Backcountry Explorer

Embedded into the backcountry areas of Zion National Park, the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley National Park, and the Mojave Desert, Courtney Purcell's ramblings have also taken him all across the country and the world. From hiking, climbing and peakbagging in the Rockies, the Andes, the high volcanoes of Washington and Mexico, into the depths explored in spelunking, and the canyoneering of the Colorado Plateau, here you'll find trip reports, route beta and "stuff" relevant to the world of...

Crazy Quilt Mesa (Failure, and then, Success)

On a failed attempt, we initially wandered up a slot and tried to climb up it. Things went well through a couple short 5.6ish sections, then we found a loose face (easy 5th class) that we needed other gear for.

Dropping back down and out of the slot, we turned right and then wandered up steep slabs near the feature's southeast corner that allowed access up high. We weren’t able to work past a nasty, exposed ice section near the top that perhaps allowed access to the upper mountain (and summit). We’ll try again in drier conditions.

And so we did.

After the snow had melted, we returned to tackle this bad boy. Approaching from a different spot, having viewed a possible weakness, we climbed easily through an initial short, 5th class pitch that led us to the summit plateau.

Working through a nice network of broken blocks, we roped up again for a climb up a chimney, across a catwalk, and then a final problem through an off-width flake. A large chunk of rock broke off as I moved through the flake, striking me in the knee. Continuing up to flattish terrain, I brought the second up, then we hiked to the top.

A long rest on the top in the shining sun and far-reaching views, it was time to head down...and on to the next peak!

...those moments when time stands still. The catalysts are as varied as the individuals who pursue this path: a meteor shower; a night sky so star-filled that it snatches your breath; another rise of the sun over distant mountains vast and untouchable; dodging a rock careening crazily down a gully; a desperate icy struggle through whiteout and ground blizzard down to the safety of camp after an unsuccessful summit attempt; standing atop a mountain with a friend, the whole world at your feet, a blinding sun blazing out of a flawless sky, taking the time to watch that sun dip below the horizon even though camp is still many miles and many thousands of feet distant; stumbling over boulders and through brush in the darkness; watching the starlight and the storm wrest for possession of the night sky, seated on a narrow ledge beside your rope-mate with only the clothes on your back for shelter, shivering the night away, knowing that, sometime in a distant place you cannot now touch, the world will once again grow bright, the sun will rise, and you will look out on the infant day with new eyes.

-Bruce Binder

One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.

-Edward Abbey