Water shortages could affect 5bn people by 2050, UN report warns

I did okay on my first hike across the Grand Canyon. I was the last one in the group of five to finish and it was incredibly challenging for me the entire way. This time around, I started my training at the end of April and continued my training all the way up to the day before we left for the Grand Canyon. Over the course of four months, I hiked over 1, miles. That works out to about 37 hikes, at about hikes a week. In addition to all of the weighted down hiking, I also taught hot yoga and Yoga Sculpt yoga with weights classes a week.

I trained my ass off any way I could.

Grand Canyon Hiking: How To Survive AND Enjoy It

I started packing for the Grand Canyon trip a week before we were scheduled to fly out. Click here for my detailed trip packing list. I decided the night before getting on the plane to leave it at home. The night before we left for the trailhead at the North Rim, I cut the number of snacks I was planning on carrying by half.

Originally, it was not by choice. I had run out of room in my pack and was forced to downsize. Even after downsizing my snack load, I had plenty of snacks to eat on the trail. Not once was I ever hungry while hiking. I ended up back on North Rim with plenty of snacks left over. Snacks are surprisingly heavy so be careful in what you decide to pack. What snacks should you bring for the hike? Only you can answer that. Bring snacks you will want to eat. This is NOT the time to go on a fast or a diet. Give your body the energy it needs. You can pack fruit, but keep in mind fruit will be more on the heavy side.

I included a detail list of the snacks I brought with me in my Packing List blog post. On my most recent trip, I had 5 liters of water in my pack at all times. This might seem excessive, but I had a moment on my f irst trip to the canyon when I drank my 3-liter water reservoir dry, right before reaching Indian Gardens. It messed with me emotionally and I never quite recovered from that before hiking up out of South Rim.

The Colorado River Runs Dry | Science | Smithsonian

On the hike out of North Rim, I gave my body a break and only hiked out with 3-liters of water in my pack from Cottonwood to the top of North Rim. Not once did I ever come close to running out of water. I put that fear in check! Plan on hiking with a little extra water weight, along with extra snacks. And that zig-zaggy thing that goes way down there with the little bugs moving along it until it disappears in the far blue haze?

Before you go, take the recommendations for preparing seriously. Take daily walks, in the park, on the beach, or to the market instead of driving.


  • Franklin Evans, el borracho (Letras Universales) (Spanish Edition).
  • Grand Canyon Hiking: How To Survive AND Enjoy It.
  • A Primer in the Psychology of Crime.
  • Making Out in Italian: (Italian Phrasebook) (Making Out Books).

You know the drill. Start slow, a half-hour or so at a time.

‘Sprawl is the norm’

Build into an hour. Surely you can afford an hour a day for the trip of a lifetime? It can make all the difference. A Cocopah Indian surveys what was once the tribe's traditional fishing grounds. Jonathan Waterman, entering the delta, paddled the length of the Colorado River. Like many Western communities, Las Vegas has limited watering and restricted the planting of grasses. Greater Phoenix continues to expand into the desert. The population of the American West is expected to grow, putting added pressures on dwindling water resources. Photographer Peter McBride, who lives near Basalt, Colorado, has taken pictures in 50 nations on six continents for magazine, books and films, but he relished the chance to turn his camera on the river that fed his childhood home, a Colorado cattle ranch.

An aerial view of Lake Mead and the Hoover dam. Once the largest dam in the world, the Hoover dam continues to provide power and water to Las Vegas. The river has been running especially low for the past decade, as drought has gripped the Southwest and demand for water continues. Enforced catch and release measures mean this rainbow trout is headed back to the upper stretches of the river.

I shouldn't be alive !! Walk into hell

In the Imperial Valley, feedlots are still abundant and utilize a large supply of water. The dwindling Colorado is a growing concern for ranchers and farmers in the region.

Horse farms and other businesses depend on the river for survival. With over golf courses and a continuing expansion into the desert, greater Phoenix continues to be a large consumer of water. The Colorado meanders for nearly 1, miles across seven states. Over the past century, the river has been diverted for drinking water, industry and agriculture. Previous Article The Origins of Life. Next Article Wild Things: Life as We Know It.

Coconut octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates around: They use tools, carry their shelters around for when they need them, and, fittingly, adopt an underwater walking motion that's very similar to humans. Comment on this Story.