(Disclaimer: We hiked for longer than 1.27 hours, but that wouldn’t be any fun for a blog title now, would it? Plus, the scenery reminded me of the film – you’ll see why)
I have realised that I was definitely not born a natural rock climber. Hiking? Occasionally. Hill climbing? Only if I can’t avoid it. But there is something about huge rock faces with cavernous gaping great holes in between them that just doesn’t sit right with me. If I’m totally honest, they scare the bejesus out of me. And this has not been made better by the release of the movie 127 Hours.
So when Scott suggested we take a “hike” out in Red Rock Canyon on the outskirts of Las Vegas I was all for it. Because I hadn’t realised it was actually rock climbing we would end up doing. I guess the clue is in the name. Go figure.
The scenery here is amazing. The rocks really are the colour of deep ochres, browns and yellows and when the sun is shining it just provides the most stunning backdrop to any climbing experience. It also helped that we visited on a sunny February day, meaning that it wasn’t too hot to climb, but hot enough that you could still enjoy it. We decided to do one of the “moderate” walks as, true to our usual form, we had woken up late and not left ourselves the time we would have liked to tackle one of the longer ones. Let me tell you that in the paper guide the moderate hike was described as “Only slightly more challenging than a walk in the city with some uneven stones”. Yeah, right.
We set off on the marked trail only to discover that the marked trail then stopped several feet along. From here on in, it was all lateral thinking and keeping our wits about us, as we tried to get to the highest peak possible in order to get some great photos.
With a backdrop like this one and not a cloud in the sky, it wasn’t difficult to take great photos, even with a sweat on and shaky thighs from the climb.
The results were worth it and the scenic drive out of the nature park as the sun was setting made the drive out there all the more worthwhile. Plus, it was great to see a different side to Las Vegas than the one I was used to previously – the serene, sober side, minus the chinking of slots machines.
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