John Whitfield, his guide Leah and Paddington Bear have returned safely from their fundraising expedition to the Grand Canyon.

John described the trip as “not for the faint-hearted!”

He stated “Approximately 50 miles were covered in all manner of terrains.  Descent/Ascent into/out of  the Canyon was a steep and precipitous trek of 2 miles and taking around 2 hours, then both ways had to maintain a brisk pace to cover a further 8 miles in order to get into camp and set up tents etc, or the other way back to leave in the dark and get to the top of the canyon in around 5 hours (10 miles).

The other 2 days in camp involved some extremely challenging hikes, one of which involved walking through tunnels and descending/ascending steep slippery cliff sides using ladders and chains! Great for overcoming fear of heights and claustrophobia in one fell swoop!  It was worth the effort, the waterfalls and the river were amazing.  Everywhere you looked was ever changing and the rock formations were simply breath-taking.”

Thank you to everyone who donated so far. John’s JustGiving Page is http://www.justgiving.com/John-Whitfield1