The 2025 trip to Grand Canyon with first-year students for Southwest Studies marked the 40th anniversary of Grand Canyon expeditions for UWC-USA students. Zaheed Essack ’01 shares his reflections on the trip from his first year.
Grand Canyon was one of the most memorable wilderness trips and field trips in general at UWC-USA. In retrospect it’s incredible that the school was able to arrange it at all and I feel so lucky to not only have been on one of these trips but to have hiked all the way down to the river. I was on Team Boucher and I remember starting the hike before sunrise underneath the stars. It was a little scary walking the narrow trail with just our headlamps to guide us but amazing at the same time. It was a long grueling hike – to justify all those early morning runs up and down the castle steps in preparation for the trip.
We were blessed with good weather and we made it to the bottom of the canyon before sunset with time to cool off in the Colorado River. The river was wild and rushing along rapidly, but there was a small pool of water off to the side created by some of the larger boulders that we could safely swim in. We had the best dinner that night. Everything tasted gourmet and extra special. I wish I remembered the full menu. After dinner we got into our sleeping bags for the night. I recall wanting to stargaze as I lay there but was so exhausted I passed out within seconds of laying down. And I had the best sleep I’ve ever had outdoors, on the soft sandy banks of that river.
I hope I will never forget all these moments on that remarkable trip. Thank you to UWC-USA and the wilderness team for making it happen then and continuing to do so now!