Outdoor Climbing in New Mexico

Yes, that’s ME climbing. I can’t believe it either! Before I get to the climb, here’s a quick story of how I, a girly gal, ended up rock climbing.

It may not look like it and I may not act like it, but I actually enjoy the outdoors. Something about fresh air and wide open spaces makes my heart skip a beat. Dallas is a great city for a lot of things, but lacks outdoor activity. A paved running trail, park between highways, and rooftop bars are as “outdoorsy” as it gets in Big D. No shame! I love it here! It just means I have had to fill my nature cup elsewhere.

My first and favorite hike was this one at Mount Tamalpais State Park in California. I’ve hiked a few times since then and nothing has been as beautiful as the creeks and red woods I witnessed during my first hike. Naturally though, if you hike, you eventually climb right?

The answer is yes! I stepped out of my comfort zone, met new people, and gave myself a chance at a new hobby – indoor climbing. As it turns out, I’m not that bad! I practiced here once a week for 5 weeks before the big trip to Last Chance Canyon at Lincoln National Forest NM.

Five weeks later I made my way over to New Mexico with a group of 10 to camp, hike, and climb the canyon for 3 nights and 2 days. For convenience of writing (read: to limit my scatterbrain), I’ll write on each topic individually rather than all together.

Camp

My family was not a camping family, I thought I missed out on the childhood activity of camping, but man was I wrong. It was my first time camping and it was rough. No water, no bathrooms, no electricity kind of rough. Did I mention windy? No? Well, it was.

The well-versed campers in the group said it was the worst weather conditions we could have faced. On top of that, it was mid-October and I was cold. I had layers on and I was by the campfire at all times to try to keep warm but I was never comfortable.

Now that I’ve crossed camping off my bucket list, I have no desire to camp ever again unless it’s glamping with a cabin and running water nearby.

Hike

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve hiked a few times here and there. All hikes I’ve completed were considered moderate and were easy for me from start to finish, but all the hiking during this trip was hard for me. Out of breath, heart about to explode kind of hard.

I didn’t realize I would have to hike to get to a climbing wall (silly me!). And I didn’t know that the hike I was doing was actually more of a scramble and considered a basic level of canyoneering. It sounds complicated, but I googled the term for us, and it means walking up or down steep terrain involving use of hands. Mostly accurate, and way more difficult than the definition lets on.

While I didn’t enjoy every part of the hike, specifically cacti poking me and rock hopping, I would definitely do another hike of this difficulty to get to a climbing wall.

Climb

This was easily my favorite part of the trip! The experienced climbers in the group led us to Breakfast Wall where they set up the route up the canyon wall for the amateur climbers like myself.

Indoor climbing is nothing like outdoor climbing, but my indoor practice helped build strength and confidence in my own abilities that were absolutely necessary for the outdoor challenge.

That being said, I was so ready for the outdoor climb! It’s hard to put into words how I felt after the climb. It was nothing short of incredible to have limestone underneath my hands and pull myself up a canyon wall. I’m still in disbelief that I did that! I’m feeling more fearless than ever these days and am already thinking about my next climbing adventure.

Have you been camping or climbing before? Let me know in a comment below!

XO, Vivian