Stephany Claudio reflects on her wilderness experience near the end of our three-week course:
“Backpacking at the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument was an experience of a lifetime, both exciting and scary. It brought feelings of anxiety at many times, but also moments of peace. We experienced dramatic changes in weather in the span of three days, but those three days impacted me for a lifetime. Even though the changes were a bit unsettling, the experiences and activities we shared helped the group feel joy and at peace.
Before our departure to Rio Grande, we were in a small-town area in Taos, New Mexico doing our final shopping before backpacking. During that time, we witnessed a forest fire up in the mountains near us and saw ashes falling from the sky to the ground we were walking on. The scenery was unsettling to me and brought feelings of anxiety and fear because Rio Grande was only about a half an hour away from us, so I had no clue what could happen next. It was my first time witnessing such a tragedy to nature. Afterwards, our class decided to continue our journey to the National Monument because it was away from the fires that were happening around us. As we headed our way into the Monument, I noticed changes in the geography. The area became less chaotic, the clouds were disappearing, the sun was shining through, and the scenery changed. It was breathtaking to see the gorge in the high canyons. The closer we got to the campsite, the more the river was being revealed to me.
We arrived at the parking lot and began to prepare to make our way down to the campsite for our three-day backpacking trip. The bags we carried were quite large. Mine looked to be about my size! In order for us to reach our camping area, we needed to hike with our backpacks about a mile and a half down. The hike down descends 800 feet into the canyon. The nerves in my body made my body feel weak. Because of that, there were many trips and slips during the hike. Thankfully, I had my teammates’ encouragement to make it down, which helped me and others to feel more comfortable to continue down.
Upon arrival at the campsite, the first feature to the area that I noticed was the beautiful river. The change of scenery from smoky ash falling from the sky to a glistening canyon with a flowing river was incredible. It felt unreal. Every small detail I noticed and observed brought me peace and joy. I felt free.
The first night we decided to split into two sleeping groups so everyone could fit comfortably in the tarps we slept under. My sleeping crew and I learned how to tie and stake down the tarps to setup where we would sleep that night, outside. I felt confident with the way we set up the tarp because we thought it would hold up nicely, but we had no clue what was coming for us. The first night at Rio Grande was an experience I will not forget. At about midnight, I was awakened to the sound of strong winds lifting the tarp. Eventually, the stakes came undone and the tarp was flying in the air against the wind. My sleeping crew decided it was time to switch over to a three-sided steel shelter near us for safety, so we threw all our sleeping gear and our belongs into the shelter. As we were organizing and trying to settle down in the shelter, we heard a loud crash against the roof and the winds picked up more quickly. We all scurried in a corner as dust began to fill the room and our bodies. After what felt like an eternity of strong winds, I decided it was safe enough to run across to the other sleeping crew to check on their safety.
Thankfully, everyone was okay but shaken up from what they experienced. As the winds calmed down, we all returned to our shelters and drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, the sun was out as if nothing had happened the night before. Weirdly, it felt calm. As I explored the area to see the damage done by the wind, the light of the morning revealed everything I couldn’t see in the darkness of the night. The loud crash I heard by the shelter was caused by a large tree branch that broke and rammed into the structure by the wind. Around the camp area, I saw broken branches and trees that would never be restored again, a few close to where we all slept that night.
After reflecting and processing the events that occurred, the class went on a short adventure on a trail that led to a spring farther up the river, stopping at an open area of the river and rocks. I explored and climbed the rocks and river around me. I took in the refreshing river and bonded with nature. After that adventure, we returned to the campsite where we decided to try and float on the Rio Grande River with life vests on. I was nervous, but excited to experience a new adventure. As I climbed on the rocks in the water to try and reach a clear area to float, I felt afraid during my climb. The strong current against my body made me fearful of slipping and hitting a rock. But once I reached a clear area of the river and flipped over onto my back, I was at peace once more with nature.
During our second, and last, night, my sleeping crew and I decided it was best to sleep in the shelter, which was the best call because that night it rained heavily upon us. Unfortunately, the other sleeping crew slept outside and woke up drenched in rain. After a less chaotic night of rest, we packed and traveled our way back up to the vehicles, off to our next adventure.
As I reminisce about the peaceful and scary times shared, I feel a sense of gratitude to the Rio Grande. Being my last major and extensive adventure on this trip, I’m grateful it got to happen here. As crazy and scary as the nights were, the adventures experienced in the light brought me freedom. Freedom to become a new person.”
