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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

Through the rapids, his paddling technique and balance actually surpassed mine. I’d emerge from the bottom breathing hard and frazzled, while Arjun rode the waves with a ballet dancer’s grace and came out smiling.

“Dad,” he said, “that wasn’t so hard.”

The day proceeded with splash fights and chases, purposely trying to flip each other. Steven finally got Arjun with a classic river joke: “Hey, I think you have a rip in your dry top.” Steven pointed to Arjun’s armpit area, and when Arjun lifted his arm to check, Steven pushed his elbow, sending him over. Arjun came up sputtering, and he was officially initiated. Although he was utterly exhausted by the end, he paddled all fifteen miles. At the end of the day, we sat relaxing together at the edge of the river, and I thought it was the moment to break away from the “bro” atmosphere.

“AJ,” I said, “you know I’m off in about a week. I want you to be a good boy while I’m away.”

Arjun sat still, not that comfortable with direct statements or overt emotion, but nevertheless, I put my arm around him and rubbed his back. Recently, we had produced a bunch of No Barriers flags, and we told people to bring them out and hold them high at significant moments. I thought this qualified, so I pulled one from the zipper pocket of my dry top and handed it to Arjun. “I want you to have this,” I said. “You deserve it.”

“Why you crying, Dad?” Arjun asked.

“They’re not tears,” I said, wiping them away with the back of my hand. “My face is just wet from river water.”

“If you say so,” he replied.

“I want you to know I’m proud of you, and I think you’re very brave,” I told Arjun. Then I tousled his hair, gave him a tight hug, and got up quickly before more tears could flow.

23

It seemed almost unreal, like a dream I’d wake up from as soon as I entered the bracingly cold water of the Colorado River. But on September 7, 2014—eight years after first descending the canyon with Harlan Taney, and four years after committing to this adventure while standing atop a mountain with Kyle Maynard—we were finally here at Lees Ferry, our put-in on the Grand Canyon.