A 750 Mile Hike Through The Grand Canyon Learn English Through True Stories
One of the
seven natural wonders
of the world is the Grand Canyon,
which is in Arizona.
It has basically become
the hotspot for tourists.
In one year alone, more
than seven million people
visit the Grand Canyon.
On February 26th of 2019,
it turned 100 years old.
(party horns squeaking)
But the Grand Canyon is
facing multiple threats.
There’s been an increase
in helicopter flights,
a possible plan for a train
that goes through the canyon,
and even many proposed
tourist building plans and developments.
That is why, back in 2015,
a man named Pete McBride stepped in
and decided to save the Grand Canyon.
He decided to save it by hiking it.
A 750 mile hike.
So who is Pete McBride?
Why did he think a hike
could save the Grand Canyon?
And what happened on his hike?
That’s what we are going to learn today.
This episode of Learn
English Through True Stories
is brought to you by
the Speak English with Tiffani Academy.
You can learn more about the academy
by clicking the link in
the description below.
So Pete McBride is an adventure filmmaker,
photographer, and a writer.
He is known for the work that he did
in filming the path of the Colorado River,
but it was during this trip
that he noticed a problem.
He noticed that the river,
which runs through the Grand Canyon,
no longer reaches the ocean,
and he found out that this problem
had begun 20 years ago.
This was the first indicator to him
that the Grand Canyon
National Park was in danger,
so Pete McBride decided to hike
the length of the Grand Canyon
in order to bring awareness
to the threats it is facing.
His goal was to help
conserve a national treasure
by highlighting its natural beauty
that was slowly being taken away.
Alright, the first word is indicator.
Again, indicator.
Now, indicator is a sign or a signal
that shows something exists or is true,
or that makes something clear, okay?
So the example sentence is,
the car’s speedometer
and temperature indicator
were broken, okay?
So again, the speedometer
and the temperature
are used to show or make something clear,
the speed and the temperature, okay?
Alright, next we have bring awareness to.
This is an expression
or a pattern we use in English, okay?
So bring awareness to,
it means to increase people’s knowledge
or understanding of something.
This is a very, very good pattern
for you to use, okay?
And the example is,
the actor wanted to bring awareness to
how recycling can help
our environment, okay?
So that means the actor wanted people
to understand even more how recycling
can effect our environment, okay?
So in English we say bring awareness to.
And finally we have national treasure.
Again, national treasure.
This is something regarded as being
a symbol of a nation’s
cultural heritage, okay?
Something that is very
important to the nation
because of the cultural
importance, alright?
So the panda is considered
one of China’s national treasures.
Now this is something we all are aware of.
Why, because when we
think of a panda bear,
we usually think of China,
because China is known
for its panda bears, okay?
So people usually love
pandas that come from China.
So he called a friend named Kevin Fedarko
and also invited an experienced
Grand Canyon hiker named Rich Rudow
to join him on the 750 mile hike.
Even though there are no trails
for many parts of the canyon,
they were confident that they could do it,
so they set out on their 750 mile journey.
Now, Pete McBride was no
stranger to a difficult hike.
You see, prior to starting
his hike of the Grand Canyon,
he had already hiked Mount Everest
and even documented nature in Antarctica.
In other words,
a difficult hike didn’t intimidate him.
But the Grand Canyon was different.
The temperatures during the hike
fluctuated from eight degrees
all the way to 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
The elevations varied drastically
and the amount of unstable rock
made the hike much more difficult
than he could have anticipated.
Alright, the first word is no stranger to.
No stranger to.
This means to be familiar with
a particular experience or activity, okay?
Alright, the example is,
Michael is no stranger to hard work.
This means Michael is a
very hard worker, okay?
Next, we have intimidate.
Again, intimidate.
This means to frighten
or threaten someone,
usually in order to persuade
the person to do something.
So you see this a lot
in schools with bullies.
So, for example,
the bully tried to intimidate
the children, okay?
Maybe the bully was asking for money.
He or she tried to
intimidate the children.
And finally, fluctuated.
Again, fluctuated.
This means to rise and fall irregularly
in number or amount.
In English we say fluctuate, okay?
Alright, the sentence is,
the temperature fluctuated
a lot this winter.
