Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Welcome to THE home of Grand Canyon hiking. If it happens below the rim—from short day hikes to Rim2Rims and beyond—you'll learn all the tips and tricks to have your safest and most memorable Grand Canyon experience.
Host Brian Speciale brings you stories of triumph, tragedy, and trail-won wisdom—told by first-timers, seasoned vets, and Canyon insiders alike.
But don't just take our word for it; here's what our listeners say:
“I am continually inspired by the guests and the vulnerability of everyone to share their story—so others can learn and make their own.”
Whether you're planning Rim2Rim or just dreaming of hiking the Grand Canyon, this is the podcast that prepares you—mind, body, and spirit.
“An invaluable resource.”
"Brian and the community he has curated is such a welcoming place and wealth of information."
“It’s the perfect mix of inspiration, realistic caution, and tips for success.”
🎧 New episodes weekly
👣 Join the conversation in the hiKin Grand Canyon private group on Facebook
This is the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show presented by Hiken. Hiking plus kinship. That's Hiken. Together, we roam. Here's your host, my hubby, and cofounder of Hiken, Brian Special.
Brian:Well, tonight is a special one. Zena is going to stay with us. We are coming to you tonight on Thanksgiving night. Right?
Zeena:Yes.
Brian:In our living room slash warehouse in North Phoenix Cave Creek, Arizona. We just finally, after a long, long, long wait, got our shipment so long. Our shipment of rim to rim packs and our new Canyon Elite Daypacks, which is essentially the rim to rim pack with a hip belt. Yay. We heard you.
Brian:We heard everyone. Yay. Man, everybody wanted that hip belt. So many people asked for it, and so we delivered. But it took a long, long time, and it's cool to be sitting here, isn't it, looking at all these boxes stacked almost to the ceiling?
Brian:This is a true family business, Hiking is, Mhmm. And we exist to help you out there hike your best hike. We mean that sincerely. It's why the Facebook group exists. It's this podcast exists.
Brian:It's why the YouTube channel exists. This is just a supplement to it, offering you these products that that we think will assist with hiking your best hike. And, boy, this was Zena's been with me the the the whole the whole road here as we tried to finalize these Canyon Elite packs. This was a long time coming.
Zeena:Oh, absolutely. This took forever, but, you know, it was so important for us to get it just right. And trust me, there was so much back and forth just trying to get the perfect
Brian:fit.
Zeena:Yeah. Perfect fit. It's it's tough.
Brian:And multiple sizes. You know, the rim to rim pack is one size, and the Canyon Elite packs are multiple sizes depending on your torso length. So you gotta take that into consideration, but that helps you really dial in the fit. You know? The other business that I've been involved with over the last seven years is one with my brother, and I've talked about it here before.
Brian:We're we're a shark tank company called The Comfy, and we make wearable blankets. And I kinda relate everything back to that. Right? In February 2017, we came up with the idea for the company. And no kidding, seven months later, we were standing in front of the sharks on Shark Tank with a finished product.
Brian:It only took us seven months to get in front of the sharks, and we were shipping to customers a month or two later, so it took us only about nine months. And I say that because everyone told us we were crazy, that we couldn't get it done that fast, but we were so naive that we're like, No, we're gonna figure out how to do it. There's no way. It can't be that difficult, and we made it happen. Yet with this freaking backpack, we got the rim to rim pack done fast enough.
Brian:But this Canyon Elite with the hip belt has been, man, it's been close to two years in the making. We've been going back and forth for at least the last year. So many different samples, so many different versions, but it was all to finally, we think, get it right. So the Comfy was truly an outlier, wasn't it?
Zeena:Yes. That was a unicorn.
Brian:Yeah. Very challenging. But we did it, and we're here, and it is available at hiking.club, our Rimter Impacts, and our Canyon Elites. We hope that you will you will check it out. And it's so funny, the wearable blanket thing that I was talking about.
Brian:That's really the reason that hiking exists today, because we went through some times with as as many small businesses and new businesses do, some some rougher times a few years ago, and I kinda stepped away from the comfy for a while. I'm back now. Everything's awesome. When we stepped away, we were kinda looking for something else to do. And you remember that night when when I when I came to you, and I'd been hiking the canyon a lot.
Brian:This is three or four years ago. And I said, you know, I think I can come up with a better day pack. Because I like using running vests because they had the front pockets and everything, and I like keeping everything close. And I I wonder if we can come up with something that's that's a day pack that has a little bit more capacity. And, you know, there's that just love of the Grand Canyon that's embedded in that.
Brian:It's been ingrained in me for pretty much my entire life. My my mom, my dad, huge Grand Canyon lovers, growing up in Arizona, exposed it to us as kids, went rim to rim in 1986 for the first time. But do you remember that that moment when I came up to you and we kinda talked about that? Because we were talking about some other business ideas at the time, and then I just kinda brought this up kinda out of the blue. Do you remember that?
Zeena:I'll never forget it. You brought it up, and there was just something about the way that you shared it with me that just brought tears to my eyes immediately, and I had goosebumps, and I and I didn't know why. But I could just feel it, and I think it was it almost felt like it was kind of the spirit of the canyon Yeah. Just kinda came through, and and you were inspired in the canyon Yeah. For this product.
Zeena:And so I just felt like it there was such a connection there.
Brian:It was an emotional moment Mhmm. For us. I mean, that may sound cheesy, but it was one of those moments where, you know, it was getting teary because, like, why why wouldn't we do this? Because it wasn't necessarily just about, oh, we can build a business, and we can make these these packs. There was such a feeling that I already had about community Mhmm.
Brian:And about building a community, and helping people have the exact same experiences that we had at the canyon, that I've had in the canyon for my entire life. And I can tell you right now, I I've probably talked about this before, but I get the chills every single time I think about going down South Kaibab. And people will come past me, or they're coming up, the different languages from all over the world, and just the excitement, you know, the visceral excitement that they have to be there, the wonder. And it's like, I already, you know, I already know what's around the next corner, but I'm like, I can't wait till the to see what these people think when they walk around the corner and they see Windy Ridge, or they get to Cedar Ridge, or they're they're only going to Ooah Point. Doesn't matter.
Brian:The experience of the canyon gets into your soul, and I wanted to the community part of it was the most important thing to me, and it still is to this day. It's the Facebook group. It's the podcast. It's sharing stories. It's sharing tips and tricks and experiences all aimed, every bit of it.
