The Grand Canyon Held My Fate In Its Hands

by Michele Quinn (Australia)

I didn't expect to find USA

The moment we arrived to view the Little Colorado River Gorge I had this empty feeling inside of me, this feeling of a lapse of time. Something made me look down at my watch, it had stopped working at 13:04. Thinking nothing of it I made my way to the tower climbing to the top to view the magnificent river below. My phone felt excessively warm in my hand and as I raised it to snap a photo it instantly went blank; its battery had suddenly died. It was then I noticed a gap appearing between the screen and the phone exposing its internal parts as my phone began to swell. I was aghast. I rushed back to our tour guide sitting in the coach, he began to charge my phone and after 15 minutes nothing was happening, for no apparent reason my phone had completely expired. Bitterly disappointed I walked back toward the tower taking the rocky edged path of the canyon rather than the tarred path. Our guide had recommended we take this route, he believed it to be the best place for photos and exquisite views of the river and canyon. If I couldn’t have photos on my phone I was determined to have forever images etched into my memory of its crystal-clear water and the perfect reflection from the sun throwing multiple shades of gold onto the canyon and river. Several tourists were precariously balanced on the edge of the canyon taking selfies and standing on ledges that tipped over into the canyon, everyone looked so carefree there was no sense of apparent danger. It was that one step that I unknowingly took causing considerable pressure on a loose rock, it gave way under my left foot. At 56 I am an experienced hiker; I should have known better. I instantly lost my balance sliding toward the canyon below not being able to save myself or break my fall. My eyes filled with red dust as I rolled, my body slid helplessly face-down along the canyon, my mouth filled with red dusty soil as my chin scraped on rocks and started to bleed. So many things began to flash through my mind as though my whole life from my beginning to my present was zooming past me on fast-forward. What had only been a matter of seconds in real time seemed like it had turned into a slow-motion horror movie. Finally stopping I felt as though my whole body was being temporarily suspended on pause while waiting judgment on my fate from the canyon below. I was praying that my imminent death would be instant. I was so dazed I couldn’t see a hand reaching out toward me, but I could hear the fuzzy drone of a voice that appeared to be coming toward me, I immediately felt the abrupt tight grip of what I imagined was a strong male hand clenched around my right wrist. It was only then I could hear the sounds of other voices in shock and gasping coming from above me. As my mind became clearer I realised that I had only fallen around four meters and my fall had eventually been broken by an old tree stump emerging from the side of the canyon, the roots of the tree stump appeared to be as thick as my fist. I emerged from my ordeal fairly unscathed, just a few minor scratches on my chin and a mouth full of Arizona dirt. It was my pride that had been badly bruised and I was understandably shaken. I realised I had just looked death in the face. I not only thanked my guide for saving me but also the tree stump that had broken my fall and prevented me from ending up inside the canyon. By the time we reached The Grand Canyon National Park my watch had started working again and my phone had decreased to its original size. What had happened defied any rational explanation. It is often said there is a blurred line between illusion and natural powerful unexplained Phenomenon. An Energy Vortex perhaps? I wondered what the mysterious and mystically powerful Grand Canyon was trying to convey to me.