Inside the Desert

By Steph Davis

By KAVU

April 6^th, 2021

Recently I came across a guidebook about canyoneering, and it reminded me that there’s a whole world of not just exploring through canyons, but bringing along a harness and a rope and traveling in the downward direction into magical places you’d never be able to explore otherwise.

Turns out, canyoneering is a pretty awesome way to get out into the desert with your friends!

There is some incredible beauty tucked away into the canyons. Huge, shaggy trees grow near natural water cisterns, and in some ways a deep canyon feels like an entirely different ecosystem.

You can also find all sorts of petroglyphs (the kind that are chipped and carved) and pictographs (the kind that are painted)—mysterious reminders of people and animals who lived here in the past.

There are all sorts of surprising water holes and rock holes, and it’s hard not to rush forward just to see what’s around the next bend…it’s also hard not to stop and just stare at the beautiful views and the colors and textures right in front of you.

It feels great to travel with just a small backpack, a couple of light ropes and a harness, jumping and scrambling through the rocks, searching out anchors when rappelling is the next step, following the natural flow like water.