(gentle music) - [Narrator] It's called the
supreme spectacle, yet nothing prepares you for the
grandeur of the Grand Canyon. From exposed rock millions
of years in the making. - Bring on the river. - [Narrator] To the powerful
blast of a river unleashed. Over the next hour, we'll
travel from rim to rim to hike hidden canyons,
plunge into ancient pools, and giddy up and go to
get an insider's view of one of the
wonders of the world. (soaring music) Stretching as far as 18 miles
from rim to rim, the Grand Canyon spreads across the
northwest corner of Arizona. Each year, millions of visitors
from all over the world come to view the stair step
labyrinth of monoliths, where the ever changing
patterns of color and light are an inspiration. Many experienced canyoneers
get their bearings from the multitude of rocky
peaks, called temples. Some have exotic names, like
Osiris, Buddha, and Zoroaster, after Eastern deities
and religions. - Well, there's over 100
named peaks and temples and buttes here, any one of
which, in my humble opinion, you could pluck
out of the canyon, set down in the middle
of Kansas, and you'd have a national monument
in its own right. - [Narrator] Described as
a gigantic Venus flytrap, this vertical park with a
one-mile drop to the bottom draws people in. The minute you step off
the rim, it's a rugged environment, where
distances are deceptive. - People tend to
underestimate the canyon, and how far things really are. For instance, behind me
here is Plateau Point. It is six miles one way from
the beginning of the trail, and most people, if you ask
them on the top, think it's about a mile and a half to
two miles down the trail. - [Narrator] For those who
want to explore the extreme back country with
people in the know. - [Tour Guide]
Watch your footing, 'cause it's kind of
a little bit loose. - [Narrator] The Grand
Canyon Field Institute has been working with
the park since the 1990s. Multi-day guided hikes
allow time to delve deeper. - Every one of these
is probably a fossil, it's just that one still
has the pattern in it. - [Narrator] Then,
it's off to places where there's a whole
new perspective. (soaring music) While the spectacular view
draws the eye outward, you might not be aware of a
parallel world of wildlife. The bobcat, named for
its short bobbed tail, blends into the red rock. For over 100 years, getting
to the top and bottom of it has meant hopping
aboard another local. These long-eared taxis have
been used for hauling supplies and human cargo since the 1890s. This is one of a few places
where you'll find working mules. A cross between a
donkey and a horse, the unique breeding makes
them ideal for the job, and they bring their
own personalities to it. - A lot of mules will be
real sweet and gentle, and you'll come across
some other mules that might be a
little more ornery. We have ambitious mules here,
we have lazy mules here. They're a lot different,
just like my crew. - [Narrator] The South
Rim blacksmith shop and mule barn date back to 1906. Saddles here are still
made the old-fashioned way. - We do all our sewing by hand. It holds up better. It's the same kind of saddle
that was used 100 years ago. - [Narrator] And
shoes are required. No mule is allowed to go
into the canyon without them. A blacksmith keeps them
shod, a traditional task he claims doesn't hurt. - The mule's hoof's made
out of the same thing your fingernail's made out of. The only thing you can really
screw up and affect them is if you don't
level the foot right. They'll get cracks
in their foot, they're more likely to stumble. - [Narrator] Once
they're shod and saddled, they're good to go,
but before they take on a paying customer, all
mules go to school. Wranglers ride them
up to three years to make sure they
adapt to people and
death-defying heights. - You can think of me
as your drill sergeant. - [Narrator] Every morning,
riders get a briefing that spells out what to expect. - You're gonna
get uncomfortable, you're gonna get hot and
sweaty and achy and sore, and smell like a mule smells. - [Narrator] It may not
seem like several hours in the saddle can be a workout, but unless you're seasoned, a
mule trip is hard on the body. - So I am sure that
you folks understand, I want you to tell me,
"There is nothing easy "about the Grand
Canyon mule ride." - There is nothing easy about
the Grand Canyon mule ride. - Very good, memorize that. (laughing) - Sir, your mule will be
Shelby, that really dark colored mule that
General Wade had. - [Leader] Okay, keep
that three foot gap, folks, nose to tail. - [Narrator] Once mules
get matched up with riders, it's time to hit the
Bright Angel Trail. Following an ancient
Indian route, it makes a 4,500-foot
vertical drop. Numerous switchbacks
zigzag to the bottom. While it seems like these
mules take to the edge, truth be told, they're
