would work for her. She tried on boots until she got to the ones that fit the best. Then he taught her how to lace the boots using a “surgical knot”. He said that this would keep her ankles nice and snug in her boots. She left with a new pair of boots that day. And her feet were not a problem on the hike.
Now, why am I telling you this story? So we can petition REI to outfit our feet for all our adventures for free? Not really. It’s this: knowing how to solve problems avoids a lot of trouble in life.
And when you’re on a mission to do something, problems arise. And then problem-solving skills emerge. Problem-solving skills aren’t just born out of thin air. This is part of the preparation that makes getting ready for the Grand Canyon more than just a hard hike. It's knocking down all of the obstacles that are preventing you from getting what you want.
How we made it safely to water
Here’s another reason why I love hiking the Grand Canyon. People stop us. They stop us to ask questions.
They ask us questions like:
“What brought you all together?”
“Are you going to the bottom?”
“How did you all get ready for this?”
But one time, a National Parks Service ranger stopped us. She asked all the above questions, but she had more questions. She asked how many people we had in our group. And did we have a Special Use Permit?
When I told her we didn’t have one, she got out her notebook. Then she wrote down my full name, my phone number, and my address. And she told me not having a Special Use permit was a finable offense. We were only allowed to have 11 people in our group. And we had 15. My heart sank when she said because we didn’t have that permit, we couldn’t go to the Colorado River. She said we had to take a trail that runs across the canyon. Those were the rules. But then she said something that was a punch in the gut. She said the trail we would have to take had no water on it. And our hydration packs were almost empty. When she said that, one of the girls with me said what we were all thinking. “You said I needed to drink all my water on the way down. I’m almost out! We have to get to the bottom!”
When she said that, the NPS ranger snapped out of rule-following mode. She said we could go to the Colorado River and refill our water. She asked if we had walkie-talkies to communicate with each other. She asked if we had medical personnel in our group and provisions for first aid. She asked that we report to her when we were all out. And asked that we get a Special Use permit if we had a group this size again.
Why did she make up new rules? She no longer wanted to stop us from what we were doing. She wanted us to finish our mission as we had planned. Because a better thought came along.
She thought that stopping us would keep us safe. When the truth was she was possibly harming us by stopping us.
Why is this another reason I love this hike? Women think they have to follow rules. And if they don’t follow the rules, there is going to be trouble. Or someone could get hurt. Or worse.
Is that true? Maybe. But usually, it’s not. And on this hike, girls and women are on a mission. And when you’re on a mission to do something powerful, rules come up that don’t make any sense to keep following.
Other people can stop you from doing something powerful with your body because of “the rules”. Or they can help you to finish the mission. And thanks to one thirsty teenage girl who was on a mission to finish this hike, we did something amazing that da
PRO TIP
There are no water stops on the South Kaibab Trail. You must carry at least 3 liters of water down to prevent dehydration. But that must be balanced with salty snacks to prevent hyponatremia (a fancy word for too little salt in the blood).