I’m sure you’ve told yourself to “go to your happy place” before. It’s a mental exercise, a visualization intended to lessen the pain or fear of the current situation. I have routinely done this every time I’ve visited the dentist since I was 10 years old.
I have literally “gone to my happy place,” on this Zion National Park backpacking trip, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The last four times I’ve come to Zion I’ve guided Sol Fitness Adventures Redrock Backpacker: Southwestern, Utah overnight canyoneering adventure. Helping adventurous clients test their mental and physical limits by backpacking beyond official park boundaries into a Wilderness Study Area is what I do. I live to see the awe-struck looks on my client’s faces when they see the depths of the canyon for the first time. The last two trips were all work as I outpaced (one never outsmarts mother nature) thunderstorms, chased flash floods, and coached various phobias down the Virgin River.
My latest pilgrimage to the canyon is all about me though. Sure, I have some research and preparation to do for my next guided trip, but I’ve also come to commune with Mother Earth and connect with the locals. I’ll be here for one full week – hiking, biking, creating, swimming, eating, sleeping – all forms of active meditation to me, in my favorite place on earth. But enough about me. Check out more footage of this amazing canyon here. Redrock Backpacker: Southwestern, Utah