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

The bulk of Kevin Fedarko’s memoir describes his near traverse of Grand Canyon National Park with his friend Pete McBride, which they completed in stages with help from experienced backpacking guides. They started off woefully unprepared, as the author freely admits and does not recommend. Several of their trips become treks of survival in the extreme heat with little water. In addition to the hiking, they must occasionally make excursions up to the rim and rappel back down.

The author provides side discussions of related topics, such as geology, history, weather, issues related to the region’s indigenous peoples, flora and fauna, environmental concerns, tourism, and stories of people who have made an impact on the region. Fedarko show more includes personal details such as how he became interested in the Grand Canyon, his previous experiences with Colorado River expeditions, and his family’s history. There are many stories of people who did not fare well during their treks. If you enjoy reading about walking trips in perilous terrain, this is one is excellent. As a bonus, you are guaranteed to learn something. I found it a most enjoyable read.

4.5 show less

2.5/5

Perhaps my issues with A Walk in the Park stem mostly from my expectations not being met by the reality of what it is, which is a travel/adventure novel that happens to be set in the Grand Canyon, rather than a book that focuses on the canyon through the lens of an adventure.

If Fedarko is half as humble as he tries to convince you he is, he should be the first to tell you that his writing only occasionally comes close to being worthy of capturing the landscape that he walks through. It really wouldn't be so bad if he was able to eliminate the meandering pacing, and develop some writing tools outside of the simile. Like the grains of sand on a beach, the stars in the milky-way, or cells in your body, Fedarko uses so many similes show more that mathematicians may have to invent some new numbers to quantify them. No literary trick could be used to this degree without becoming insufferable. It's a shame that by far the best sections of prose were when he quoted Desert Solitaire.

I also had a hard time empathizing with Kevin and Pete's struggles in the canyon. Fedarko tries to paint the picture that they were under prepared and stupid for attempting the traverse with the limited amount of planning and training they did, while in the same breath talking about not only the myriad of other high stakes outdoor expeditions they had been on, and the number of sponsorships they had attained. Fedarko even admits that he took some liberties with reality to tell a better story, and while I don't think this is necessarily wrong, it certainly doesn't make me trust anything he says. The canyon doesn't need you to stretch the truth to make something compelling. It doesn't need a narrative forced on it. The best kind of nature writing acknowledges this, instead of fighting against it.

Underneath these gripes there are some moments of interesting detail. Growing up in Flagstaff makes any writing on the canyon instantly appealing to me, and it was a joy to hear about a lot of the places within it that I will never have the opportunity to visit. It's also important that Fedarko spent as much time as he did on the many issues currently facing the canyon, and the cultures that have called it home for untold generations, though I will admit that these sections were awkwardly placed within the narrative of their journey.

To be honest I've read better blogs that detail the Grand Canyon traverse. Clearly the motivation behind the writing wasn't where I wanted it to be. To each their own I suppose. show less

nonfiction - professional outdoor adventure writer and his photographer friend embark on year-long trek through the Grand Canyon (aiming to get from one end to the other over treacherous backcountry desert cliffs) and so many things go wrong.

Terribly overhyped -- I abandoned at p. 156 (maybe 2/5 through) - there are occasional bits that entertain, but mostly background filler with some navel gazing. Skip this one and read instead: Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks or for some lighthearted/misguided adventures: Round Ireland with a Fridge or Cork Boat

This book came out over a year ago and there is still a waitlist at my public library. The prologue is attention-grabbing--a humorous misadventure story show more in a dangerous place, but then it kind of drags through 100 pages: a description of the natural history of the canyon, a rambling history of all the people who only managed to traverse part of the canyon, the author's background in whitewater rafting the Colorado and an intro to his photog friend Pete whose motto is much closer to "what, me worry?" than "be prepared." Some backstory is expected, sure, but this feels like a long time to wait for something interesting to happen, and the extra chapters come across either as ego stroking (look what a tough journey this is!) and/or unnecessary filler. Or maybe I just don't automatically revere people who tackle difficult journeys (either as adrenaline junkies or as some sort of measure of toughness). Or feel the need to go on and on about them.
I continued for another 50+ pages to see if it improved, but the action of the story was diluted by more background filler and dullness--it was only occasionally interesting. show less

