Romping around: Klondike Bluffs and Marching Men
Isabelle Wellman
The glorious Moab sunrises enchanted us a little more with each day that passed. It was like we had been casted into a delightful daydream of no return- and starting to feel out a morning routine was like strawberries added inside of a mouth watering pancake. Our racing minds eagerly woke us before our buzzing alarms ever did, leading us to be fully energized after some much needed stretching. Slowly adjusting to our daily morning tasks, Seth and I agreed upon a satisfying breakfast full of protein and caffeine, where we’d happily chat amongst the others of the day’s agenda.
As 8 o’clock rolled around, a flexible plan had been set, and everyone got to buzzing like bees to ensure an early departure from the campsite would be achieved. Between everyone promptly tying up hiking boots, double checking camelbaks, assuring plenty of snacks had been packed, lathering up with sunscreen, and getting the array of pups prepared, we swiftly took off.
Conversations quickly uproared as our bodies gained a synchronizing rhythm, drowning ourselves in an amazing sense of compassion as we traveled by foot into the teasing desert lands. For this hike, we had a hearty crew of 16 people and 4 dogs.
As our ambitious footprints carried us forward, there was a compelling togetherness that sweetly settled as one looked back at our unique crew. Spread out over the giant, looming rocks like energetic ants, we deemed Marching Men our personal playground for the day. Often enough, I think about these significant moments, and imagine how it must have felt for the first soul who’d stumbled upon the same, enormous canyons. Did they find themselves fooled with uncertainty, questioning their every forbidden step as they approached the monstrous views? Or was it a newfound happiness, a start of a new sport, a new addiction? I’d like to believe it was an overwhelming experience for the settlers unknowing eyes- unleashing a prurient barrel of curiosity within them. I see those early years of discovery as to what helped create the irresistible rumble of freedom that is felt by the country today. A single rumble that secured a place in this country’s heart, demanding we do our best to preserve these magical places we are privileged to call National Parks. That sense of freedom was a shake to the world; a bewildering eye opener to those who were finally able to witness an almost untraceable beauty, for their time. Our breathtaking land was a fountain of treasure; where an artist’s representation of the newly captured land, became a tangible piece of colorful history in the making. I’m forever incredibly appreciative for the numerous victories that history has daringly accomplished, and as I proudly watched our crew openly challenge themselves throughout this maze of mystery, I brightly beam.
Scattering here, pulling up there, respectfully following our bodies instinct to push beyond our comfort zones, the sunset orange and red slickrock brought us to a delightful lunch spot hungrily posted up in a shady, rippled rock half dome a good four miles deep into our hike. With water starting to run dry in our camelbaks and exhaustion creeping upon our muscles, we’d admire Mother Nature’s empowering views, and mosey back to our welcoming campground.
Our mesmerizing hike back down and around these enormous, naturally sculpted knights of rock formations was soley impeccable. What I imagined a group hike to consist of, well, this hike nailed it. As we approached a different angle of getting back over these rock beasts, we realized one issue- we weren’t all suitable for getting back up and onto these creatures ourselves; that’s when Drew, my incredibly athletic friend, got to leading.
A little background on Drew- he is the almighty climber, skier, snowboarder, inline skater, slack liner- a whole extreme sport expert in a nutshell. He’s a person who’s naturally able to achieve, and fear isn’t exactly a feeling that crosses his mind. I think ever. With that said, it was Drew and a few others who’d gone to scope out a moderately intense route for us to get back.
During our wait time, a number of us kept moving forward to check out potential spots to climb up and over, and the rest of us awaited Drew’s stamp of approval. With everyone having different levels of comfort when it came to climbing, we knew we’d have to do our best to accommodate, yet encourage, for this trek to be a sweet success. After a hot twenty minutes, the boys had discovered a way to victory, slauying the beasts. It would involve endless amounts of encouragement for the two “climbing” sections, but everyone was geared up for the challenge.
Our first support system challenge involved our friend, Seth, stationed at the lowest rock point, where he could help pull and push up the person or dog climbing, where he’d then handoff the support to Julian stationed at the second rock point. Julian was perfectly stagered on a slightly higher rock edge, where the rocks created a split, making it so one could use their arm strength to push themselves up the rest of the way, or look to Drew for his hand as he pulled them onto their feet. Hooting and hollering, we sounded like a gooney bunch, cheerfully proclaiming our win due to our slick team efforts. It was positivity through the roof from here on out! With our newly conquered quest, it was time for the more complicated round two. The second spot of teamwork was a tad more difficult, for the mere fact that it was a higher scale of steep. With everyone geared up with trust, we had the guys explain how we’d position ourselves. Dogs and all, Seth stationed himself on the bottom left side, and julian to the bottom right side. This would allow for Tate, the burliest among the guys, to be the spot from behind, incase any extra handling was needed. Colin was the first to go, propping both his feet into the hands of Seth and Julian. Tate used an upward force on Colin’s backpack for an extra ounce of trust, as he reached high for Drew’s wanky grasp as he’d pull him all the way up this steep crevice type feature. Drew’s support spot was the scariest in my opinion, as he had to squat to have a solid hold on his feet, then once the one being pulled up to the top was in his position, he’d swing his body towards the slickrock wall; let’s just say, everyone sighed in cheerful relief for everyone making it up without issue.
That was our most thrilling day, merely for the sake of having to perform soon crazily well-executed teamwork (thank you, Vail Resorts.) As the high fives passed, laughing grew contagious, and sweat trickled from our worn bodies, our free spirits danced our way back to our lovely campsite. From there we turned up our funky jams, got ourselves situated with some “fresh” clothes, and naturally started up a dazzling campfire as the sun set slowly behind the snow capped mountains in the uncharted distance. Freedom enclosed us in a comforting cocoon, softly fading into the background as we cheerfully gather together our different meals, ecstatically chatting of the day's endeavours.