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Back No Barriers Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. FOREWORD
  5. Winter Solstice
  6. THE NO BARRIERS PLEDGE
  7. PROLOGUE
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. EPILOGUE
  45. GLOSSARY
  46. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  48. Newsletter Sign-up

Toward the end of the week, the team had graduated to blind and sighted duos paddling on tandem duckies through the small rapids, and then to blind kids paddling solo and following Harlan, and finally to two blind teens paddling together. They’d zigzag through the waves, getting “window shaded,” turned sideways, and dumped out of the boat, with Harlan always right there to tow them back to their duckies and help them back aboard.

I traded off with the kids as well, and one day after an exhilarating rapid, Harlan said, “You’re pretty good. You should learn how to paddle a hard-shell kayak, and someday, I’ll guide you down the whole canyon.”

I thought about the baby rapids I’d just come through in the ducky; they were plenty scary and difficult. We’d all been avoiding even the medium-size ones. The real monsters were all on the second half of the trip, which we were skipping. And, I had tried his kayak in flat water and had lasted less than a minute before tipping over. “Sure” was all I was able to offer weakly in reply.

On the last night, we sat in a circle and talked about the trip’s highs and lows. For one of the sighted kids, his highlight was learning to guide his blind partner down the trail. For others it was the thrill of the big rapids. For Chase, one of the blind kids, it was sprinting through Redwall Cavern, a huge beach the size of a couple of football fields, with nothing to trip over.

“What did that feel like?” another kid asked him.

“Well, it felt kind of like I was a bird let out of a cage,” Chase replied. “I love running full throttle. I’d never done it before. I have to admit, I don’t like falling down, which I do a lot.”

He paused for a few seconds and then continued, “I know it sounds stupid, but I think I’ve figured something out. I want to run more, but I think I’m going to fall a lot. Falling sucks, but that’s just part of it. I’ve got to get up and keep running. I guess what I mean is that you can’t run if you’re not willing to fall.”

The entire group, myself included, sat back speechless. I wasn’t sure if Chase’s revelation was foolish or one of the wisest things I’d ever heard. I tended to think the latter. What Chase said made me think about Harlan’s offer to kayak the entire length of the Grand Canyon. I wondered if it might be possible.

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