Cottonwood Valley

I pulled the car off of the side of the road. I hadn’t made it far along Blue Mountain Road which leads into Red Rock Canyon. At the sight of the first cars on the shoulder of the road and pulled the Hyundai over and put it in park. This trail wasn’t even on the map. Maybe I pulled over prematurely, I thought. I looked at the small “mountains” in front of me and saw two riders on their mountain bikers. “Trail or no trail, this place is as good as any”.

I grabbed my backpack. It’s a small backpack. A traveler might refer to it as a day-pack but it is still a backpack to me. I had a water bottle, camera, mobile phone, SPOT transmitter, two apples in a bag, a hat, and a copy of Abraham Lincoln’s biography written by David Herbert Donald.

I approached a barb-wire fence and followed it to a gate. The gate was a wooden pole that is secured by wire on the other end. It is the same type of system that I became familiar with in Australia. I lifted the metal ‘hook’ and slipped in. As I began walking toward the mountain my mobile sounded. It was my Mother. She had a successful garage sale. “What are you doing?, she asked. I’m climbing a canyon. Oh okay. We are going to see a movie. I told her I would send her a picture of the canyon. It wasn’t long before I walked up the base of the mountain. I sat in an alcove – small recess on the side of the mountain – and took a picture and hit Send. Then I read some of Abe’s biography. I read three pages and then went back to climbing. I wouldn’t read again for the rest of the day.

The next part involved actual climbing. The people were small now. There was another car down there. It was the size of a finger-nail. Were they looking at me? Don’t slip. That would be embarrassing. I navigated up the rocks and disappeared behind a larger one. If they saw me before, they don’t know. The top. Hey look, a lone cactus-ish plant. Picture. I walked to the edge. See me now. Simba!

I noticed there was more mountain but it was a gradual incline. I walked over to it. Much steeper on this side. Much steeper. No way I’m climbing down this way. But there is a larger mountain just across the canyon crevice and it’s twice as big. Oh well, maybe then, and so I walked some more. I found a rock. I like rocks that have different mixtures of earth frozen in them. I put it in my backpack. It’s hot. I took my shirt off. I have meditated in a while, and so I did. A rabbit ran by.

I walked along the edge some more. I saw a couple on their mountain bike. They were a couple to me anyway. I forgot the cliff was steep. I found a ledge I could climb down. I did. I saw another ledge further down. Going down is more difficult I thought. I busted my leg open. Took the skin right off. Here comes the redness. I took the apple bag and wrapped my leg in it. Saved my clothes from the stain. Where do I go now? No clear option. Now what? Well I can go back up. That’s defeat. Okay, let’s do it. I did it. That was a first.

I walked across the canyon floor and across the worn path with the tire tracks. Walked right across it. Made my own path. I began walking up the larger mountain. This was the largest one around. So many small rocks. Wow, this is more difficult. My feet slip. I’m already high up. There is a split in the mountain. I will climb up the split so that I have something to grab if I fall. I didn’t fall. I slipped, not bad. Put my hand in a cactus spur under the sand. Made it to the top of the split. I’m higher than the other mountain now, I thought. The angle is steep. A rock slipped. It fell. I watched it tumble. It didn’t stop. Don’t fall. My mobile went off. I sat down. Replied. Took a picture. I’m really up here. It gets more technical after this. The redness was coming out from the apple bag now. I wiped it up with a rock. I did good. Yea, let’s head back now. Remember, you’ve never done this before.