Brian:I mean this so sincerely, to help people have their best possible Grand Canyon experience. Because I know that we're lucky to live in Arizona. Right? And to be three and a half hours away from the South Rim can just shoot up there almost at any time. But there are so many people coming from all around the world or around the country.
Brian:It's a bucket list adventure. It's a bucket list hike. It's a once in a lifetime thing to experience it. And all I wanna do because it can be so challenging logistics wise, especially with the rim to rim, even though we can't do that for a while because of the Dragon Bravo fire. But the logistical challenges were so, you know, severe that I really wanted places to be able to just share my experiences, and then the experiences of the people in our community.
Brian:We have so many amazing people in our community that are that have really the same mission. They might not even know it, but they have the same mission to just share the love of the canyon and hope that it rubs off and and and makes other people have the incredible experiences that that we've all had.
Zeena:Well, and I think the community was very important, but I I don't think it was I don't think you ever expected it to be this amazing community that it's turned out to be. It's been such an honor to witness how it's grown and how it's unfolding. I don't think we we expected that when we first set out. I mean I mean, I know that was your intention, but, like, it's been so beautiful to watch.
Brian:You never know how it's gonna how things are gonna go. And I feel like everything's worked out pretty well, but I feel like we're just getting started.
Zeena:Mhmm.
Brian:And this hiking mission, you know, hiking plus kinship. That's why we named hiking what we did, because we wanted something that was a little bit more community focused than Bright Angel Outfitters was. And you get basically one chance to change the name of your brand. And so hiking is it. But it was really just born of that, you know, that feeling, the the wanting that feeling of kinship, and to be able to help people.
Brian:And I feel like we're just getting started, that the the hiking mission is gonna spread to, you know, different different parks, different cities. Like, why why couldn't there be hike in Phoenix, hike in Arizona, hike in Yosemite, hike in Zion, hike in Pennsylvania? I don't know. Know? There's really no limit Pennsylvania.
Brian:To There is. I think I said that because I did go to the Grand Canyon Of Pennsylvania not too long ago, and that was a cool experience as well. But, man, this has just been such an incredible journey, and I'm I'm so full of gratitude, and it's it's Thanksgiving tonight, but it just feels like we're doing the right thing, doesn't it?
Zeena:It feels right. Absolutely. You know? Right from the heart.
Brian:Yeah. Well, we could probably talk all night about, you know, having a fulfillment center here in our living room. We need the
Zeena:formal dining room?
Brian:Yeah. Who needs that? A living room or anything like that. We've got boxes to the wall. Our garage is stuffed as well.
Brian:Every order that comes in, we fulfill ourselves. Everything is just out of love. It's very personal to us, everything that we do here. So when you get a one of our of our day packs, know that it is it's built from love. It's built from the inspiration of the of the Grand Canyon, and it's built just to, again, assist you to have your best possible experience.
Brian:And another thing that we've done this year is I've got these hiking stickers that we're putting in every every pack. And that wasn't enough to just put a hiking, you know, together we roam sticker in in everybody's in the pack when you when you when you open up your your Canyon Elite or your rim to rim pack. Every one of those stickers has been below the rim at the Grand Canyon because it was important to us, and it was important to me to make that kind of a ritual that a little bit of the canyon is gonna be in every single package. So I haul those things down into the canyon on the the hikes that I go on, and then I bring them out. And I feel like it's almost like, I don't know, like the coins that the astronauts took to the moon.
Brian:Yeah. Right? It's like every sicker that you get, you can know that it was in the Grand Canyon. Sometimes rim to rim, but always below the rim at the Grand Canyon.
Zeena:All the details have been so intentional.
Brian:Yeah. We mean it when when we say we exist to help you hike your best hike. Well, you know, one of the cool things about this community and what I get to do with the podcast is I get to meet a lot of a lot of really cool people and really interesting people. And one of my favorites, who, you know, I talk about all the time and who has been on the podcast many, many times, is Doctor. Tom Myers.
Brian:And Doctor. Myers, you know, I feel like has become a friend over the past few years. He's the canyon doc more than thirty years at Grand Canyon Clinic. He's hiked the length of the canyon with his son, Weston. He's done so many things in the canyon, more things that I could than I could ever even, like, imagine.
Brian:But he is the most humble, kind human being that I think just about I've ever come across. He is just the nicest guy. And this episode that we're gonna play for you right now, this interview, is born of that. Because the last time I talked to Doctor. Myers about his new book about walking the length of the Grand Canyon with his son, he didn't mention to me something that I found out a couple of days later.
Brian:I think it was on his mom's Facebook post, Weston's mom. Mhmm. Tom's wife, Becky, her Facebook post. And she mentioned how proud they were of their son, Wes, who had just gotten his doctorate at the University of Arizona and was moving to Utah to do his residency and things like that. So he's basically following in his dad's footsteps.
Zeena:It's amazing.
Brian:Tom never mentioned that to me. Not in that entire interview, not in the phone conversations that we've had over the years. He never mentioned that to me, and I'm embarrassed that I never got it out of him. As an interviewer, that's that's terrible. But, man, it says everything about the guy, about his humility.
Brian:And I asked him about that because it kinda ticked me off. Was like, Tom, don't you think that would have been a pretty good little tidbit that I could have ended that interview with? That, oh, your son, by the way, has just walked the length of the Grand Canyon with you, and now he is following in your footsteps and is going to become a physician, and he's just graduating. Don't you think you might have been able to mention that to me? And he's like, well, you know, I just don't like showing off or bragging about anything.
Brian:Man, I sure am proud of that boy. Oh my You think in his understated way. So I was able to catch up with Wes not too long ago, and we had an incredible conversation about the book, about walking the length with his dad. And the flash flood that he was in by himself, when he was doing a segment in the canyon, in a remote part of the canyon, by himself, the flash flood that he went through that honestly, he told me he took out his phone at one point and recorded his farewell to everyone. He actually recorded his farewell, and he said he deleted it afterwards when he was able to survive, but that's how hairy things got in the Grand Canyon.
Zeena:That's traumatic.
Brian:Unbelievable. It's a great story. It's an interesting interview. The first thing I asked him, of course, is what it's like growing up with Tom Myers, doctor Myers, as your father in Growing Up Grand Canyon. This is the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show powered by Hikin'.
