Climbing: Desert and Canyon Serenity

It's hard to imagine a more beautiful setting for our climbing section. The smooth water polished granite of the canyon, the cold, clear water flowing directly from the heights of the Sierra San Pedro range, and the spectacular sonoran desert.

Our base camp was 25-30 minutes down the canyon.  From our vantage point, we had an amazing view of the dry lake bed and the Sierra San Felipe range.

   

Since we were base camping, we had the luxury of getting up a little later than we did while we were hiking. However, the sunrises were so gorgeous that it was worth waking up early to see them.   They provided the perfect setting for the morning yoga or meditation exercises that some people did to warm up before climbing.

For the first time during the trip, we were treated to clouds...
      

At first, we worried that we were in store for rain, but they just provided much appreciated shade from the broiling mid-day sun.

When it got too hot, we took a break and submerged ourselves in the breathtakingly cold water flowing down the canyon.  After all those weeks in the high desert, it felt decadent to have so much water nearby. Even though we couldn't use soap in the water, no one complained. It was also great to finally be able to wash our clothes. And actually have them dry by the time we were going back to camp.

 

The stream provided water for a variety of animals.  Hordes of mice visited our kitchens looking for scraps of food, tarantulas wandered gracefully through our campsites, and birds floated overhead.  In the evenings, we could hear the sounds of larger animals moving down to the water. 

A few nights, the eerie sounds of cows in the midst of their death throes echoed through the canyon. The agonized wailing was enough to keep us awake all night long. At first, we thought the coyotes were being successful in their hunting.  But when it went on night after night, we figured it was something less terminal.

The canyon had a powerful, yet peaceful quality that was appreciated by everyone. It was easy to get a bit slack base camping, but we tried to leave the canyon as beautiful as we found it

After so many years and so many courses, it is a tribute to NOLS and its students that the canyon is still so pristine. What better inspiration for practicing LNT?
   

For more on climbing, choose a segment below.

Sheer Perseverance

Halloween Happiness