Erik’s Letters From The Road: All Roads Lead To Moab
Red rock columns, stunning sunsets, and some seriously good camp vibes. This is Moab. In continuation of our partnership with Carabiner Coffee, follow Erik Gordon as he transports us to the red land of Moab, home to world class climbing, and some of the most epic camping spots around.
If there’s one place on earth that will never let you down every time you find yourself there it’s… you guessed it, Southern Utah. With our desert gear in tow and the far off snow-covered peaks smiling down on the red rock formations of Moab as we approached, this trip is looking to be no different.
Five miles down a rugged two-track road the sounds of our old VW, a sprinter van and a built-out Toyota Tacoma slow down as we pull up to a remote campsite nestled alongside the red and gold cliff lines. If you’ve never been to the desert walls of southern Utah, it’s hard to explain the history you feel when you’re here. So many of these places have served as fireside dwellings for thousands of years before the age of iPhones and selfie sticks. But I digress...
The van doors opens and the sweet, sweet sound of our desert camp being set up ensues. Tables, chairs, stoves and tents all start being pieced together creating the purest form of what it means to live. Having exactly everything you need and nothing that you don’t is what makes these trips so special.
Warm beams of sunlight start to illuminate the boulders around us as morning arrives and in a place like this it’s not hard to be excited to get out of bed. The remnants of last night's rowdiness is pushed aside and the snap of our Ignite stoves echo off the rocks. The first one up always makes the coffee and it isn’t long before the aroma coming from the fresh ground beans and our Camp Café pour over start to bring everyone out one by one. Breakfast burritos follow shortly and the rattle of climbing gear also starts to fill the camp.
Once the last pack is thrown into our old VW, dust starts to fly from our rear wheels and we’re on our way to the other main attraction of the trip. We pull up to Wall Street right outside of Moab and not even 2 steps from the van we’re at the base of some of the best crack climbing you’ll ever get on. The rest of the day is filled with more coffee, more cracks and more smiling climbers than I’ve ever seen before.
Some people ask what is the point of climbing up these silly crack systems and rock formations. To be honest it’s something that has been hard to explain ever since I started climbing. The best way I’ve found is that once you get down from a climb that has demanded you be present with the rock in every way imaginable, the struggles of everyday life seem to shrink back into perspective. You feel the weigh of all those trivial thoughts fade away and you are brought back to the things that matter. You’re here, You’re alive, and that is enough to make you smile.
As the day fades into dusk and we’ve arrived back at camp, the faces around the campfire are full smiles and stories from the day. A bottle of whiskey makes its way around the flames and each person takes a sip in celebration of a day well lived. The best part? There’s still three more to come.
One by one our silhouettes start to make their way into the darkness to find the comfort of our sleeping bags. Before I turn in, I take on last look up at the stars and there’s no doubt in my mind. There’s no better road to travel in life than the one that leads to right here and as we know, at some point, all roads lead to Moab.