Brian:Together, we roam. What was it like to grow up Myers? Oh.
Weston:Yeah. Big big question. I guess the just I feel, you know, lucky. The older I get, the more privileged I feel to have grown up in such a unique household. Really, the time in the Southwest, you know, I'm close proximity to the Grand Canyon.
Weston:It was just something that's really shaped me, who I am today obviously, and just tremendously grateful to have been raised in a family that enjoyed exploring outdoors and doing it with a solid community. And my dad's passion for the canyon obviously just kinda passed on to me and something that just kinda runs runs in our blood at this point. Think all of us Myers have kind of just really infatuated with the place and for good reason as you know. Just unbelievably beautiful landscape and can impact you, especially as a young person. So older I get, yeah, the more more grateful and appreciative I am of the unique childhood I had and how wonderful it was.
Brian:And amazing too that, you know, the canyon runs through the blood of of your family, of course, but so does the so does medicine, so to speak. Right? You just graduated from medical school. Your sister's an anesthesiologist, you told me, and of course, your dad. How much of an influence did did he have on your decision to to go into the medical field?
Weston:Huge. Yeah. Huge. I think the impact of him and my my sister, they were instrumental in me wanting to pursue medicine. You know, medicine to me has always been this perfect blend of of science, critical thinking, obviously autonomy, and just doing something impactful and beneficial to the world.
Weston:And I think that I looked at both of their careers and, you know, basically was like, how do I how do I do that? You know, my dad has had some really rough days at work growing up. For sure, I remember those. But a lot of the times, I think he came home smiling and had such a huge impact throughout the community. And that was as a young person, it's really huge to see as somebody, especially your dad, have such a reverence amongst his his friends and the rest of the small community in Grand Canyon Flagstaff, so.
Brian:Do you have the perspective yet, do you think, of your dad's path? You know, essentially, when he was in your shoes at your age, graduating from medical school, he could've you know, the world was his canvas, could've gone anywhere he wanted, and he ended up, at first in Williams, and then at the Grand Canyon of all places, and made a career out of being, you know, the canyon doc. Can you relate to that? Is that something you would ever consider following in the footsteps of, or do you have different aspirations?
Weston:Yeah. You know, something I certainly thought about. I think, you know, there's definitely a lot to unpack with how medicine's changed over the past twenty, thirty years. Definitely a different beast than what my dad went through. And I think if his role was available today, if that Grand Canyon doctor who had a lot more, know, quite frankly a lot more autonomy and just, you know, that really exist I suppose, now.
Weston:I think the Canyon, the clinics change with EMS and different oversight and and things. And so initially, I think I was drawn to that, but I'm doing anesthesia so as well. So definitely interested in what my dad did at first, but I think it's just it's just different now. I mean, he back back in the day, he was delivering babies and snipping bones and sewing up complicated facial lacerations that, you know, a plastic surgeon would string you up now if you did by yourself. I think just kind of, yeah, long winded way of saying medicine's changed and his career doesn't really exist now.
Weston:It's harder to find.
Brian:Well, you're fortunate to have grown up under him, obviously, being inspired by him, but also his apparent obvious love of Grand Canyon. And what are your earliest memories of getting in the canyon? Because this could go one of two ways when you're raising kids. Right? Yeah.
Brian:You can really force it on them, and they hate it, and they never wanna go below the rim, or just kinda let it unfold and let you naturally, you know, fall in love with the canyon. What are your earliest memories? And and you obviously chose the latter and fell in love with the canyon.
Weston:Yeah. I think one of them that stands out is we did a rim to rim, might have been two rim over several days. I think when I was four, we did it with yeah. Something like that. And I'd
Brian:Early.
Weston:Yeah. I mean, it took us a long time. I don't know if I don't think I even walked the whole way. But we did it with, you know, Connor Connor Phillips is the Phillips family, I think, a part of that track. And I just remember stopping at Bruce Aiken's place, and he was still there seeing his studio.
Weston:And, you know, the Canyon at that point, it's obviously still massive, but to a four year old, that seemed like an entire world away to be at Roaring Springs in the North Rim. So to me, that one that one, I think, stands out. It's just walking walking from rim to rim, you know, Back then, they're probably one of the earliest memories I have.
Brian:And it's pretty cool. I mean, Canyon legend, not just your dad, but Kenton Gruha. I I think I've seen a picture of Kenton Gruha carrying you down Bright Angel. I mean, that's pretty cool. And now, you're the youngest person, I think still, to ever have walked the entire length of the Grand Canyon, which is, of course, documented in his dad's incredible book, The Grandest Trek.
Brian:Just spectacular. Just the story of father and son crossing the canyon over a long period of time, but that 277 river miles stretches into 700 plus miles on foot, adventure after adventure. And the book also really it really brings to light all the legends of Grand Canyon hiking, who otherwise might have never gotten the attention. I think it's so cool that your dad decided to put the spotlight on the Kenton Gruas, and some other guys in that book. It just makes it so much more relatable to hiking today, the pioneers that came before and did much grander things than most of us do, like Harvey Butcher and guys like that.
Brian:But what was that like when, I think you were what, 13? Did you know what you were getting yourself into? Did your dad insist on you doing it? Did he ask you to do it? How does that come up where it's like, hey Wes, you wanna go hike the canyon with me?
Brian:The the length?
Weston:Yeah. It was just about as nonchalant as that, I think. Yes. You know, at that point my experience is pretty limited to the corridor. I hadn't done much outside of that.
Weston:And I truly believe I was sitting on the couch as a teenager. She's like, hey. What are you doing this weekend? I was like, I don't know. Nelson, you wanna start hike hiking the length of Grand Canyon with me?
Weston:Was like, I don't don't know much else going on. So, yeah, I was completely ignorant of what that journey meant. You know, think he'd comment on it in the book, but I remember getting out of that first leg and, like, absolutely thrashed. You know, hadn't done really much off trail stuff at that point. And asked him, like, alright.
Weston:That was great. You know? What what percentage are we done? He's like, less than 1% or something. Was like, oh, boy.
Weston:Alright. But, yeah, no. It was a really just kind of an off the couch deal for me as a teenager. Really low expect or, you know, low understanding of what that meant, but it slowly just became a habit and a really fun outing to keep going back.