just trying to avoid rubbing up against
the rocky walls. At the bottom of the canyon,
the Kaibab Suspension Bridge keeps everyone
high and dry above the rush of the Colorado River. The bridge, and a connecting
tunnel, were built in the 1920s, but the
workers miscalculated, and the two sides of the tunnel
didn't meet up quite right, making the entrance
completely dark. Mules and people
have to adapt to it. At the end of the
trail, tucked away amid the cottonwood trees,
those who book ahead can look forward to a
stay at Phantom Ranch. - This area of Phantom Ranch
that we're in hasn't changed since 1930, and it is like
stepping back in time. - [Narrator] Named after a
creek, the rustic retreat, made of native wood
and uncut river rocks, is part of an idyllic setting. Accommodations are spartan,
and meals are served up family style, yet a stay at
Phantom goes way beyond comfort. - A lot of people come here
for a variety of reasons. Some people come here for
the physical challenge, some people come here
just to get away from the hustle and
bustle of the cities. Other people come here to,
you know, celebrate life. I mean, we've seen it all. We've seen people
get engaged here. It's truly an
amazing little place that you don't really know
what you're gonna find until you come here, and
a lot of people walk away very different people after
they have visited Phantom. - [Narrator] This
oasis at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is
truly a special spot. (soaring music) It's called America's
most scenic treasure. While you may think of
Grand Canyon National Park as one major canyon, at
over 1.2 million acres, there's much more
than meets the eye. - Grand Canyon as we know
it, is huge, and so really, yeah, there's this little
tiny ribbon of corridor, inner gorge corridor, that
we would say is the Colorado River, and then there's this
massive area outside of it. - [Narrator] The canyon
and its complex maze of interconnecting side canyons
tell the story of the earth. - One story is the
actual development of all these sediments
that we see here. Whether you're in the
inner gorge where there's, there's all these granite
and metamorphic rocks, which are really the
roots to mountain ranges that were huge and now
have been eroded off, so the development of all
these layers that we see here is one story, then the second
story is the very young one. The second story is,
well, there happens to be a river cutting
over this material, and it's helping to
erode it all away. - [Narrator] The Colorado River
began carving out the canyon a mere five to six
million years ago, making it a relative
newcomer in geological time. Fueled by snow
melt and rainfall, and propelled by gravity,
many bodies of water converge to make the
Colorado River mighty. Treacherous rapids, and a
long history of adventurers, make running the Grand
Canyon a trip of a lifetime. - The Colorado was
always something that I really,
really wanted to do. It was kind of like
the epic journey. - [Narrator] There are many ways to tackle this epic journey. - I'm gonna take on
the river in a kayak. You can roll it, if
you get knocked over, you can come right
back up, and so I'm really looking forward
to it, 'cause I get to play. - [Narrator] You can
opt to run the river in a wooden hard-hulled
boat called a dory. - These things are meant to just basically
touch water and air. When these boats go
up on the big water down in the Grand
Canyon, the waves can be anywhere from four
to 25 feet tall, so it's a more visceral ride. - [Narrator] Visceral
rides are what it's about, no matter what type
of boat you're on. The Lee's Ferry Launch
at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon is
where it all begins. Getting ready for the river
takes both brains and brawn. Pre-planning means deciding
the best gear for the job. - And this is Patty's frame. - [Narrator] And stocking up. - This is my home for the
next 18 days, 19 days. I'm excited. (laughs) - [Narrator] The
camaraderie is catching. More than 22,000 people raft
the Colorado River each year, all regulated by the
National Park Service. - [Leader] Take brown bags
first, and it doesn't matter which boat the
brown bag goes on. - [Narrator] Grand
Canyon Expeditions has been a regular on the
river for over four decades. - Your ammo can you're
gonna wanna put on the boat that you ride on. - [Narrator] Their
most popular trip is on an inflatable rig called a
baloney boat, for its shape. - [Leader] Everybody go
ahead and grab a jacket. - Can you loosen me up
a little bit more there? - Okay, remember my first rule. Don't fall off the boat. - See you in a couple days. - [Narrator] With
everyone onboard, it's time to bring on the river. - Bon voyage. - What we're at is the
top of the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River
