Skill unlocked, feat. The grotto

Cracking the whip, sorta feat. Sonia and Shanika

Victory Lap

I’m proud I didn’t lose my apartment key again on this run

Gila nighttime last minute backpacking shit test, feat. The Gila monster herself and… dairy romance??? Part 2

The best part about hiking in and camping at night is you wake up to a crazy view. I knew how pretty it’d be here because I’ve been here before, but crawling out of the tent to see the giant pillars of stone still took my breath away. The leaves were changing color and falling off the trees in the canyon, and coupled with the cool air it gave me a taste of home. We had breakfast and as we finished packing up, some hikers came along. For context, I parked next to a Subaru Crosstrek at the trailhead and wondered who’d owned it. I, too, drive a Subaru Crosstrek. Just then, two lesbians emerged from the wilderness, told us about some other secret hot springs  I didn’t know about, and were in their way. Guess I’m not beating the lesbian allegations at work this week. 

Anyway Sonia and I scrambled up on top of this ridge to try and see if we could see the middle fork dwellings from there but we couldn’t. The view was worth it though. We also saw an actual dimensional gateway which was kinda crazy. 

Near the intersection was the smallest trickle of water falling off a rock, less than you’d ever see from a single New England gutter on any given day, and she was so thoroughly impressed by the grace of this “waterfall”. First time seeing water? Yup, she’s a New Mexican alright 

On our way out we did some more climbing/ scrambling/ exploring in the canyon, and naturally we did some ridge walking in search of new caves. Had some leads but they were all duds. Still, this one small stone shelter was pretty unforgettable. Get yourself a geology girly to rocksplain to you when you find cool rocks 

When we got past what I’ve now dubbed Shanika peak (the top of the initial ridge (also don’t ask)), we realized we were running late and we began booking it. After a bit I took Sonia’s pack for her and that with my own was actually fairly taxing. Inexcusable. Weak. How far I’ve fallen. Anyway we made decent time and I was impressed a non runner could crush a couple miles of trail running so easily (maybe she was the rizzful one this whole time)

P.S. cool rock or cool stick gang? Comment below 👇

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Eric Nowak

Gila nighttime last minute backpacking shit test, feat. The Gila monster herself and… dairy romance??? Part 2

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Skill unlocked, feat. The grotto

Cracking the whip, sorta feat. Sonia and Shanika

Victory Lap

I’m proud I didn’t lose my apartment key again on this run

Gila nighttime last minute backpacking shit test, feat. The Gila monster herself and… dairy romance??? Part 2

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