Brian:Did your dad dangle the carrot out in front of you ever with, hey, Wes, if you do this, you're gonna be the youngest to have ever done something like this. Did you care, or were you just in no matter what?
Weston:You know, I think we had talked about it.
Brian:Mean, it's pretty cool, Oh,
Weston:yeah. Well, thank you. I, you know, I think we had certainly talked about it. I think a lot of my motivation ambition just came from wanting to get in there and explore with friends is really what it came down to. I think, you know, finishing and being the youngest person was part of it, I think just finishing that journey and doing it with with my dad and with a group of friends is really the the major impetus.
Weston:I'd say my canyon exploration actually increased, accelerated after finishing the length hike. I think I'd go on more trips and do more stuff in there since being done and it's purely just out of out of love the place and doing it with the the people that also, you know, bring me joy and happiness. So, you know, it was it was fun to fun to accomplish that and it was an interesting thing to do as a young man. But I think it was just kind of an unceremonious finishing of the of the length.
Brian:With a typical Myers understatement. How would Wes, how would you describe it to someone, what it's like to hike the length of the canyon, and kind of explain how it happened, because we're not talking about, you know, a straight through hike. You guys did this in segments over years. How old were you when you started? How long did it take, and what was a typical segment like for you guys?
Weston:Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I believe I, again, started 13 or 14 sometime in middle school. Finished January 2016, I believe.
Weston:So I think it was should've been 20 years old. Yeah. When I finally finished, our segments are like you know, I was in middle school, and then we kinda you know, I had he delves into it in the book, but kind of a hiatus from hiking, you know, in in high school. Just kinda got involved in other stuff and then really ramped it up in college. So it took quite a while.
Weston:Our segments were anywhere from, you know, a day to all the way to, I think, six or seven days is the longest we did. You know, segments are super variable. I mean, Grand Canyon, you're obviously gonna get crumbly rocks and steep entries and exits. But some of the segments, you know, were were all along the river hopping on nice level, relatively level to peak shelves and, you know, with good water access. And as my dad and and, you know, Kevin Fedarque described some other sections, you're feel like the river's not even in the same area code as you, and you're way up high and gotta scrounge for potholes and do a ton of contouring.
Weston:So, yeah, it's really variable segments and variable time and all kind of the above.
Brian:What's that like hiking that long off trail in the Grand Canyon? I mean, how much planning has to go into that? How sketchy can that get? Because, I mean, my gosh, we're talking about exposure, we're talking about heat, we're talking about being able to find water, knowing where it might be, hoping it's there. And then ultimately, when you're doing these these segments, you've gotta get in, and you've gotta get out.
Brian:So you you know, you make it sound some of the days could be easy walking along the river, but you still gotta get to the river, and you gotta get back out of the river. The route finding, I mean, the planning, there's gotta be so much that goes into
Weston:Yeah. You know, I think as a teenager, my dad certainly handled all that. He was reading through Jarrod Steck's new pike books, and talking to other people, you know, Rich Ferdow and others about notes and where to go for water, what's a good water source. And I think I slowly kind of accumulated what his knowledge and his systematic approach to some of these segments as a teenager. And then, you know, later on, I think I kinda helped with a bit of the itinerary more and thinking through water sources and potential camps.
Weston:And quite honestly, a lot of it, I think, is just talking to others who've done it. You know, there's some sections we did. I think that we were kind of the some of the first people through there. But if you have a, you know, water source is the main thing you're always worried about is, you know, where's the next one? How far away or how far are you from the one you just left is always the the old adage.
Weston:But, you know, I think just just planning for water was really the biggest variable. And some of the some of the route finding and seeing where the map could take, it was just a lot of talking to, you know, Tom Martin, I think, provided some pretty good, you know, pretty beta for us on areas and, yeah, just looking at the map and a lot of it was just some of was figuring out as he went, just kinda walking through and see what see what there's a break in the cliff and what what had, you know, passable terrain and everything. So
Brian:You were out there for, you know, the over the course of seven years out there for for all those hundreds of miles that you did, is there one memory above all with your dad that that sticks out?
Weston:When we were by the dome, it was our last seg my last segment, actually. We walked from by, like, Kanab Point to to Tuck Up, and it was that winter segment. And my dad went out to we were with a group of my my buddies were hiking with us, and my dad had heard about this pie tin with some sort of engraving that he mentions in the book.
Brian:Can you explain for those who don't know or haven't read the book what the the pie tin is and what the significance behind that was?
Weston:Oh, yeah. The you know, I don't remember the exact significance, but it was some pie tin that I believe it's in the book. It has some signatures on it. I think someone had hid it out by the dome, you know, it was a kind of a commemorative plaque for I don't know if it was for Benson or for George. I'm kind of butchering it, but, you know, it was just really important kind of for my dad.
Weston:And I think George Steck kind of served as that father figure for my dad as much as anyone could given that he kind of didn't grow up without a dad. So but it was signed, and someone left it out by the dome. And he really wanted to go find it. And all of us are this is, like, day five. We're like, we're out about to go on a side quest to go find a pie tin.
Weston:And, like, you know, if you've seen the Esplanade, it's absolutely massive. I mean, those benches out there are, like, four miles long, and it's sandstone hoodoos. Like, talk about a needle in a haystack kinda situation. I mean, the memory that stands out, you know, is just we were all sitting there waiting for him, and she went off and ran off and looked for this pie tin and kinda, you know, saw him shuffling back and hurrying back to us. And I think at that point, you know, my dad had started to kinda kinda tear up, and he talks about it in the book, but he really started to kinda, you know, get super emotional.
Weston:And it seemed like out of nowhere for us. We were, you know, sitting there eating snacks and thought he was just, you know, wanting to look for this pie tin. And I think for me, it really kinda dawned on me how, you know, consequential George was in my dad's life. And my dad didn't obviously, he delves into that in the book. He didn't grow up with a father.
Weston:And I think for me, it kinda, again, dawned on me at that time. Was like, oh my my gosh. You know, this is the culmination of all this kind of this fatherless upbringing that my dad had coming to a coming to a head, and it happened to be out there with us. And for me, it was really emotional too because I realized, like, wow. I was so fortunate, you know, that my dad worked so hard to make his childhood not not my reality that I kinda neglected the fact and how much that would impact him because he was such a smiley and and happy guy.
