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

A Walk in the Park (2024) is a work of environmental nonfiction by Kevin Fedarko. The book chronicles Fedarko and photographer Pete McBride’s ambitious journey across the length of the Grand Canyon on foot. This journey illuminates the fragility of the landscape while grappling with broader themes such as The Tension Between Human Ambition and the Forces of Nature, The Complexities of Friendship and Collaboration, and The Importance of Environmental Conservation. Throughout the text, Fedarko celebrates the Grand Canyon’s beauty while examining the environmental, cultural, and ideological challenges it faces. Fedarko is an acclaimed author and journalist known for his previous work, The Emerald Mile (2014), which also features the Grand Canyon.

This guide refers to the 2024 Scribner e-book edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death.

Summary

The book chronicles the author’s ambitious and transformative journey with photographer Pete McBride as they attempted a full traverse of the Grand Canyon on foot—a grueling 750-mile odyssey. The book begins by establishing the canyon as an awe-inspiring natural wonder and an immensely challenging landscape, emphasizing its ecological diversity, geological history, and spiritual significance. Fedarko highlights the hubris and lack of preparation that he and McBride brought to the endeavor, setting the stage for a narrative that intertwines personal struggle, environmental advocacy, and reflections on humanity’s connection to nature.

The Prologue introduces the physical and emotional tolls of the trek, from near-catastrophic injuries to moments of beauty, humor, and camaraderie. The early chapters reflect on Fedarko’s childhood in industrial Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, contrasting the environmental devastation of his youth with the untouched splendor of the Grand Canyon. Influences such as Colin Fletcher’s The Man Who Walked Through Time and Kenton Grua’s pioneering thru-hike frame the trek as part of a lineage of explorers inspired by the canyon’s grandeur. These narratives, along with encounters with legendary figures like Rich Rudow and Harvey Butchart, provide historical and cultural context for the author’s journey.

As the trek unfolded, the duo faced relentless challenges: oppressive heat, limited water sources, and physically punishing terrain. The canyon’s varied landscapes—from slickrock expanses to treacherous slot canyons—became both adversary and teacher, revealing the limits of human endurance and the canyon’s vast, untamed power. Early missteps, including injuries and inadequate preparation, led to a forced retreat during the first attempt. The experience humbled Fedarko and McBride, inspiring them to return with a renewed commitment and improved strategies under the mentorship of ultralight hikers Kelly McGrath and Mathieu Laverdiere.

The narrative shifts between the personal and the universal, exploring themes of friendship, resilience, and the enduring conflict between human ambition and nature’s unpredictability. Fedarko’s prose captures the canyon’s intricate details—polychrome pictographs, hidden springs, and surreal geological formations—while addressing broader environmental concerns. The book criticizes the commercialization of the Grand Canyon, particularly the noise pollution from “Helicopter Alley” and proposed developments like tramways, juxtaposing these threats with the canyon’s role as a sacred site for Indigenous tribes.

Encounters with figures like Navajo activist Renae Yellowhorse and Havasupai elder Dianna Sue White Dove Uqualla highlight the cultural and spiritual stakes of preserving the canyon. Their voices underscore the tension between economic development and the sacred stewardship that Indigenous communities have practiced for centuries. Fedarko reflects on the resilience of these tribes, who have fought tirelessly to protect their lands against systemic injustice and exploitation.

The journey’s final segments, including treks through the Great Thumb Mesa and the Sanup Plateau, tested the group’s physical and mental limits amid storms, injuries, and escalating exhaustion. Moments of triumph, such as the discovery of ancient artifacts and connections with wildlife, were tempered by the realization that their presence left a mark on the land. Fedarko grappled with the paradox of seeking to honor the canyon while acknowledging the impact of their intrusion.

The book concludes by describing Fedarko and McBride completing their traverse, which was marked by both triumph and humility. Fedarko reflects on the canyon’s ability to inspire awe and introspection, offering readers a meditation on gratitude, resilience, and the enduring significance of wilderness. The Epilogue ties personal and universal threads together, paying homage to Fedarko’s late father, whose influence shaped his love of nature, and to the Indigenous voices calling for the preservation of sacred landscapes.