Kevin, the writer, and his friend Pete, a professional photographer, have traveled on assignments together and Pete convinces Kevin that they should hike the Grand Canyon, nevermind that they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. It is a miracle that they both survived, and this is their learning-experience story, and the awesome, experienced help they had to accomplish their goal. This is an adventure, page-turner. But it is so much more! Kevin is a master storyteller by helping readers appreciate the magical beauty of the canyon, fear an epic winter storm, rappel down death-defying cliffs, sweat in the dangerous heat and worry about where the next water will be found and the distance to their resupply cache.

Along the show more way, readers learn about the geology of the canyon, the history of the region, and the stories of the indigenous people native to the area. Readers learn about the Federal government treatment of the people, and how the people have handled the threats of economic development versus tradition, commercialization versus natural habitat. Readers also learn why a group of experienced canyon hikers were willing to help two novices.

This is an amazing story. show less

When it was good, it was very good. But it had a lot of sidetracks, and not just their hike.

Pete & Kevin embark on a cross-Canyon hike with no preparation. At first I was afraid we were in for another Bill Bryson schtick, where we were expected to laugh at stupidity - like not even TRYING ON your loaded pack before the trip begins. That gets me every time. They put on their packs and are like, "Wow, this is heavy." I want to knock them upside the head.

It wasn't like that; although Mistakes Were Made, they were not funny. Spoiler, Pete & Kevin survive - because they know when to quit.

The sidetracks into other people's stories were a little dull to me. I wanted to stay with one story, Pete, Kevin, & the Grand Canyon. I have not yet been show more to Grand Canyon. This book inspired in me what to do & what not to do. show less

I enjoy reading travel and adventure books, so this story of a hike through the Grand Canyon was engaging for me. Fedarko and his photographer friend Pete McBride set out, woefully unprepared, to back pack through the entire Grand Canyon national park. The route is entirely unmarked, except for the short stretch in near the south rim visitor center, where the National Park Service maintains the Bright Angel trail that descends to the Tonto Trail. The traverse of the canyon has to include walking along escarpments thousands of feet above the Colorado river, and frequent ascents up side canyons, sometimes to the rim, followed by rappels back to manageable terrain. This is all done in a desert climate, with searing heat in the summer, and show more few sources of water. The pair of novices make the trek in stages, and only with the help of experienced backpackers and experts on the topography. The author writes about the geology, the history, the botany, wildlife and the stories tribes that have lived in and around the canyon. The descriptions of the slot canyons, narrow passage ways carved by rushing rain water, and lined with plants, are beautiful. Many of the stories of the people who explored the canyon are sad. The native Americans have been treated poorly over many years by the whites coming for range land and minerals, but are now gaining some land back, and the Hualapai have used their land rights to promote helicopter tourism. The airspace at the western end of the canyon is now the busiest in the world, and the noise is constant. Fedarko and his companions naturally lament the loss of the wilderness and feel that their extreme efforts give them more of an appreciation for the wonder and beauty of the canyon, but Fedarko does muse a bit about the benefits of exposing more people to the experience. The philosophical pieces of the book are on the side of ecology and nature. show less

This book comes blurbed, reviewed, and subtitled as an account of a disastrous transect of the Grand Canyon by two inexperienced hikers, and if this was what it was, it would indeed be a grand read. In point of fact, that episode actually refers mostly to a trial run before they set out on the real journey and takes up perhaps one-eighth of the book. The actual walk, though certainly a great achievement and not without peril, was mostly accomplished by the two tenderfoots with the help of experienced guides. A great deal of the book is backstory describing the author's youth, his dying father, and his avocation as a river rafter. Even more of the book is taken up with tangents. Some, such as a history of pedestrianism,in the canyon, are show more pretty interesting. Others, such as local reservation politics and interminable disquisitions on geological minutiae, are not and serve mostly to introduce vocabulary demands. . Stripped of all this, and thus of half it's length, this would be a fine read. As it stands, it's a curate's egg. show less