Weston:And so for me, that was probably the most powerful, powerful memory is realizing that, hey, my dad's Superman. He's, you know, this Canyon Canyon hero and, you know, amazing individual, but he's also vulnerable and emotional guy. And the hauntings of his past obviously have a big impact on him even today. So
Zeena:Breaking Canyon news, hike reports, and answers to all your questions. Find it all in our hiking Grand Canyon Facebook group. Inside, you'll have access to Brian, coach Arnie, and just about everyone you've ever heard on this show, all there in a safe, judgment free space, geared to root each other on and help you have your best possible Grand Canyon experience. The Hikin' Grand Canyon Facebook group is the official group of the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show and is completely free to join. Just search for Hikin', H I K I N, Grand Canyon on Facebook and join the conversation today.
Brian:Welcome back to the show. We just heard Wes talk about the hauntings of his dad's childhood. And as it turns out, there were some parallels to what Wes himself was going through as he entered young adulthood. Bouts of depression and being uncertain of his path or even where he fit in. Well, knowing all this as a dad does and also knowing the flash flood experience Wes went through and will soon describe, Tom asked Wes to write a chapter in The Grandest Trek.
Brian:And somewhat reluctantly, Wes, who doesn't consider himself a writer, agreed. What poured out of him surprised both father and son, not only for the powerful story Wes weaved as he laid bare his soul, but for the realization of the similarities in their journeys.
Weston:It was just kind of happenstance that we both wrote about the same the same kind of undertone, same message. I really I hadn't read the ending of my dad's book when he approached me about writing a chapter. I hadn't read anything he had really put in there yet. And so it was, I guess, suppose I suppose unsurprisingly ironic that both of us kinda chose to talk about our experiences down there in a similar manner and be you know, get really vulnerable with people. And I know my perspective was when he asked me about writing his chapters, obviously, you know, I'll write stuff.
Weston:Like, you're you're the book we're the book writer. I don't write anything. But sure, I'd be happy to contribute if you think it's worth it. And the way I the way I saw it was I could go down one or two ways and describe, you know, that time for me in a very factual very factual manner and just here's what here's what happened. Here's the details.
Weston:Here's how I got out. Or, you know, I could kind of explore some of that inner dialogue and some of that hard those hard to face truths and honor some of those some of those demons and be super vulnerable to an audience that I didn't know. I think my hope is that that it could help someone, you know, even if what I wrote helps just one individual, some kid out there who might feel like me or some, you know, someone even older who feels similarly and just reads that. And if it even speaks to them at all, certainly worth it. And, you know, I have no no shame about laying my soul bare.
Weston:Think it's it could have been easy to play the the conservative route and just kind of describe everything in factual detail, but that wasn't the case. You know, I think that what happened was just way more emotional for me. And if it helps somebody else, then, you know, something great will have come out of it.
Brian:Like you said, you're you're not a writer, and to be able to to write the way that you did was incredible. And, you know, there was a part in there about your relationship with your mom even. And I know your mom, Becky, at last check still had not even couldn't even bring herself to read the chapter that you wrote in the book. Have you guys have you talked about that at all? Because I'm sure that you're incredibly close with your with both of your parents.
Weston:Yeah. You know, I sure am. Yeah. To my knowledge, she still hasn't read it, and, you know, that's okay. I'll let you
Brian:She will someday. Yeah. Yeah. She will someday.
Weston:And, you know, she knows she knows what happens down there. I don't think she needs you know, she pretty much knows all the details. I just think, you know, for her, she doesn't need to relive it or any of it, and read what happened.
Brian:I think she'll read at some point, and appreciate that, because it goes far into far greater detail than just, you know, the events of what happened. And I do want to talk to you about the events of what happened that you wrote about in the book, because I think they're so relevant today, especially in the aftermath of the Dragon Bravo fire when we're talking about burn scars, and increased flash flood risks in many places that are traversed in the canyon, increased risks that we have not, you know, really ever seen before in the recorded history of the canyon, and the potential for flash flooding is is greatly increased, and for probably for many years to come. But what you wrote about in the book, besides just the the personal side and laying your soul out there, well, the reason for that is because you were caught in a flash flood, and essentially not knowing if you were going to survive it. So please take us back to that and describe that day, that night. I know that this was a segment that you were doing solo.
Brian:Your dad, I think, was on a river trip at the time, and you guys had talked about the potential for weather coming in, so you knew it was a possibility. But even when you're prepared sometimes in the canyon, the canyon will surprise you, and the canyon can kill you if you are not careful. So describe to us, please, what happened that day and through that night, because it's a it's a harrowing, harrowing experience.
Weston:Oh, sure. I feel, you know, foolish looking back every time. I'm like, well, what are you thinking? But, know, so I was doing a segment solo segment for the first time. I think it was, you know, '19 or whatever from Swamp Point and hiking out Can Kanab to Hat Canyon where we had stashed a car.
Weston:And as I mentioned in the book, you know, things were going great. First day or two was was way ahead of schedule. You know, I didn't have friends distract me, so I just didn't just walk. It wasn't really that much of an allure to hang out at camp by myself, so I think I pretty much walked from, you know, sop to sundown. And eventually, it got to the confluence of Kanab and the Colorado.
Weston:And I remember, yeah, dialing my dad on the you know, the back then, I didn't have, like, a in reach or anything. I had the full sat phone, so I was able to hear his voice and talk to him on it. I was sitting there eating lunch. I was like, hey. It's kind of overcast, a little bit cloudy, nothing like big purple ominous, you know, cumulus clouds or anything.
Weston:It was just a little hazy it almost seemed like and not actively raining. He was like, alright. You know, I felt good about going up the drainage that day. And so I just remember kind of ending the conversation with him in high spirits and hiked up that afternoon. And Kanab's, you know, beautiful drainage, I think of.
Weston:It's obviously, like, the largest on the North Rim, but as far as it's not narrow. It's a massive you know, it's like the size of the Colorado it's the gorge. You know? It's huge ramparts, and the base is nice and wide. And so for me, you and flash flood potentials, like, that have to be a, you know, a biblical flood to move move sediment and enough water to take up the base of this thing.