here has come already some thousand miles from up
high in the Rocky Mountains, it's just crossed the
Utah/Arizona border, and now it's gonna start
plunging into the Grand Canyon. What we're seeing here
is the first riffle. It's the first rapid, and for
tourists, this is wonderful. For river boat people, it's
kind of the first place you start to get
wet, but it's really nothing compared to
what we all will see as we go further
into the canyon. - [Narrator] From the water,
the great gorge narrows. As it draws you in
deeper, life becomes day after day after
day of Grand Canyon. But the early explorers didn't
come here for recreation. The legendary one-armed Civil
War veteran John Wesley Powell led the first
expedition in 1869. - He was doing his
mapping and a surveying of the Grand Canyon
at that time. Prior to that, the whole area
was a blank spot on the map, with only conjecture as
to where the river flowed. - [Narrator] 1938 was the year of the first commercial trips. Back then, mostly men
tested their mettle, but it was a maverick boat woman who popularized
commercial river running. Georgie White Clark
was the first woman to ever row the
rapids, but she made an even bigger splash
with her innovative design for a new kind of craft, one
made of army surplus rafts. - Georgie took three
of those long donuts, and lashed them
together, and that way, she could carry a lot of people, and so the trips
were really cheap. And Georgie was
quite a character, she owned her own company,
she ran her own boats. - [Narrator] Clark called her motorized pontoon rafts G-rigs. What you see today is a
variation of Georgie's design. The river drops nearly
2,000 feet in elevation as it moves through
the Grand Canyon, a plummet that
accelerates the current. - So what we're seeing
here is a typical scenario. You notice how we have
some boiling areas. There's white water,
and you can see that there's kind of a curl to it. If you have a huge
curl, that means there's a huge
boulder under there. The water's going over
that, and curling back. On a small raft, you
wanna avoid those things, because they can actually
suck you down in, they can spin you around. You'll see down the
middle, there's a ridge. That's called the tongue. The water's funneling down in, and it's roaring down the high
energy part of this rapid. That can be an area
of a lot of fun, and an area that's
entirely frightening. And that's where you
get the biggest waves. - [Narrator] With waves and
holes that can suck you in, both men and women
learn to respect the rapids, and
to read the river. - The rocks are placed in,
you know, very bad places, in some cases, and you
have to do difficult moves to get around the rocks,
and people may not even realize what you're doing. Half the time, I'd
say they don't realize that you're back there,
you know, sweating bullets. - [Narrator] But it's not
all about white water. There's plenty of time
to explore side canyons that are sculpted to perfection. Or, to take a plunge
into an ancient pool. As dusk approaches, camp's
set up along the inner gorge. Camouflaged against a rock, a
rattler moves out of the way, and a beaver on a mission makes
the most of the last light, as the canyon
dissolves into night. Days on the river begin
at dawn, to beat the heat. Boat men multitasking as cooks make sure everyone fuels up. - Hot coffee. - Indeed. - Mmm, cowboy coffee. - [Narrator] Along the
277-mile course through the Grand Canyon, there
are dozens of named rapids. - [Bill] Connor, what's up? - [Connor] Bill. - [Bill] How you doing, buddy? - [Narrator] No matter
what craft you're on, everyone shares a common goal: to go for the biggest thrill
without flipping the boat. - Hey. - [Narrator] Underlying the
fun is a sense of anticipation. As the boat drifts, it's
the calm before the storm. - I'll build a boat
that will ever float, for I dream this in my dream. - [Narrator] A poem sets up an
impending rush of adrenaline. - For he said, "It's
destined I try my boat, "on the rapids down below." - [Narrator] With a
13-foot drop in elevation, Lava Falls' powerful
hydraulics has earned it a reputation of being
the most daunting. - It's big, powerful
waves in this rapid, and the lower waves are
kicking real good today. They're gonna, if
we hit those square, the people on the front are
gonna get knocked backwards. Yeah, they should be wet. - [Tourist] Anybody
want a shot of vodka? - Bring on the river, boys
and girls, bring on the river. - [Narrator] Lava Falls
does not disappoint. There's only an instant to
contemplate what's coming. As the river commands attention, the moment is all that matters. In an expanse of
endless wonders, two thirds of Grand
Canyon National Park lies north of the
Colorado River. Along the North Rim, the
elevation reaches 8,800 feet, with views all the way
to the Painted Desert. Sunrise at Cape Royal
