Since I've been back from my week-long trip in Capitol Reef National Park, there has been a lot in the news about President Trump's plan to shrink two monuments in Utah. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante— both in the same region as Capitol Reef, and both filled with beauty and history.
I've never really liked getting political, but I wanted to offer something to any of those who happen to stumble upon this tiny blog in the massive universe of the Internet... places like Capitol Reef, Bears Ears and Escalante are national treasures. Yes, they hold an unmeasurable intrinsic value to American citizens. And yes, they are filled with historical and sacred sites for Native Americans who have called them home for thousands of years. These public lands can offer even more, that is, if we choose to infiltrate the back of our minds during our everyday lives...
An opportunity for personal reflection.
In the last few years I've spent lots of time deep in the deserts of Utah, finding its hidden arches, exploring its slot canyons, and making new friends along the way. Each trip has offered me a chance to think about who I am, what I have to offer, and where my place is in this world.
My first desert trip was almost three years ago and was the standard first time in Moab, UT; Arches and Canyonlands with my mom. That's where my passion for hiking began, and I realized it was a great combination for my photography.
A year later, I returned to Moab, but went to Zion and Bryce National Parks as well. I was with my mom and my brother, and that was when I realized how the outdoors can bring people together.
After I graduated high school, I spent eight days in the Grand Canyon, rafting down the Colorado River. I absolutely fell in love. That's when I began to understand the importance of rivers and forever changed my mindset when I learned to take life one day at a time.
Then in college, I went on a great trip with the CU Hiking Club to the Needles District in Canyonlands NP, where I made life-long friends and began to appreciate the desert for its silence, serenity and tranquility— which was a wonderful escape from the hustle of my everyday life.
Last summer, I spent another twelve days in the Grand Canyon on another rafting trip. That was when my interest began for what makes an ecosystem an ecosystem, and the hard science behind beautiful places. I also learned that being yourself is one of the most important things a person can do, and we shouldn't take others' negative actions towards us as a personal insult. You can't fight the river.
About a month ago, I led a Hiking Club trip to the San Rafael Swell in central Utah, where I improved my leadership skills and managed to keep a group together, even when I was tired and frustrated.
And last week, after we had returned from our four-day backpack through its extensive network of canyons, I admired the night sky with my camera and tripod, and felt so small and so insignificant. I slept under the stars for several nights, each night almost struggling to fall asleep because I didn't want to close my eyes.
That may have been the brightest and most impressive Milky Way I had ever seen.
My week in Capitol Reef's backcountry cleared my mind. In tough times, these public lands offer a sense of relief and a place to briefly escape. If you spend enough time there, the desert starts to get to you. It keeps you coming back, again and again.
We can't afford to lose places like these in our country. It's so easy to overcrowd your mind with daily to-dos, drama and wasteful thinking. In times of doubt, public lands can remind you who you truly are.
It would be a tragedy for our government and President Trump to change the status of Bears Ears and Escalante, opening them up to civilization . We, as a country, need them and a little reflection now more than ever.