Weston:So wasn't really on the forefront of my mind at that time. So I I got up to just below, like, Whispering Falls area, a nice tributary up there. Set up camp in the base. I think it was probably about 80 feet wide or so at the bottom there. It kinda tapered down, you know, the cliff bands and had a gravel bed that was with the creek kinda running, I don't know, 50 feet so to my right.
Brian:So there was a creek that was running. And how high up were you? How high above the river were You
Weston:know, probably a good 10 feet or so. I think I'd found this little sand patch kinda on the side, and, you know, the gravel bar kinda tapered off down to where the creek level was. And, you know, Kanab Creek kinda runs, like, smaller it's been smaller than Bright Angel Creek, probably about half the floats, only about seven CFS or so. But I curled up there, went to bed, and I remember, you know, 2AM or so, raindrops boinking me on the forehead and pulled me out of sleep. But I think I was so exhausted at that point from hiking so hard.
Weston:Was like, whatever. And just kinda fell back asleep and slept through that drizzle. And then it was summertime, so sunrise is early. I remember waking up looking over and like, uh-oh. You know?
Weston:It's kinda drizzling still, and that creek over there is looking angry. Was pretty muddy and turbid and brown and probably tripled in flow at that or or something or more at that point. But I think, you know, regretfully, this is where the the young man kinda testosterone fuel being a 19 year old on your first solo trip. You know, the last thing I was do wanted to do was backtrack to the river, which is probably the safe option because I didn't I hadn't been up Kanab that far before. I didn't know what the rest of the drainage looked like.
Weston:I didn't know if it widened out or what what the situation was. So in hindsight, you know, backtracking to the mouth probably would have been a better idea to kinda wait out this rain and and see what, you know, what the weather was gonna do. But instead, you know, I went headstrong straight into this flood, and it kept raining all morning. The water, you know, kept rising. At that point, it was kind of a a pretty small flood at that point.
Weston:There's lot of sections where the creek pinches down towards just kind of choked off boulder fields, and it was just pretty exhausting work trying to go through that. I was, like, fighting a river, you know, upstream with a huge backpack that was all I hadn't waterproofed anything. It was all waterlogged and heavy and trying to climb up of all these obstacles, and I would dive through the tamey thickets and mesquite, you know, when I was able to on the shore. Sometimes it it would pinch down and just force me back into the into the water. And, you know, there's several times where it got too deep, and I'd try to float my pack out in front of me.
Weston:And as I mentioned in the chapter, lot of times, you know, I'd do that. There'd be, like, stuff bouncing off my legs or belly or chest or whatever, and who knows what it was. It was all submerged, you know, submerged debris. But, you know, a couple times I got flushed out. You know, I was at one of this one section.
Weston:I was trying to pull myself along the the cliff band, pretty pretty swift section of water, you know, trying to push my pack along in front of me and I just kept getting flushed out. You know, I'd, like, get sucked under and just kept getting kicked out of this spot. And so I had to do this pretty nasty up climb onto the into the mooave and do this exposed traverse and had to find a way back down in the drainage and kind of did some committing, you know, climbing stuff to get me back down there. So that was essentially the whole morning. I think about noon or one, I got to shower bath, which is this really beautiful little oasis where there's a fern hanging over the main creek.
Weston:There's tons of ferns, and there's a lot of moss and water, fresh water dripping off of it. So I took a break there. Sun peeked out. Creek dropped. It seemed like, you know, was nirvana.
Weston:Everything was going. I was like, smooth, sweet. I made it through all that. I got fresh water. I was drinking, you know, silt water before.
Weston:I got fresh water. Sun's out. It's all good.
Brian:You already had an incredible story to tell.
Weston:It was, yeah, it was just, you know, a painful morning, but we made it through. And so, you know, kinda higher spirits went on up creek a ways. And then, you know, like, I had never really experienced that before, but it's definitely true when, you know, those those monsoon some of those, you know, storm fronts can just hit you like a freight train. And I remember walking through a particularly kinda narrow section of of Kanab and felt like one of those, you know, heat wave bursts is just all the air kinda rushed past my head. I was like, woah.
Weston:That's bizarre. And all of a sudden, it was just this daily deluge of of rain and coming down in buckets. And I think the the scariest part was just it was pretty narrow at that point. It was knocking all kinds of rocks. You know?
Weston:It's like rain I can handle, but it was these crazy rocks that were falling off the top. You know? It was a felt like a sitting duck because there was really no no place to hide except in the middle of the drainage where the raging river was. So kind of a predicament. You know, there's all these, you know, huge cascades coming off the top of the rim.
Weston:Like, you see some of those photos people have on when out of Colorado when a monsoon hits. You know, there's just all those staggering tier like waterfalls. So that was happening there. And so I started like, oh, this is getting pretty bad. So I started sprinting trying to find cover from, you know, the rocks and place to hide, and there was kind of a bend in the river.
Weston:I remember seeing this little alcove kinda covered with, you know, like, not so probably only a couple feet, maybe three or four feet of an overhang and then just kinda some boulders in the back. And I dove under there just to kinda wait for the rain to subside, and it wasn't my plan to stay there or anything. But I remember looking at the creek, kinda looking at the looking at the walls and seeing everything, you know, all the rain dumping down. I looked back at the creek, and all of a sudden, the creek was, like, two feet from where I was. So then it just, you know, rose exponentially within a matter of seconds.
Weston:And that, you know, that just kinda became my place to I was gonna hang out. I didn't know, but I was gonna spend, you know, whatever it was, sixteen, eighteen hours there. You know, like I said, and I kind of describe in the book, you know, it's pretty powerful watching, like I said, there's, you know, big old tree came ripping, you know, full size like fur. Came, you know, just freight train down the the main current there and hit the wall and just, like, exploded and went around the edge and vanished. And, you know, rain just kept coming down, and there was really no place to go.
Weston:I was pretty backed up into this little corner. And as I said, the water was kinda right on the edge of my little my little hidey spot. And so it just became a waiting game. You know, I just kinda sat there in that boulder field. As I described, I think it was just kind of mentally a little bit torturing.
Weston:I kept hearing I I kept thought in in my head. I tried the Satphone a bunch of times. Obviously, it wouldn't connect. And I kept thinking I was hearing rotor, you know, helicopter with a whoop whoop whoop whoop in, you know, in my brain, and I would like look out and be like, know, it's nothing. It's just a storm.
Weston:And eventually, I think it was hard too because it got dark. You know?
