Thanksgiving, or Creeksgiving as we call it, is a time that climbers from all sorts of backgrounds traverse across the globe to Moab, UT. Moab is infamous for many extreme sports including climbing, highlining, and base jumping; as such, Canyonlands a hotspot for outdoor enthusiasts and off road travelers. Rachel and Mike, with their Subie packed to the max and strong ready climbing hands, fit right in.
These two road-tripped all the way from Washington state for the November festivities and decided to take their engagement photos here, where we all originally met - I’ll tell that story in just a bit, keep reading! I had traveled in from Colorado and had been at GGBY the day before, a Thanksgiving highlining event. I spent the day rallying with friends before driving down to Indian Creek after sunset; I was definitely burning the midnight candle. (If you’ve ever been to Moab during this time and have friends participating in each activity, then you know that it’s very hard to fit it all in!) I drove past Hole in the Wall and down into thick foggy ravines past Monticello that felt as though Kokopelli might jump out at my already slowly moving car. I pulled into the carpark below Supercrack Buttress late into the night, the sole car parked below the tall towers that were shrouded black as liquid smoke with no moon to light them. Kyote and I snuggled down into the bed in the back of my Xterra and fell fast asleep. My alarm went off as though I’d never gone to bed and in the deep hues of the barely dawn light, I could see the dim outlines of the desert mesas all around me. I opened the door and felt the stiff chill of the cold morning air. It hit me like a wall and I moved meticulously slow, stretching to awake my senses. The desert was quiet, the only noise welcoming the day was the tapping of Kyote’s feet across the parking lot pavement as she scavenged for any moving critter. I stared up at the stars and the looming walls above me. Indian Creek is known for its crack climbing and sits deep within Canyonlands National Park in the Needles District. As you traverse the Indian Creek Corridor Scenic Byway, you’re met with what seems to be endless red mesas that rip suddenly through the sky on each side as you drive through the solemn valley. It’s vast and you feel inanimately small in their midst. Headlights pulled in as I gathered my gear and I was greeted by the cheery crew who were ready to have some fun. The cold was seeping into my puffy with the first light of dawn and I was thankful for Rachel’s big warm hugs!
The first real light of morning faded from blue to pink as we hiked throughout the valley. The clean red sand of a side road was soft beneath our feet and Kyote was having a hay day chasing Mike and Rachel around. There was frost on the fragile desert plants and it felt silly to imagine climbing later, but I knew better. This cooler Autumn weather keeps the towering sandstone walls climbable all day with the heat of the sunshine - ideal for climbing this time of year vs in the high temps of Summer. As the sun made its way over the Eastern side of Indian Creek, alpine glow began to caress the Western tips of the towers in the valley. Alpine glow is incredible to see in Colorado, the soft pink and orange hues sliding down granite faces, but it is a wildly insane experience to view it crawling down the red rocks of Moab, Utah. Each morning harsh tones of sunlight hit already red faces of rock and they light ablaze as though they were set on fire. The valley comes to life with a full array of color and warmth, a deceiving facade, hiding how cold the desert actually is as the season turns towards Winter.
By 8am, the sun had steadily warmed the ruddy earth and we eventually removed layers of puffy jackets; finally able to enjoy the warmth of the sun on our skin. Kyote had somehow turned pink in a matter of hours, like the Dr. Seuss books with Thing 1 and Thing 2. Her little blaze of what used to be white fur was all too happy here below Supercrack and Battle of the Bulge, dropping and rolling in the cool sand that still sat in the shadow of the mesas. The light outside of the shadows was bright when we wrapped up our sunrise engagement session. Returning to the cars, we started up the propane stoves to co-create a fantastic outdoor breakfast. Kyote found our companies steak bones from last night’s Thanksgiving camp dinner and snuck them out of the trash before I had a chance to say no - what a bad pup right?! Or was it that Rachel had slyly handed it to her? Either way it was no use trying to take it from her, Kyote’s pink desert ombre paws protected the treat and she was in heaven munching away on her bone as breakfast and coffee were slapped together.
It may sound like we are all old friends and at this point I’d like to think that we were becoming good friends. Here is our friendship story: I originally met Rachel and Mike the year before at the Fisher Towers, in Castle Valley, out on the Eastern side of Moab. I had finished running the Dead Horse Ultra, a 50 mile race the day before. To get my stiff legs loose again I hiked the Fisher Tower trail with my race crew of friends. As we finished hiking, I noticed a couple sitting under a tree on a ledge overlooking Castleton Tower. It was a beautiful little spot. I grabbed my camera to ask them if I could take a photo and while I was gone Kyote made her way over to their “after hike charcuterie board” (I’ve found that this is a staple treat with Rachel and Mike who are not only masters of badassery but also in enjoying the finer things in life). They loved miss Kyote and obliged in letting me snap a quick photo of them. We then exchanged info and kept in touch over instagram. That next year they got engaged and we knew that we had to meet back up in Moab!
Our day in Indian Creek wasn’t quite over, we sipped on coffee and climbing talks ensued. We discussed which routes we would take on and I reviewed the basics of crack climbing and tape glove making. I’m a total novice when it comes to Trad and although I’ve top roped crack a few times, I was raised on Sport climbing. Thankfully, I had the best teachers - Mike and Rachel are trained in Trad and Mountaineering and some of their Washington State and Alaska adventures are jaw dropping. We finished breakfast, grabbed all of our gear, and headed up the tallus of Battle of the Bulge, to our first route. I quickly shed my long sleeve as we stood next to the route, the walls radiating with warmth that raised the temperature drastically. It was a day full of laughter, challenging ourselves, giving Kyote all of the pets (maybe a few more steak bones) and reconnecting in the most beautiful landscape.