reveals a 60-foot opening aptly named Angel's Window. With a higher
elevation and more rain and snow, it's lush and green. - This is more of a place to
slow down and take it easy. You know, relax,
and see the views, and feel what's in your heart. - [Narrator] Only 10%
of the park's visitors make it to the North Rim,
but for those that do, there's a sense of being the
first person to ever see it. For accommodations, there's
only one on the rim. The Grand Canyon Lodge
was originally built by the Union Pacific
Railroad in 1928. The architect, Gilbert Stanley
Underwood, had a vision. - He wanted to
accomplish something that looked like it fit into
the natural environment here. You see it rising
out of the rock. He would use the local
kaibab limestone, use some of the
lumber from the area, the Douglas fir,
the Ponderosa pine, and built it just rising right
out of the natural scenery. - [Narrator] Designed as a
destination resort, there's a veranda with a front row
seat to the main attraction. Once inside, visitors enter a lofty lobby with
a timbered ceiling. - [Receptionist] Yes
sir, may I help you? - [Narrator] One of
the first questions they ask is,
"Where's the canyon?" - And that's the way that
the architect designed it. You don't get to see
it until you descend down the steps into the sunroom, and then you have
these beautiful windows that just open up, and
it's an awesome view. - [Narrator] Off to
the side, a bronze, life-sized statue of
Brighty honors a beloved burro that once
roamed the trails. Canyon tradition
calls for visitors to rub Brighty's
nose for good luck. The lodge draws upon its Wild
Western roots with a saloon dedicated to rough riding
president Teddy Roosevelt. In the main dining
room, you can eat with the majesty of the
canyon at your table. Lodging here comes in
the form of log cabins nestled amid pine trees,
where it's all about the view. From an overlook along the rim, you can get close to the canyon, but to get to know it, you
need to get down in it. Of the trails that
crisscross the canyon, the over 21-mile
Kaibab Trail is popular for multi-day treks between
the north and South Rims. - Well, having experienced
it as a younger man, the sort of wilderness
experience and the
fantastic scenery, I would really wanna share
that with my children, so my son is old
enough to do it now, so he's gonna be the
first one to do it. We're going from this
side because we've got the higher altitude this
side, this is the North Rim, so we're going down this side, and then you've
got the long trek to the Colorado River, down
the canyon, and then up the steep south side, so
you see the whole thing. - [Narrator] Beyond the beauty, nothing is easy about
an elevation loss of over 5,700 feet
from the North Rim, or a grinding climb of over
4,700 feet to the South Rim. - It's something that has
to be seen and experienced, and felt, and huffed and
puffed, and I'm pooped. - [Narrator] If you have
strong legs, stamina, and experience, one
way to see the canyon is a feat of endurance
known as a rim to rim run. Alpine runner Maureen
Meyer is well aware of the challenges
of an extreme sport. - The canyon is not forgiving, so starting off in the
pine trees, in the cold, going down through
multiple layers of rock, preparation is
certainly necessary to make it safely
across the canyon. - [Narrator] For her, the payoff goes beyond the
physical challenge. - I totally enjoy getting
down and dirty on the trails, and finding the little
oasises that are so beautiful in their own right. This is cheap therapy. - [Narrator] No matter what
pace, or trail you take, the number one rule is
to respect the canyon. - How are you guys today? - Fantastic. - Good, how far down the trail
were you planning on going? Or do you know? - Oh, I don't know,
just whenever I get
tired enough that... - Okay. - [Narrator] Bonnie
Taylor is a preventative search and rescue
ranger whose job is to keep people from
getting in too deep. - Hiking until you get tired, can you tell me what might
be wrong with that statement? - I can't hike back out. - Exactly. We actually talk with
people, and kind of get a feel for where
they're planning on hiking. How far down the trail are
you planning on going today? And see what their itinerary is. If we feel that their
itinerary might be a little bit too much for
whether the time of day or what they have
carried with them. How much water do you
guys have with you today? - We're not going very far. - That, okay... We try to tell them the
possibilities of what may happen if they continue on that route. Do please be careful with the
flip flops, when you come... - Yeah, we didn't plan on,
we were going on the bus, and we thought, "Oh,
there's a trail." - Yeah, exactly. Well, thank you
very much, you guys. Enjoy the rest of your hike. - Thank you.