So, for example,
let’s say the winter started in November
and went all the way through
to March of the next year.
Well, in December,
let’s say between November and December,
the weather was about
maybe 10 degrees, okay?
Let’s say 10 degrees
Fahrenheit, it’s very cold.
But then suddenly, between
December and January,
the weather went very, very
hot, 60 degrees Fahrenheit,
and then between January and February,
the weather went back down
to five degrees Fahrenheit.
So you see what’s happening.
The weather is fluctuating.
Rising and falling irregularly.
A few days into their hike,
they realized just how
wrong they had been.
They were unprepared to deal with
the extreme load of the camera gear,
and they were blindsided
by the physical strain
of the extreme heat on their bodies.
This caused them to get
sick and even disoriented,
so on the sixth day of their hike,
they were forced to stop.
McBride went to the hospital
and was diagnosed with hyponatremia,
which is a heat-induced
imbalance of salt and minerals.
According to the doctors,
this could have killed him.
It seemed like all hope was lost
and the 750 mile hike
would have to be canceled.
Okay, blindsided.
Again, blindsided.
This means to catch someone unprepared
or to attack from an
unexpected position, okay?
Catching someone off-guard, alright?
The sentence is,
they were blindsided
when the doctor told them
that their teacher had a serious disease.
So of course the students
were not expecting
their teacher to have a serious disease.
They were unprepared for that news, okay?
Next, disoriented.
Once again, disoriented, okay?
This is to make someone feel confused
or lose their sense of direction.
In English, we say disoriented.
That can happen maybe when you are drunk
or when you feel extremely tired, okay?
When you’re extremely tired,
sometimes you get disoriented, okay?
Alright, so let’s look
at the example sentence.
Here we go.
Whales get disoriented
in shallow water, okay?
Usually whales need to be in deep water,
but when they’re in shallow water,
they don’t know what to do, okay?
But then the local hiking community
and other Native American conservationists
living in the community stepped up
and convinced them to press
on with their journey.
They wanted McBride and his partners
to draw attention to the magnificent
wonders of the canyon.
So a new plan was drawn up,
and they decided to hike the Grand Canyon
in two week stints
instead of all in one go.
The plan was to start in November of 2015
and go through March of 2016,
hiking in two to three week stints.
They continued this plan for months,
excluding the hot months of summer,
and they finally finished up
their final two week stint
in the latter part of October of 2016.
Press on with.
Once again, press on with.
Now, this pattern means
to start or continue
doing something in a determined way,
with a specific purpose and goal.
We say press on with.
So here’s the example.
It was pouring rain outside,
but we still decided to
press on with our project.
So usually if it’s raining outside,
people usually stop what
they’re doing and go inside.
But this person said that
they decided to press
on with their project,
even though it was raining outside, okay?
Alright, next, draw up a plan, okay?
This means to prepare and write something
such as a document or a plan, okay?
And here’s the example.
Our team had to draw up new plans
because our boss did not like
our previous ideas, okay?
So in this situation,
there was an idea, but it wasn’t good,
so they had to prepare or
write a new plan, okay?
And finally we have stint.
Once again, stint.
Now this is a period of time spent
doing a particular job or activity.
Stint is used very often in English, okay,
so it’s a good word for you guys to know.
Alright, here’s the example sentence.
He took up boxing during
his stint in the army.
So he was in the army
for a period of time.
Now took up, let me just
explain really quickly,
took up just means he started, okay?
He started boxing, alright?
Started boxing, okay?
So again, stint.
McBride said that,
in order to complete the grueling hike,
he went through eight pairs of shoes,
had four sprained ankles,
two broken fingers,
was hospitalized for hyponatremia,
and even had to have heart surgery.
So the question we all ask is,
was it all worth it?
Did his 750 mile hike and
the photographs he took
really help preserve
the national treasure?
To answer this question,
McBride said that though developments
may still happen in the Grand Canyon,
the 750 mile hike had
a huge impact on him.
Experiencing the beauty,
grandeur, silence,
and the utter magic of the seventh
natural wonder of the world
reminded him once again
that there is no place
like the Grand Canyon.
(mellow acoustic guitar music)