A summer 2021 story
My favorite politician of all time is President Theodore Roosevelt. Born during The Gilded Age to a wealthy New York family, President Roosevelt enjoyed roughing it out in the wild as much as he enjoyed the comforts that his wealth brought him. President Roosevelt had a fascination with the American West. Back when he spent time there, in the late 1800s, the west was very rough, wild and free.
Reading about his experiences out there, coupled with many movies I watched as a young kid also attracted me to explore the American West. Armed with my camping and climbing gear, I set out from Las Vegas in a rented Honda Civic to explore the vastness of these lands.
I started my trip in the southwestern corner of Utah, home of Zion National Park. Zion Canyon is a beautiful natural creation: One of the most unique natural landscapes I have ever seen.
For three days Rachelle and I hiked, climbed, and laughed in this magical corner of Utah.
After I parted ways with Rachelle, I headed east towards Bryce Canyon National Park. I had not heard of Bryce until this trip, and was surprised at how beautiful and otherworldly the landscape was.
One of my favorite parts of this journey was driving not knowing where I was going to sleep that night and attempting to find public land to camp for free. At Bryce, rather than paying $30 for a campsite inside the park, I found a camping spot 10 minutes away from the entrance where I could camp for free. I did this quite a few times during this trip.
After my time at Bryce, I headed south towards the most famous landmark of the region: The Grand Canyon.
Following a restful night in Kanab, Utah, I had an alpine start and drove towards the canyon. My first surprise was how forested the north rim of the canyon is. I always believed that the canyon was a desert, but the north side, being at high altitude, has a giant temperate forest. I arrived right at sunrise and started my trek down the North Kaibab trail.
My plan was to reach the Roaring Hot Springs and relax there for most of the day. However I reached the springs at 8:00 am and was feeling fantastic so I kept going.
Five hours after I began, I was standing on the bridge that crosses the Colorado river.
After a quick stop for lunch and a beer at Phantom Ranch (which Roosevelt visited in 1913), I started up the trail in the middle of the day. It was without a doubt, the hardest hike I have ever done. I ran out of water early on, and had to go through ‘The Oven’ in 40 degree weather with no shade. I found a creek to cool off and fill my water bottles, right as I was starting to hallucinate from dehydration. At sunset, I was standing back on the north rim of the canyon, 12 hours and 40 minutes after I began. It never crossed my mind that I was going to do a 50 kilometer hike to the Colorado river and back, but that is the beauty of travelling with few plans: Let serendipity take over sometimes!
I drove to the lodge and ate the best tasting hamburger on the planet. That night I was too tired and too cold to setup my tent, so I slept in the car. I woke up before sunrise and walked to Bright Angel Point to take in the grandness of the place.
That day I drove south to go spend the afternoon in Sedona, the southernmost place of my trip. Sedona is a beautiful and weird place that attracts a combination of very wealthy retirees and a large community of ‘new age-y’ folks. I have never seen so many crystal stores in one town.
After Sedona I headed to Flagstaff to spend two days recharging and hanging out with Justin and Reba, my very gracious hosts.
Flagstaff was one of the coolest towns I visited during my journey. A small college town that sits on the shadow of Humphreys Peak and split by the historic Route 66, it’s an outdoors person's paradise. I spent my time there scrambling local hills, eating fantastic vegan food, and catching up with Justin. I stayed an extra day so that I could hike up Mt. Humphreys and hopefully see The Grand Canyon from the summit. Sadly the wildfire smoke made it too hazy to see that far away.
After bagging the summit I headed north to spend the night on the shores of Lake Powell, near Page, Arizona. It was a great night sleeping on a beach and drinking beers and tequila with my new Mexican neighbors.
I’ve never had trouble meeting people. I attribute this to how nomadic my life has been. On this trip, that skillset I nurtured was very helpful. It was my Mexican neighbors who recommended I should try to go to Antelope Canyon, one of the world’s most beautiful and visited slot canyons. I managed to find a Kayak and paddled to the lower Antelope Canyon.
After eating the best fried chicken I’ve ever had at Bird House, I drove north and found a free camping spot with a spectacular view of Monument Valley, a place that many associate with the American West due to being used as a backdrop for many old western films.
After a cold desert night under the stars, I continued my journey north. I found an incredible gravel road that snakes through The Valley of the Gods, a beautiful valley dotted with giant sandstone towers. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best idea to do the road on a sedan, but the Civic survived unscathed.
I really liked cruising through this area of The Navajo Nation and Southern Utah, because I felt at times like I was driving through another planet. This landscape is one-of-a-kind on earth. At times I said to myself that I will be back to do many of these roads again, but on a motorcycle.
I made it to Moab, Utah late in the afternoon and decided to head to Arches National Park for sunset. Arches was the national park I visited that surprised me the most. Unlike places like Yosemite, The Grand Canyon, or Zion, I had never heard of Arches until this trip. I was in awe with the structures that water carved out millions of years ago.
Sunset at Arches was the most memorable sunset of my entire trip. I found a secluded spot on the park’s most popular Arch, and with Ashley and Brad, a wonderful couple I met for a couple of hours, we talked and laughed until the sun set behind the arch.
The next morning I woke up early to go climb a shaded wall near town. Climbing in Moab in the summer is tricky. It’s impossible to climb in the direct sun, so you have to wait until certain walls become shaded. It is also super easy to find people to climb with in Moab. Morgan and I spent a couple of hours hitting easy slabby sandstone routes before it got too hot to climb.
After a crepuscular nap, I headed to Canyonlands National Park, the other park that borders Moab. It was the smokiest day of my trip so far: I had been fading the smoke from the western fires up until this point. In the smoke I hiked alone to Grand View Point, and stayed to watch a very apocalyptic sunset.
Watching this sunset I felt an enormous sense of guilt. I know that I live an extremely privileged lifestyle that not everyone can live. Are people like me at fault for what is happening in the world regarding climate? To this day this questions sits in my head, without a clear answer.
My final day in Moab, August 8, 2021, will go down as one of my favorite days of my life, and definitely a top highlight of my trip. I woke up and met Brian at 4:00 am and we headed to Castle Valley.
We hiked up to the base of Castleton Tower and arrived just as the sun was coming up. We roped up and started our way up the Kor-Ingalls Route, one of the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. A 150 meter, 4 pitch 5.9 rated traditional climb, it was one of the funnest climbs I have done to this point. Despite it’s relatively easy rating, 5.9 off-width climbing is vastly different to what I was used to. I was feeling amazing physically and mentally, and powered through the climb following Brian in great style.
We finished the tower in 1 hour and 55 minutes. The feeling of euphoria standing 150 meters above the base, 600 meters off the ground, alone with Brian on that beautiful morning was priceless. It’s that feeling of happiness and comfort and freedom that you only feel when everything in your life is going perfect. It wasn’t the first time I felt this, nor it will be the last.
After a fun rappel down and a steep hike to the car, we went for burgers at Milt’s, an iconic burger shop in town. I got to meet some of Brian’s friends, all of which live the van life. It was interesting getting an insight into that lifestyle, something that has crossed my mind in the past.
That afternoon I drove to a crag and met Will and Harrison. We climbed until dark then went for pizza and drinks. It was a great ending to an amazing day.
The next morning I woke up rested, went to climb with Will and Harrison, then headed south towards Indian Creek and the southern portion of The Canyonlands.
As I drove East towards Colorado, the landscape began to change. It was the end of the desert portion of my journey. Time to hit the mountains.