- We will. - We actually like
to tell people that Grand Canyon is an inverted
mountain, and most people, when they go for a hike,
go up first, and then down. Well, here, you go down
first, and then up. That's where they look up
and say, "I can't do this." They can, just one foot
in front of the other. - [Dispatcher] One,
is Medic One staffed? - Affirmative. - Despite the rangers'
work to decrease the number of
incidents, they respond to more than 400
emergencies a year. - [Radio Voice] Yeah,
they've all checked the Kaibab Trail head too. - [Narrator] At the search
and rescue headquarters on the South Rim, rangers
keep an eye on the canyon. - That was our last
run at Cottonwood, and now you can see
them heading up towards the beginning of the
Colorado River there. - For emergency services,
we've got Ken Philips... - [Narrator]
Specialized vehicles are kept stocked and ready to roll. - It's a self contained
unit that would include various equipment:
carabiners, harnesses. - [Narrator] Crews stand by
to fly at a moment's notice. - All right, this
is a river party. 40-year-old female,
weighs about 140 pounds. - [Narrator] During
the peak summer season, there can be several
emergencies a day. - And they're pretty jacked up, so might have to tone them
down just a little bit. - [Narrator] As things heat
up, everyone keeps their cool. - I think right now with
things starting to brew up, I've got a few things
happening in the canyon, so I'm getting a little nervous
about depleting our resources. - [Dispatcher] Out of the bay? - We're out. - [Narrator] When one
emergency team comes in, another heads out. - People hike down the trails
as if it's an amusement park. That is a dangerous
place down there, and if you're not
prepared for it, you could find
yourself in trouble. - [Narrator] At
the end of the day, rescue rangers say that
the job has its rewards. - It's a great feeling,
after a difficult rescue that we put a lot of time
and energy and effort into, and we actually save that
person, that's great. They can go deal
with the hospital, and we can go clean up and
get ready for the next one. (soaring music) - [Narrator] In the vast
geological wonderland of the Grand Canyon,
time seems meaningless. Amid the grandeur, the
California condor soars. While most come to
revel in the views, hundreds of ancient sites
are reminders that the canyon has been a home to people
for thousands of years. - In this mud here, you
can see fingerprints where someone's
patted that mud in. And those are 1,100
to 900 years old. - [Narrator] The
ancient ones weren't the only ones to
seek out the view. The South Rim has been the
tourist hub for the majority of visitors since the
turn of the 20th century. The Grand Canyon Village,
preserved by the park, tells of a more recent
history, a history that opened the Grand Canyon to
tourism on a grand scale, when the Santa Fe Railroad built a spur line to the
South Rim in 1901. Vintage steam and
diesel locomotives recreate this
historic run daily. When the train pulls
into the old depot, the sign says "Grand
Canyon," and you've arrived. Visitors make the
short walk to the rim to gaze upon the great abyss. Most pass by the El Tovar Hotel. This luxury rock and log lodge is one of the most celebrated
of all national park lodges. Named for the 16th-century
Spanish explorer Pedro de Tovar, it was
built by the railroad. - Has sort of a
Swiss chalet look, which looks a little out of
place to some in this area, but I think the people that
were vacationing at the time, wealthy Americans, were
used to going to Europe, and that's the kind of thing
they expected at the end of the line, so I think
that may have played a part. - [Narrator] El
Tovar's cozy lobby, dubbed the Rendezvous Room,
looks like an old hunting lodge, with a corner fireplace,
and trophy heads. Booking a room here takes
advance planning, but you don't have to be a registered
guest to enjoy El Tovar. One of its biggest
attractions isn't inside, it's outside on the porches
and side veranda, where you can kick back just like people
have done for over a century. Many of the canyon's early
visitors had their trips preserved on film, thanks to
the work of two enterprising shutter bugs from Pennsylvania:
Ellsworth and Emery Kolb. The Kolb brothers
lived and worked at the head of
Bright Angel Trail. From a small window
in their studio, they once photographed
mule riders that included Teddy Roosevelt,
the president who preserved the Grand Canyon as a
national monument in 1908. The Kolb brothers were
