Zion 2004

Zion, my childhood land of mystery, came knocking in late winter 2004 with a offer to work for the Service as an archaeological technician. It was an offer I nearly couldn’t refuse. Rock climbing mecca, canyoneering dreams, stunning in beauty- the big problem was my newlywed wife was confined Salt Lake due to school and work. But it was an opportunity we knew I couldn’t professionally pass up; an intro level Fed. position- maybe just enough to get my foot in the door.

So began my season at Zion National Park. I watched the snow melt from West Temple, felt the blaze of summer in Parunuweap, and finally caught the first leaves turning on the Kolob Terrace. Dreams of solo big walls, wild canyons, and endless cracks were perhaps specious, but ideals of exploring the depths of the park were beyond real as I found myself sketched, miles deep in an area far from the incessant snake of cars and buses. I spent my late evenings wandering the high deseret, running trails, and diving into eclectic canyons. The cement and payphone provided the late night conversations with my wife while watching the stars turn and bats plummet. Excellent friends were made and others somehow lost. The four hour drive to Salt Lake passed in a daze with the return dragging with emotion detox.

The work usually kept my interest as I monitored archaeological sites and recorded historic oddities. My supervisor, Spaceman, left after a few months for the northern land and I was left to crank out remainder of the season solo. The summer began to sear and the celebrated Parunuweap biting flies kept me on the move. Come late September I had completed my 1040, stuck my foot in the federal door, put up new routes, bailed off big walls, radio relayed SAR, dropped canyons, climbed canyons, and seen more of the park than lost tourist. Zion was a random love indulgence, flanked with emotional and spatial distance. I can easily still taste the desert chasm, feel the sun scorching my climbing shoes, and suffer the distance from my companion. Post, it was superior to return to my home to my valentine, but I can’t relinquish Hepworth, Shunes, the Guardian Angels, the Pulpette and that Mountain of Mystery as my intrigue.