Moses

The silence was complete. I sat on a large boulder looking up at my friends through a lens as they made their way up the famed Moses. They were nearly a quarter mile away, but I could still hear them as if they were next to me. There were no bugs humming, no rush of wind, the silence wasn't even interrupted by planes passing by. My eardrums didn't quite know how to react to the stillness. 

We were there on a three day weekend. Chase, Greg, and I snuck off for a day in Canyonlands. They were there to climb Moses, and I was there to shoot. Shifting to different locations every so often seemed to make the time go by. Sitting in the desert with a camera was a unique experience. This was the first time I have been out to shoot a day of climbing without climbing anything. 

It was a fulfilling day, even more so as I got home and went through the images. It was a stunning landscape. I hope to make it back to climb the route in the future. It was amazing. 

Weekender: Climbing and Camping

We sat around the campfire laughing and catching up until after midnight. We took turns throwing knives, we cooked tin foil dinners, and ate candy. We enjoyed the last of summer before it made its annual migration south. The cool night was an indication that this would be the last trip like this for the year.

We awoke early the next morning and were in no hurry to get climbing. The throwing knives made another appearance and we might have actually gotten better. We ate a small breakfast and headed for the crag. It was probably the last warm night of summer and we took advantage of it before autumn could reach in and change everything.

Caught

A breeze came rippling up the river as I cast my line out over the water. The fishing had been poor and the water was really low. A few gusts had rolled through during my short time on the water, but I didn't pay it much mind. I watched as my flies drifted past and gave them a mighty heave ripping them from the surface of the water. I went back letting a little line slip through my fingers before pulling it forward again. As my line reached full backward extension a large gust of wind hit. My arm was already rhythmically thrusting forward at full speed.

The extended line blew up river with the wind and piled into the back of my head with great force. For some reason it felt as if someone had punched me in the head. I had put two flies on my line before entering the river. One to fish the surface and one to drag beneath. I looked down after the impact to see the top fly hanging from what i thought was my glasses. Upon removing my glasses I realized I had snagged something else. I put my hand to my face and came away with little bits of blood on my fingers. I laughed out loud to myself as I cut the line and made my way back to my car to call Neena. It took some figuring out but I eventually removed the fly from my nose. In the future I will probably think twice before fishing in gusting wind.

Mount Superior

There is a long list of places in the mountains I have been in the winter, but have never thought to go in the summer. After work the other night I grabbed my camera, a water bottle, and some running shoes to go tag a familiar summit in an unfamiliar way.

It felt strange to hit the trail head with the hum of insects and an overgrowth of greenery. I made my way uphill passing memories of frigid winter mornings and deep powder days. The ridge to the summit isn't any less beautiful in the summer and I hope to tag more summits this way before the snow flies. I sat on the summit and thought back to the last time I was there. It doesn't take long for the world to change completely. I hope to make this a habit.