Brian:Well, how fearful were at this point? You said it got up to two feet away from you in a matter of seconds. Was there a risk? Did you feel like there was a risk that you were just gonna get completely overtaken and washed away with that with that tree? Yeah.
Brian:No. Just like that?
Weston:For sure. Yeah. Absolutely. Very kind of sobering thought. You know, I was like, alright.
Weston:How realistically how deep of water could I stand in over here before it would flush me away? And then, obviously, you're kinda like, well, I could stand in water maybe, you know, waist deep that's moving pretty swift with, like, good handholds or something for a couple hours, but you also it was, hypothermia at that point would probably kill me. Exhaustion. So, yeah, super, you know, super scared. You know, at that point, I'd, you know, kinda done that really sobering act of like, alright.
Weston:I'm gonna make this little you know, there's a little spot in there. It's like made a little rock here. It's like, you know, this would be on my little my little marker of of where it all went down for me. And, as I mentioned in the books, you know, I think I did one of those really weird things of that was the age of iPhones, and I, you know, recorded a little video of myself for family members in case, hey. Like, you know, find my stuff or or, you know, find me or whatever.
Weston:And lo and behold, that video was, again, you know, deleted, obviously, with me coming out of that. But, oh, you know, I think something that really for a flood that big and to be next to it that long, it was really hard. It was just the to me, I I describe it as invading every sense, meaning that it's deafening. You know? It's it's super loud.
Weston:You can, you know, you can feel the boulders clacking together on the shore you know, on on the riverbed. So you feel it. They obviously see it. You know, it's just deafeningly loud and, you know, the mist and everything. You're cold, you're soaking wet, and just overall kind of uncomfortable.
Weston:So that part was, you know, pretty annoying too of like, alright. I'm, you know, this thing is just wants to kill me, and it's right there, and it's letting me know it. So that part was really hard to kinda process for that long too.
Brian:And how long were you in that spot?
Weston:Till the next morning, yeah, till sunrise.
Brian:So sixteen to eighteen hours in that same spot?
Weston:Yeah, think it was probably about
Brian:And this thing raged that long?
Weston:Yeah. Yeah, I remember kept, you know, at nighttime, I would just kinda flick on my headlamp and just kinda lay in that boulder pile with my wet sleeping bag over me. Just kinda flick on the headlamp and see where the the slurry was and, you know, kinda watch watch where the edge of the flood was and make sure it wasn't, you know, closer to my hidey spot. So it was a long night, to say the least, for sure.
Brian:Man, so what finally happens? When do you I mean, do you sleep at all? And if you do or if you don't, I guess it doesn't matter, but when does the water start to recede, and you're like, okay, holy cow, I think I made it through this.
Weston:Yeah. Yeah. No. Sleep did not find me that night. But I think you know, early in the morning, it started to subside.
Weston:You know, it it you know, floods like that, it's wild. I mean, you know, it can go up in an instant, but I feel like it takes forever for it to kind of, you know, dissipate. And so over the course of a few hours, probably starting around like two or 3AM, I think it finally got back down to, you know, kind of a normal flow. And I remember the first light came up, and I saw that the creek was just pretty much, you know, brown, but it was back to a really small trickle. And that point was, yeah, really elated.
Weston:And I think I just grabbed my stuff, took off at a dead sprint. Not a dead sprint, but a generous hobble. And that afternoon or morning was tough too because it was just all this flood debris. So it was, like, mud, silt floats of, you know, thigh deep that I just had to kind of that was, you know, that was an unfortunate outcome of that too. It's like, alright.
Weston:Flood's gone. Ball is crap. It is now something I I gotta wade through silt banks.
Brian:And Hey, man. The alternative is way worse.
Weston:Yeah. For sure. For sure. Well, I think ironic ironically enough, so when you get to you know, Hat Canyon is a long ways away, and then Hat Canyon is just this kind of nondescriptable arm of of the main branch of Kanab, and I when I got to Hack Junction from Kanab, broad daylight, super sunny, another flash flood came through, not huge, but another, like, debris flow probably about a foot and a half deep came through right to the left and, like, hit me the ankles and then just kept going. And nothing was coming down Hack, but I was like, oh, that's just the icing on the cake.
Weston:Get me out of this drainage.
Brian:Yeah. Get you out of this canyon, man. When you finally when you finally did surface and you were able to talk to your dad, what was that like? I mean, just talking about that. I mean, you had to feel lucky, you had to feel, you know, somewhat like, I think you mentioned, not embarrassed, but you know, maybe wishing that you would have taken it a little more seriously, the potential for the for the flooding.
Brian:What was that conversation like with your with your dad? And I imagine he did not know any of this was going on, and he had to be still incredibly relieved after hearing this story.
Weston:Yeah. Yeah. A lot of relief, obviously, kind of, and a lot of much to my chagrin, just a lot of regret, I think. It's hard to talk about it, you know, in hindsight. You're like, where do you think?
Weston:You should've just gone, you know, the other direction and waited this out. And so, you know, I think both of us, just a really big learning experience and a lot of really grateful, but also for me, I'm just kind of embarrassed it had to happen, and I learned a lot, you know, learned learned certainly learned from that mistake and won't ever do that again.
Brian:Well, you're teaching people as well through your experience because I'm sure someone listening right now will be taking any potential risk of flash floods much more seriously when they're in the canyon. So you've hiked the length of the canyon, your dad tells me that you're still in there all the time, and you're into the canyoneering, and just about everything. And again, in true Myers fashion, it's probably not something that you talk about or boast about or want attention for, but what what are your future plans now? You're living in Utah. You've got this medical career in front of you.
Brian:What's left to accomplish when you've hiked the length of the Grand Canyon, for crying out loud?
Weston:Well, you know, I think, obviously, that place has more to explore than you could do in a thousand lifetimes. You know, for me, it's just about, like I said, being down there with my favorite people and, you know, seeing the place and just seeing more of it. And I hope to do that till till I physically can't. And so I think for me, just Grand Canyon will always be a part of my life, undoubtedly. It's my favorite landscape.
