Returning from a recent expedition with Grand Canyon Youth on the Lower San Juan River to edit photos of our journey has helped fill my bucket. For me, this trip was about documenting the fun learning experiences middle-school-aged students can have out in nature – what I witnessed was altogether something more.

 

Our expedition consisted of participants, guides, and trip coordinators, each with unique creeds, geographies, and knowledge from one another. Our prior titles, histories, or experiences didn’t interfere with how quickly our group became a formidable community focused on finding positivity in one another. This new community was such a beautiful and unexpected part of the trip, outshining even the stellar environment.

 

In getting to know one another, we each found something new and valuable in ourselves. It was gratifying to watch participants, under the supervision of the adult team, successfully run rapids in duckies or take climbs that someone with less experienced leaders might have seen as too much. Sitting at my home computer, editing photos of everything we did together and feeling the cumulative impact, the trip became especially rewarding in retrospect.

 

This father of a three-year-old was struck by how, in just one week, kids became young adults exploring and managing trust, space, and responsibility. Play gave them the space to build bridges and test their independence. It was truly inspirational and a reminder of how I want to support my son by finding and engaging in the aspirational opportunities in front of us– not just playing the role of a worried father and seeing only threats in challenge.

 

At the end of each GCY trip, participants share what they liked, learned, and will take home from their journey. For me, it was to let the kids play and trust that my son can grow up to be the type of young adult and leader I met on the muddy San Juan.