07/11/2022
Today's Monday Motivation to Keep Working on Your Legacy is inspired by hikers from Illinois whom I met on my recent Grand Canyon hiking trip. When you're far from home and in an unusually harsh environment, anyone who represents home instantly becomes a friend and ally. Each of these people are amazing and I am thankful for the opportunity to meet them, albeit briefly.
--The woman who made it a point to tell me she graduated from Carl Schurz High School "many, many" years before I graduated from Lane Technical College Prep High School. She was hiking out of the Grand Canyon after completing an intense six-day camping and rafting trip on the Colorado River with other women.
--The group of polite, engaging young men from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who hiked down from the North Rim the day before, camped at Indian Garden, and were making their way up the South Rim with all their camping gear when we met them at the 3-mile rest stop. What a great summer activity and bonding experience for college students!
--The suburban couple who completed the Rim2Rim a few years ago and were back just for a short hike. We met them towards the end of our hike, sporting Chicago Marathon shirts.
--The humble 56-year-old father of five who began running marathons at 48, after he became an empty nester. He's run the Rim2Rim several times. He's not from Illinois but his wife is originally from St. Louis, which feels close enough to Chicago when you're meeting deep down in the Grand Canyon and you are the only humans around.
