Zion Narrows
With the towering walls of Zion mountains looming above us, Alex and Ashek and I hiked into The Narrows, a deep and narrow canyon carved by the Virgin River. Most of the hike was within the river itself, providing for a...refreshing experience. Luckily, the weather was fantastic and we stayed warm the whole day. Despite the wet, rocky river bottom, none of us had any mishaps, although we passed one fellow waiting for a search and rescue team because of an injured ankle. It being Memorial Day weekend, the hike was teeming with tourists, but we managed to enjoy the scenery nonetheless. Heading up a side canyon, we even managed to find ourselves alone for a minute or two.
Toroweap
I met up with the Bugs at the Tuweep campground, after an abortive attempt to enter at night and a minor mishap with Rivets. I hiked out to Toroweap Overlook and we all hiked down to a spring in the side of the canyon, led by fellow campers Matt, Tracy, and Ethan. Impressive views of the Colorado, and you could see tiny specs of rafters entering the river and floating downstream.
Secret Grand Canyon
We followed a long road to a secret spot with breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon. New friends were there when we arrived. We shared food, drink, fire, and a love for the outdoors. Thanks, Brad and James, for your friendly camp neighborship! Turns out finding a campsite already occupied can be even better than having it to yourself.
Road Family
Wow. What a week it's been. Several weeks, really. As previously mentioned, I departed the Overland Expo with a cadre of new overlanding friends. In a little over two and a half weeks (which seem like months, given how much I've seen and done in that time), through shared adventures over rough trails, many made and broken campsites, a few scrapes and bruises, a light-up, dancey birthday party deep in the desert, and lots of shared food and beer, new acquaintances—folks I have only known for a scant few weeks now—have become road family.
An unexpected closeness dominated our campsite a few nights ago as we sat down to a birthday feast (happy birthday, Ashek!) with Alex, Ashek, and Robbie and Val and their two wonderful girls, Sylvie and Leonie, an event more reminiscent of a holiday family dinner than a group of new friends sharing a campsite.
As we lived and traveled together on the road, loosely sharing a path into unfamiliar territory (due to various mishaps and particularities of overland travel, I bounced back and forth between convoying with Alex and Ashek, traveling solo, camping with the Roving Bugs, and traveling all together as a group), we quickly developed a bond of friendship disproportionate to the amount of time we have known each other.
To be fair, the others had a head start. Alex and Ashek met the Roving Bugs in Baja and have been sharing a path for some time now. Still, we have all been brought together by our travels and shared experience on the road.
I see it as a testament to two things. First, overlanding tends to select for some pretty interesting, like-minded people. It must be next to impossible to spend a significant portion of your life roaming around the world and drifting through other cultures without an open mind and a thirst for fresh experience (my fellow travelers' trips have included stints in Mexico or other countries, while my foreign adventures to date have been part of earlier, airborne travels). Second, this flavor of travel is so rich with new experience that it accelerates the process of getting to know and becoming close with people.
However it comes about, it's a wonderful experience that adds a bit of warmth to the excitement of travel.
Elsewhere