Weston:It's my, you know, most special place closest to my heart. And so, hopefully, a future full of a lot more exploration and less floods. That
Brian:was Weston Myers, the son of Tom and Becky Myers. Doing his residency up there in Utah, what a conversation that was. What an experience hiking the length of the canyon with his dad, but also, man, going through that flood. It just goes to show you that no matter how experienced you are in Grand Canyon hiking, how much you think you know, how much you think the forecast is gonna be, what they said it was gonna be, that you just never know, and your guard needs to be up in the canyon at all times, no matter where you are in the canyon. I don't wanna say it's trying to kill you, but ending up in the Death in Grand Canyon book is a very real possibility if you don't do everything right, if you're hiking in the middle of an August afternoon or something like that, or if you get yourself caught in a flash flood in a place where there is no escape.
Brian:Scary, scary stuff it can be, but what is it what a what a conversation that was with with Wes and the Myers yeah. The Myers the Myers clan, they're just they're just gems. I say that all the time about Tom. Tom Myers is a gem. The book is the grandest Trek.
Brian:You can get it on the Grand Canyon Conservancy's website. All profits from the Grandest Trek, of course, it's Doctor. Myers. They go to the Grand Canyon Conservancy. So he's not even profiting off this himself.
Brian:He is sending everything to the Grand Canyon's official charity. Awesome, awesome stuff. Well, I guess we've got to get back to work now. What do you think?
Zeena:I guess so.
Brian:Mean, we've got Time. We've got stacks of packs that we gotta get out to the world. We hope you guys will go to hiking.club and check out our backpacks, our accessories, our t shirts, all that good stuff. And I would be remiss, Zena, if I did not mention that you have a podcast as well that is inspired by everything we're doing with with hiking, that takes things, well, a little bit deeper than your husband is able to.
Zeena:That's not true. I think
Brian:Of course it is.
Zeena:I think you go pretty deep when you go in the canyon, but it's just a it's just a podcast to help people slow down and connect with themselves, connect with nature.
Brian:What's it called?
Zeena:Sacred Steps.
Brian:Sacred Steps.
Zeena:Sacred Steps.
Brian:Hiking meditations.
Zeena:Walking meditations. Yeah. To just helping people rediscover the beauty that surrounds them, finding that calm that you carry within you.
Brian:So you don't necessarily need to be a hiker or a walker to do it, but it's made for people just be, what, in motion?
Zeena:In motion. Yes. And even if you don't feel like walking that day, you can just visualize yourself walking while you do it. You'll still get the benefit.
Brian:Yeah. You've gotten some really cool reviews and some really great feedback from people just talking about how much it has helped them and that they feel seen by by what you are saying to them because your voice is amazing. Well,
Zeena:thank you.
Brian:It is. It's a very, very soothing soothing voice, and your your subject matter is extremely deep, like I said.
Zeena:Well, yeah. It's like when the fire happened, I I felt all of the emotions. I saw you going through all of the emotions, and I and I saw how heavily it weighted on our community, and, it was just a way for me to try to help, try to provide some peace and comfort and help people see that, you know, this is what really matters.
Brian:You did a couple episodes just on the fire.
Zeena:I did. Yeah. And then you made that incredible video.
Brian:Oh, yeah. We did. Yeah. I took one of your Mhmm. One of your meditations and put it to visuals.
Brian:God. That was one of the most emotional things I've ever been a part of. I've been in TV basically for my entire life, and that is one of the most emotional things I've ever having to put those scenes together when everything was so raw from the North Rim, and we had just been there a couple of months earlier. Right? And that was that was something what was it called?
Brian:The the fire that transforms.
Zeena:Yes.
Brian:Yeah. The fire that transforms.
Weston:I'm gonna
Brian:have to post that again because you guys need to see that. If you haven't seen that, I'm gonna put that on Facebook again because that was really special, and it was your voice that really brought the images brought more more just more poignancy to the images that we were seeing on the screen. That was a
Zeena:But you put it together. Oh my gosh.
Brian:It's Well, I couldn't couldn't have done without your voice. I mean, that was special, special stuff. The fire that transforms. What a summer that was. Right?
Brian:Going through that this summer?
Zeena:It was so hard. Yeah. But, you know, I think I think it's gonna lead to something beautiful, even more beautiful.
Brian:The fire that transforms. Right? And the phoenix rising from the ashes. And that's what we hope for. Alright.
Brian:Well, we could talk here all night, but again, we, I think, need to get back to work. And we hope that you will go to hiking.club and check out the new rim to rim pack. A little bit lighter we made this one. It's just barely over a pound. 1.13 pounds, I think.
Brian:And the
Zeena:It's lightweight.
Brian:And the hip belted the hip belted Canyon Elite 25 liter day packs. These things are sweet. You like that? The we got the the same blue that we used for the Rimder Impact, but the Canyon Elite also has this
Zeena:Oh, the green. Yeah. It's so pretty.
Brian:Xenas, very proud of that. Yeah. You know? And that's another thing we did community wise because we put that out to a vote because we were between green and red.
Zeena:We had a hard time picking, but I'm so glad we won.
Brian:The community picked green, and that's what we went with, and so that's what we've got. You can get the Canyon Elite in green or in blue. And I don't think you will ever need another day pack if you get one of ours because they are made to stand the test of time. They are made with super high quality materials. The front pockets are incredible.
Brian:Again, you if you have the Canyon Elite, you have eight, I can't believe I'm saying it, eight pockets and pouches within reach. Two on the hip, three on each shoulder strap. Right? So you can carry whatever you need to carry, snacks, water, your phone. It doesn't matter.
Brian:It's within reach at all times. You don't have to stop and take your pack off. That was really the inspiration for both of these packs.
Zeena:So And it's got Brian's perfectionist seal of approval.
Brian:It has been a long, long journey, but we've got to do it right again. I take things very personally, as you know, so we want people to be happy and minimize the unhappy people as much as as much as possible. So please check that out. Thank you to Xena, and thank you to Weston Myers for his time today. This has been a fun one.
Brian:I think this has been a great episode for Thanksgiving and
Zeena:And thanks to all of you.
Brian:Yes. Thank you to all of you. We would not be doing what we do without you. We are so aware of that and we're so appreciative of everyone. But for now, that's it.
Brian:My name is Brian Special for Zena Special reminding you as always to go hike the canyon. Take that first step. Embrace the journey And when you get there, whether it's for time goals or taking your time, just hike your own hike and savor every step in the magnificent Grand Canyon. We'll see you next time on the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude show powered by Hikin'. Together, we roam.