Always around Christmas, with family showing up, we take it as an opportunity to explore new canyons in the mountains. This year a lot of time was spent in Milagrosa Canyon in the Santa Catalina mountains that border Tucson. It's beautiful and very rugged. Hiking the trail is "sporty," as the rock climbers say, meaning leave your vertigo behind you, enjoy scrambling up and down substantial smooth boulders, and finally be rewarded by beautiful vistas and a sense of accomplishment. This spot is a favorite with rock climbers, and while I am still up to the standards of these pitches — I am looking forward to working on that skill this year in hopes that next year I will be able to see the canyon from the heights!
Waterfalls with pools spreading out beneath. My son managed to get me to the top of these with some encouraging and prodding —ok a lot of prodding! These rocks are smooth as silk with few hand holds. But once I reached the top, the endorphin rush — following on the heels of the adrenaline rush of terrified climbing — was entirely worth it!
oh you do enjoy the challenges Midori! I love climbing around on the sandstone cliffs along the coast here in Sydney, even in the middle of a city of 4 million people there can be some very wild moments out on the edge looking for where to find that next hand hold!
Erm…no, I don’t think I’ll be a rock climber!But I am very grateful that folk like you not only do it, but take a camera,too!
I am very much an amateur compared to my children and young friends. But honestly, I do love it. Scary as anything — but thrilling too. A New Year’s resolution is to get much better at it so I can continue to join in the fun with these fearless young. But my son did meet a couple in their 70s doing some of the really tough pitches — so I like to think I can look forward to that.