Chris and I went took a couple days back in 2008 to check out one of the most spectacular geologic formations on earth: The Grand Canyon.

Looking back, it was a pretty quick trip in that we left Southern California on January 1st and returned on the 4th. We stayed at the Maswik Lodge which was in the park and only a few minutes away from the Bright Angel Trail Trailhead.

Apparently I was feeling very introspective after the trip because I wrote the following entry upon returning which I recently found on an old website of mine:

Chris (one of my college roommates) and I enjoy hiking. We go hiking more than you do, and probably talk more theology and whatnot during our hikes than you do during yours. While I like to think that our discussions rival those of the great intellectuals throughout the ages, they don’t. At the end of the day, we are just two normal guys talking about lofty stuff (with sore muscles of course). While talking about this stuff is fun and and makes us feel smart, the most enjoyable conversation of this trip was when we didn’t talk about theology. We just talked about ourselves, and what it was like to be a guy in today’s world. I can’t think of the another time I was really that brutally honest about myself with someone. It was great.

This experience has really made me think about how our lives can easily become stories we tell people, with certain details we want people to know about embellished, and other less favorable details omitted. What struck me was that this was the first time I had really opened up to Chris, one of my closest friends, someone I trust. Even though we have been friends for a while, I’m not sure Chris actually had a good grasp of the reality of me.

If you were looking for the sights and sounds of the canyon, sorry. I could have spent a while crafting detailed embellishments about how bright the colors were or how big it was, while omitting how miserable the temperature was. But given the nature of the post it didn’t seem quite right.

Go experience the grand canyon yourself. It is worth it.

While it has been some 8 years since that blog post, the truth of what I was writing rings as true as ever. Social media services like facebook and instagram seem tailor-made for seeing and sharing only our best moments while we often forget to expose who we really are to one another.

Even though I wasn’t feeling like sharing any photos of the trip then, I’ve since decided to add a few from the trip as well as the hike down to Plateau Point.