In September 2015 photographer Pete McBride ’93 and writer Kevin Fedarko set out to thru-hike the entire length of the Grand Canyon. By the end of the 750-mile journey, completed in eight sections over the course of 13 months, McBride had lost 35 pounds and suffered sprained ankles, shin splints, and hyponatremia. The results of the trek—a book, The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim, and a documentary film, Into The Canyon—aim to raise awareness of threats facing the national park, which celebrates its centennial in 2019. “The canyon’s scale is so beyond human comprehension,” says McBride. “There’s a greater range of biodiversity than in any other national park. It’s a giant living classroom. It’s also incredibly harsh, foreboding, and humbling. The canyon respects nobody.”

All photographs courtesy Pete McBride and reprinted with permission of Rizzoli Publishing. The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim is available to purchase via Rizzoli’s website.

May 2024 update: Writer Kevin Fedarko has published a memoir about this thru-hike. According to a New York Times review, “some of his warmest and funniest writing is about his friendship with McBride, whether they’re discovering ancient petroglyphs or wrenching pieces of cholla cactus off each other.”