exploring the trails while living out of a tent
Life in the #yourlead van did not slow down after our trek into the Grand Canyon. Sure, we took the afternoon off to rest up [+ digest the massive burgers we inhaled] but we were back at it the next day. A quick stop by the Flagstaff airport had Robb running away from me + Tanya pretending not to know me as the van rocked out to some Spice Girls. Bring on the next adventure!
It has been nearly three weeks since I made the trek down into the Grand Canyon with Robb + I think it’s a safe [but embarrassing] truth when I say at least 10 of those days were spent fighting with or avoiding the DSLR camera we used. Turns out shooting photos in RAW is fantastic for the marketing + graphics guys but straight up terrible for anyone attempting to upload them anywhere, especially on a hotspot. Or, at least that’s my excuse for failing miserably at sharing my van living adventures…now, without further adieu, here’s how our little trip into the Grand Canyon went down, then back up.
When I came down to Mexico I have very few plans…but after my visit in February I knew there were mountains so they were definitely on my agenda. After two weeks of playing in the mountains surrounding the city of Monterrey I started chatting with Daniel, one of the Lycans Endurance Team founders. It was decided…we would spend our Saturday in the mountains west of Monterrey. More specifically, La Marta [also, La Martha].
Oooh…it only took three days, four attempts and a whole freaking case of blue Powerade but I finally snagged a mountain summit in Mexico! It wasn’t the one I had planned. Heck, it wasn’t even on our agenda until we started eyeballing the mountains that were kinda sorta “on the way” back to Mexico City. I did a little weather forecasting [ahem, Googling] while Jeremy napped for a hot minute after his Pico de Orizaba summit. A few Google’s later it was decided, La Malinche it was! Or Volcan Malintzin or Matlalueye…which ever name you prefer.
I am one step closer to snagging the Wilderness upgrade for my EMT-Basic certification. While I don’t plan on officially upgrading for at least another year [far too nomadic to get true work experience] it’s empowering to add to my stash of rope tying, pulley rigging + snow traversing know-how. More importantly, I’ve learned a lot more than just how to string up a 6:1 pulley or best practices for building ice anchors.
Since the internet is the last place you want to learn all the details about technical mountaineering I’m going to share the more emotional side of mountaineering…things I learned about myself + the mountains while I was out frolicking in the mountains in the name of “college credits”.
Spring showed up in February…but winter came back with vengeance in March. The mountains still aren’t sure what season it is, bouncing between fresh powder mornings and slushy afternoons. We might get another dumping of snow, in true Colorado fashion, but in my mind…summer is just around the corner. So close!
Heck, my version of summer kicks in before April is officially over! I actually have a lot on deck for my summer, but not in the traditional sense. I’m trying something new — combining a full-time job with a consistent travel-for-fun life. I’ve spent the last few months plotting, planning, working + negotiating to make this happen, and now it’s about to start happening!
I have discovered something life changing; the perfect excuse to stay in college for…ever. They’re called “outdoor education classes” and they are basically classes that get you college credit while you’re out in the wilderness living life. It’s been decided — I’m going to be a college kid forever. Sorry, world. I put this whole “in class” excuse to use last weekend when I took four days off to play in Moab’s desert while taking a sport climbing class.
After working two overnight shifts [ie: basically sleeping 6hrs in 48hrs…after a weekend of sleepless winter camping] I piled my camping gear into the Honda Civic and headed west. All was well. Exhaustion hadn’t kicked in yet, I remembered snacks + the busted antenna was doing its part go play me some sing-a-long music. I was happy + full of grand plans for an early night followed by a weekend of slab climbing, sandy running + comfy car camping. All I had to do was get to Moab and find myself a campsite…simple, right?
From the snow to the sunshine…in posting order + in real life! I’m in the process of repacking all that winter camping gear into my car for a weekend of car camping + trail running + rock climbing in Moab. It’s a sorta solo, sorta group trip. I’m headed that way to take on another outdoor education class [lead sport climbing] but it sounds like I’ll have plenty of free time to explore trails…trails without snow!
Speaking of trails without snow, La M wasn’t the only mountain we hiked while I was down in Monterrey, Mexico. It was only the beginning of a handful of adventures out onto the trails near the perimeter of the massive city. We had settled into an AirBnB near Cerro de la Silla, a really nice neighborhood that butts up against steep mountains leading up to a jagged ridge.
I have been winter camping a handful of times and every. single. time. I hate it with every fiber of my body. People who love it will tell you it’s awesome and “not that cold” and so much better than summer camping because you can eat all the foods…okay, maybe. But, what they don’t tell you is that it’s approximately 4x more work than summer camping and “not that cold” is a very subjective term [shivering is “not that cold” compared to toes so frozen they ache for hours]. That said, I’m a very ssslllooowww learner and I went winter camping again last weekend. I hated it. To the point of tears more than once.
In mid-January I had a chat with my scheduling manager at the hotel, asking for 5 days in a row off…any 5 days. I had no idea what I was going to do with my time off but after weeks of working two nearly fully time jobs I needed a breather. She picked the dates that worked best for the schedule and I started perusing the internet for cheap flights.
I ended up booking a flight to Monterrey, Mexico where I knew I’d find a familiar face, cheap tacos and an excuse to work on my Spanish. Come late February…off I went! I was giving myself a mid-winter trip to Mexico, where I wouldn’t see a drop of salt water but I would find the top of a few urban mountains.