Beautiful Destruction

On October 16, 2014
By Randall Tate
In Canyoneering, Desert, Hiking, Wilderness
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Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Canyon country is a battlefield. It is an apocalyptic arena where nature fights an endless war, destroying the old and creating the new. The weapons are all powerful; wind, sun and water thrash relentlessly against any surface they contact. Uncountable tons of sand, rock and soil are vanquished from the high lands, becoming refugees and starting new lives in the valleys and plains far below. The land will never be the same. And that is exactly the point.

When the sounds and distractions of our daily lives fade away and we let ourselves slip into the desert wilderness that calls to our souls, a transformation takes place. We notice the textures, the smells and the vibrations emanating from every molecule, slamming into our now awakened mind. Our bodies adjust to scorching sunshine, penetrating cold, blood thirsty spines and uneven ground in this new world. Your shoes suddenly grip slopes that would have seemed impossibly steep just days before. Undulations in canyon walls appear, showing the way out, or the way in. Water becomes the highest priority.

As we let go and embrace the changes in our mind, body and soul, we experience what the destruction means and the opportunity that it creates.