also canyon explorers. They were the first to
ride the Colorado River with a movie camera, in
the winter of 1911 to 1912. It was a rough trip. The brothers braved
swift currents, storms, and frigid temperatures. The hardship paid off. The film was a hit. It played inside their South
Rim studio for over 60 years. Today, their studio is
a bookstore and gallery. The National Park
Service maintains
their private quarters. Tours require
advance reservations. Emery Kolb lived here until
his death at the age of 95, where he enjoyed his
own private view. To compete with the Kolb
Studio for tourist dollars, the Lookout Studio is one of
several historic buildings built by the Santa Fe Railroad to make this a
grand destination. Beginning in 1905, architect
Mary Colter left her mark with structures that tell
of the canyon's past. West of Grand Canyon Village,
Hermit's Rest is a highlight. - If you look across
Hermit Canyon, you look farther down at the
river, there is Hermit Rapid. You have Hermit Canyon, you
have Hermit Gorge below us. This whole area was
named after a man they considered to be
a hermit, Louis Bucher. - [Narrator] Nestled into
the side of the canyon, Hermit's Rest was made to
look like Bucher's refuge. The Grand Canyon has been a home to Native Americans
for centuries. Built on the highest
point of the South Rim, the Desert View Watchtower
is Mary Colter's masterpiece. Designed after an
ancestral Puebloan ruin, she even recreated
a ruin alongside it. - She labored to
integrate her structures with the surroundings,
and in particular, the living rock, using
available materials. In fact, in a few
of her structures, Desert View Watchtower
in particular, she's actually used rock art
panels as building material. - [Narrator] Inside,
walls are decorated with Native American
symbols and pottery. A winding staircase leads
up to an observation area. From here, the majestic panorama
is a feast for the eyes. It may surprise you to
learn that the Grand Canyon isn't all national park lands. Along the park's
borders, Native Americans are the caretakers
of the country. For them, the Colorado
River is a lifeline. Deer Creek, and several spots
along it, are sacred sites. - It is considered sacred
because of the source of the spring, the
purity of the springs. If you really studied
the archeology, you know, it goes back thousands
of years, and to envision a people living there,
and it's a paradise. - [Narrator] Another paradise
along the southern boundary of the park is the
land of the Havasupai. Where there are no paved roads, a flight over magnificent
red rock back country is the easiest and most
scenic way to get there. Deep within Havasu
Canyon, the village of Supai operates a heliport. It's here the Havasupai have
made their home for centuries. Filled with lush vegetation
and towering trees, the pace is slow and easy. For a place to stay, there's a rustic lodge and a campground. Havasupai means "the people
of the blue-green waters." From the village,
it's a moderate hike to a back country Shangri-La. - Coming down here for the
first time is definitely a shocker to most people,
because you have the waterfalls, you have the red rock,
you have the blue water, you have the green
around, it looks like a Hawaii slash Caribbean
island slash Grand Canyon, and you just don't know
what to think at first. - [Narrator] The
first of the falls seems like it has
to be the best. At Navajo Falls, water
cascades over gentle tiers, and it's just the beginning. A trail winds down to
the most famous flow. Havasu Falls drops 120 feet
into a deep, crystalline pool. The striking color comes
from the rock itself. Light reacting with the
dissolved limestone in the water turns it an incredible
shade of turquoise. In a place where the
surroundings are superlative, yet another waterfall
is on par with the rest. At the majestic Mooney Falls, roaring water drops
almost 200 feet. At this heaven on
earth, you can swing, or kick back on the rocks. - Most people who
come here are hikers, and adventurers,
and outdoors people. - [Narrator] For
the adventurous, a treacherous trail
winds its way up for those who have
to test the waters. - Lock the carabiners, make
sure we're all good to go. Woo-hoo. - [Narrator] Although not
permitted inside the park, a harrowing rappel at
Mooney Falls requires special permission from the
Havasupai, and the proper gear. - Have a good ride. - [Tourist] Going down, you
have more time to absorb the moment, really view
the waterfall for itself. We set up an anchor system,
and go down with a double rope, 11 millimeter, and it's just,
