540 - Arsenic Arch
This was the first adventure in a long time that got me feeling fairly uncomfortable.
I was miles down a sandy dirt road, off a tiny highway, an hour from a small town. It was 97°F out, cell service was long gone, and my Prius was gripping onto gravel for dear life.
My goal was to find Arsenic Arch, an under-the-radar rock formation in the absolute middle of nowhere. Why, might you ask? Because every batshit crazy adventure sounds great until you’re actually in it.
So here I was, completely alone, wandering into an arid hellscape, with nothing to guide me but a handheld GPS. There was no trail to this arch. No signs. No people. Just sand, rocks, and blistering heat in every direction.
The drive in wasn’t too technical, but it had several sand patches that blended into the dirt road. It wasn’t until I was already in one that I realized I couldn’t stop driving or I’d get stuck. So, as you can imagine, by the time I got to the mere starting point of the hike, anxiety was already mainlining my system.
I pulled over where the GPS told me, got out, and looked around. It felt like I was in an old Western flick and some dude in a cowboy hat was about to pop around the corner any second. But he never did.
I packed up my camera gear, filled a water canteen, and threw in an extra granola bar or two for good measure. Then I walked the first 100 feet and looked back. My Prius was already gone- swallowed up by those shifty desert hills. I kept walking. My life was now in the hands of a GPS.
It’s a strange feeling knowing your life depends on a small, 3 inch device you’ve only used once before. But hey, the Amazon reviews were good.
As I trudged through the desert like a Saharan treasure hunter, the loss of control slowly began to sink in. This heat wasn’t a joke- I’d roast like a pig out here within a few hours if I got lost. This GPS was now my God.
The crazy thing was that a few days ago when I planned out this hike, I knew I’d be stressed. I’d never done something quite this intense before. Solo, no trail, extreme heat, a scramble section with class 3-4 moves, middle of nowhere, a dark walk back… But I wasn’t quite sure how I’d react to that stress. Maybe that’s why I was doing this- to find out.
Well, now I knew how I was reacting. My heart was pounding like a machine. I wanted to turn back. But I couldn’t. I needed to prove to myself that I could handle this madness.
I walked for about a mile, leaving random footprints in the sandy patches so I could follow them on the way out if my GPS stopped working. Survival instincts were kicking in.
And like clockwork on the GPS, I arrived at the first obstacle. A massive canyon lay in front of me, and, based on my research, I had to scramble down to the bottom of it to follow the canyon to the arch. The “suggested” route I’d loaded into my GPS pointed to a steep, rocky gully to the right of me. I kicked a boulder and watched it tumble down the cliff, then explode on the canyon floor. This is real.
I took a deep breath and planned a route. Slow and steady wins the race.
And win I did- until I got to the bottom. The final move involved an 8 foot drop to the canyon floor. Easy enough, granted I landed correctly. But for the way back up…
It would involve an overhang pull up on a ledge with no solid grips- with my camera gear on my back. And if I couldn’t complete the move, I was stuck in the canyon. Forever.
Well, maybe not forever. But my mind was freaking out. This shit was intense.
I eyed the canyon walls for an alternate down climb. Something a bit more straightforward would be nice. I saw a possible route across the canyon, but it was at least 15 minutes away, and sunset was approaching fast. Did I have time?
I made a decision. We’re going for it. I’m not taking this wacky-ass jump down.
I climbed back out of the gully and traversed the canyon edge until I got to the down climb. I looked over the edge. Steep, but doable. There were enough ledges that I could crawl on my butt and not gain too much momentum if I fell. Slow and steady…
And boom! I was at the bottom. Now I simply had to follow the canyon to the arch. I looked down at my GPS with glee. But my heart split in two. The signal was gone.
I took a deep breath, held it, and exhaled. “Alright, just relax,” I told myself. The only reason it’s out is because I’m in a canyon. I took another breath and slowly exhaled. You got this.
Like it or not, I wasn’t going to find out if that was the true reason the GPS was out until I got out of the canyon. And the only way I was going to get out of this canyon was with a photo of this goddamn arch. I was too deep in the trenches,.
I carried onwards. I just had to hope there aren’t any obscure turn offs to the arch. I racked my brain. I didn’t think there were.
I followed the base of the canyon for another ¾ of a mile or so, which led me to a large clearing. I squinted my eyes and searched for the arch. It had to be somewhere over here. Then I saw it. Way in the distance. Like a beautiful portal to another world.
But there was one incy wincy problem. Another canyon lay in front of me. A canyon within a canyon. Great. Where was Leonardo diCaprio when you needed him?
I looked at my GPS, but it kept dancing like a hopeless baffoon. Absolutely no use. I was going to have to improvise here.
I looked to the right and saw a ledge that could potentially get me around the canyon. And as I walked closer, I realized that it might just work. There was a solid 5 feet of space between the edge and the drop that I could traverse
I was in, baby!
I ran towards the arch like a kid on Christmas. The sun had started setting, and the light was disappearing fast. Not that it mattered- there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. But I didn’t care. My adrenaline surged like crazy as I ran around the arch looking for an angle to shoot. I couldn’t mess this up. I’d been through too much to get here.
Then I noticed the crescent moon through the arch. Aligned perfectly. It was a miracle. A Half-Christmas freaking miracle.
I lined up the shot with a piece of driftwood as the foreground, and snagged this bad boy:
“Poison Moon”
Taken with Sony a7rIV + Sony 12-24mm f/4 G
[ISO 1000 ~ 12mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/200s] [Focus + Focal]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Is it called driftwood if you’re not near an ocean? I don’t know. And I don’t fucking care. I was ecstatic to get a shot of this god-forsaken arch.
(And if you’re a nerd that wants to know the technical details, I focus stacked the log/arch, then did a focal blend with the moon to increase its size in the arch. If I didn’t the moon would be the size of a dot inside the arch at 12mm.)
I contemplated getting a few more angles, but my blown out mind overruled it. I knew I had a solid shot, so it was time to get out of there ASAP. I did not want to be in this sketchy ass canyon after dark.
I packed up my stuff and started jogging. All I could think about was if my GPS would work once I got out of the canyon. If it didn’t, I was royally screwed with cheese on top. But it made logical sense. GPS units normally don’t work in canyons, right? Right? RIGHT?
My feet moved faster in anxious anticipation. By now I was practically running. Luckily it’d cooled down since the sun dipped.
I reversed my pathway in, climbed up the steep hill to get out, and emerged on top. Twilight was in full effect. I followed my sandy footprints in the direction of the car, and stared at my GPS like I’d been hypnotized. Come on… Come on…
The signal bounced around, then suddenly locked in.
WE’RE BACK, BABY!
I’d never felt so much relief in my life. I felt like I’d just had a baby or something.
I navigated my way back to the start, and before I knew it I saw my trusty black machine on the horizon. Home.
I opened the door, cranked the AC to the max, laid back, and closed my eyes. Phew. I did it.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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