We all lose track of the days as they pass by. Each day gets another, I’ll finish this tomorrow, Maybe next time, and even See you soon.
The fact is, life doesn’t get any easier or slower. We continue to fall victim to work- and family-related responsibilities and pressures. As one item falls off our to-do list, it is inevitably filled with another. The list gets longer and longer. I try to add items to my list that recharge my soul and put a smile on my face, and hopefully, on the face of another. I found myself constantly making excuses for not getting down to Moab to see my dear friend, Mick. We met through BASE jumping, and our families have become good friends. Just hearing his Welsh/German mixed accent on the other end of the phone is enough to pull the corners of my face up. Mick is a source of knowledge, experience and best of all, fun. As competent and skilled as he is in backcountry and BASE knowledge, he’s not flashy or boastful. He's the consummate quiet professional. I had to make time to see him. So I moved him to the top of my list, and off I went.
I let Mick know that my goal when I came to town wasn’t to cram as many jumps in as I could. I wanted to hang out. I hadn’t seen his beautiful wife and charismatic, charming young daughters in such a long time (or at all for that matter), and I wanted to use my time in town to catch up and enjoy a few moments of life with him.
But he insisted on taking me to a few of his favorite jumps anyway. I was willing to oblige.
I arrived at a home full of smiling faces and two little princesses showing off for me. We enjoyed dinner and caught up on everything we had been missing out on over the years.
We went over the logistics of the beautiful jump he had planned. It’s not far from the famous Fisher Towers south of the Colorado River and east of Moab. A popular hiking and rock climbing site, Parriott Mesa is an amazing place. I had not jumped it before so I was stoked.
We woke up early the next morning, and it was 85+ degrees. So much for high desert cool mornings! Thankfully I stayed KÜHL in my men's short sleeve shirt.
We arrived at the landing area, finalized our gear and made our way up the foothill and talus before starting the scramble and climb to the top.
I decided that I need to go back and spend the night up top. What an amazing view! If it weren't for a little bit of weather moving in and the potential for winds and rain, I would have stayed up top and listened to the silence for hours. With weather pressing, we rigged up, gave some hand shakes and smiles, and off we went.
The best part of the jump is that you get to fly your canopy down and along the talus almost the entire way to the landing. We greeted each other in the landing area with big smiles and high fives.
Afterwards we grabbed breakfast at a local diner that Mick likes to go to, but his wife isn’t much of a fan of, so he uses the excuse of having company in town to make an appearance. Who was I to deny a good friend of such a simple indulgence!?
To repay Mick and his wife for my free room and board, I agreed to watch their two daughters for a couple hours, but what seemed like a weekend, while they ran a few errands. I only have one child who is now nearly 12. If you’ve never been around two supercharged little girls who know that they can effectively do whatever they want now that mom and dad are gone and the helm has been left to a pushover who is in way over his head, it’s quite scary and a little nerve racking. I’d be much more comfortable throwing myself off a cliff. But I kept a lid on things and the house didn’t burn down, so I'd call it a success.
Unfortunately, the other “special place” that Mick wanted to take me to wasn’t quite as forgiving. We hiked to the exit point and missed the wind by literally 5 minutes later that day. Although hiking down in the near dark in some of these areas of Moab is a bit sketchy, watching the sunset in the red rock landscape with a good friend makes for a good consolation prize. Mick and I decided that we would try again in the morning and situate a car downriver on the Colorado River for a little post jump paddling adventure.
The next morning the hike, scramble and climb was a little easier after seeing if for a second time in 18 hours, and the winds and weather were cooperative. It was worth the second try.
After the jump we hiked out of the canyon to the truck, grabbed the kayak and SUP boards, changed into KÜHL river shorts, and headed across the street to the mighty Colorado River. With Arches National Park on one side and the cliffs below the world famous Slick Rock Trail on the other, we paddled, chatted and laughed our way down the Colorado River to our pick up vehicle.
After another evening with the family and a few beers over laughs were enjoyed, it was time to call my visit to a close. Not nearly long enough, Mick and I both agreed to see each other again soon.
So, back on the “To Do” list Moab went.