it's absolutely incredible. - [Narrator] Wherever
you take in the waters, from high up, or down
low, at Havasu Canyon, there's seemingly
no end to this Eden. The blue-green
waters make their way to more tranquil lower cascades. Eventually, everything flows
into the Colorado River. The mighty Colorado
River runs a distance of 1,400 miles to the
Gulf of California. Along its course,
the 277-mile meander through the Grand Canyon
is a wonder of the world. Yet, it was almost
changed forever. - The Bureau of
Reclamation had plans for dams in Grand
Canyon, at least two. One downstream from
here about 40 miles, the Marble Canyon Dam, and
one down around Bridge Canyon, down the lower end of
western Grand Canyon. - [Narrator] It was all
part of a grand plan to develop the West for water,
and hydroelectric power. At first, the
influential Sierra Club was willing not to oppose
the dams, for a compromise. - The Sierra Club said,
"Well, we'll let you put dams "in the Grand Canyon, as
long as we have elevators "that can get to the
bottom, so that people "can go down there, see
the river, and fish." - [Narrator] The fates
intervened when one
man took a stand. As one of the pioneer
river runners, Martin Litton saw firsthand
the beauty of this wilderness. When the Sierra Club
was willing to settle for a compromise, he
saw things differently. - There was a lot
of ignorance about the Grand Canyon,
and about its value. The wilderness, everything
natural in this world, is being depleted,
and if you give up on any part of it,
it's gone forever. - [Narrator] Saving
this supreme site came down to one critical Sierra
Club board meeting in 1963. - Martin Litton stood up
and made an impassioned plea for Sierra Club support
in opposition to the dam. David Brower, as
executive director, was then able to push
ahead with a commitment opposing the dams
in Grand Canyon. - [Narrator] The
Sierra Club launched a major fight for
the Grand Canyon. - It took an awful lot of
fight from a lot of different groups to keep them from
building Marble Canyon Dam. It was one of the
seminal moments in the Sierra Club's history. - [Narrator] Congress voted down both proposed dams
in the 1960s and 70s. The Grand Canyon was saved. But the victory was bittersweet. With the completion
of Glen Canyon Dam upstream in 1963, the Colorado
River was radically tamed. It once moved massive
amounts of soil and sand, mostly red in color, which
was why the Spanish called it the Rio Colorado,
meaning "reddish river." - Where you previously
had a very sediment laden, highly variable desert
river, it's essentially turned into almost
like a mountain stream, where it's very, very
cold, clear water. A lot of that
sediment was key to making sure that the
system functioned. - [Narrator] In a
novel experiment, scientists periodically
open the generators and bypass tubes
of Glen Canyon Dam. - What we try to do with
the controlled floods is to try to re-establish some
of the processes that were in place prior to the
dam, and also try to re-establish some
of the sediment load and rebuild beaches and some
of the near shore habitats. - [Narrator] It's hoped
the experimental flows will lessen the impact of
the dam on the Grand Canyon. Altering this landscape
would have been unthinkable to President
Teddy Roosevelt, who once declared it "a sight
every American should see." It is a grand canyon, from
beginning, to middle, to end. Laying eyes on it for the
first time can be intense. - I just started laughing. But yeah, some people cry. It catches some people
in such an extreme way that they've documented
six fatalities of people when they came up,
and took their first look at the canyon, actually
got that visual shock, that touch of vertigo,
lost their balance, fell over, and were killed,
so it's a killer view. - [Narrator] Locating
the best view, killer or otherwise, is often
a matter of personal choice. The sheer beauty and scale can make it a journey of discovery. - [Tourist] I enjoy
it for the changes. - It's almost like
art comes to life. - Once in a lifetime, do it. You gotta do it. - It's just phenomenal. It's so huge, we're not gonna
fully ever understand it, which is kind of nice. - [Narrator] To get to
know the Grand Canyon even a little, you
need to hike it, ride in and out of it, make the great river run
through the heart of it, explore its remote back country
and hidden side canyons, take time to revel in
the blue-green waters, plunge into paradise, or simply stand in awe of it. (soaring music) (upbeat music)
