Nik Gets Ready for Grand Canyon Walk

Nik at the Grand Canyon.

Famed aerialist and showman Nik Wallenda, who focused the world’s attention on Niagara Falls last summer (June 15) with his walk across the mighty cataract on a tightrope before a television audience estimated at 13 million, will again have the world watching come Sunday (June 23) when he will attempt to walk across the Grand Canyon.

Wallenda, a charming and generous performer who won legions of admirers during his stay in Niagara Falls before his enormously successful and historic tightrope walk, will have an even bigger challenge on Sunday when he attempts to walk the quarter mile across the Grand Canyon on a steel cable without a harness.

Against his wishes, Wallenda wore a harness when he walked across Niagara Falls at ABC’s insistence. But there will be no harness on Sunday when he steps out on the cable on live TV (Discovery Channel) at 8 p.m.

Like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon walk is something that Wallenda has dreamed of doing for many years. He admitted during his training in his hometown of Sarasota that with a 1,500 foot drop below him, the Canyon walk will be “extremely mentally draining.”

We here at the Reporter wish him a safe crossing on Sunday and thank him for the wonderful memories that he gave us with his historic daredevil walk across Niagara Falls and his charm and grace through it all. Good luck, Nik, and we hope to see you again soon in the place where you made one of your dreams come true and gave us something as well. Let’s hope you do it again on Sunday.