Lessons in Mastering Uncertainty

Sitting down, 4000 feet in the air after a hour and half hike up the side of several slippery rocks,I realized I couldn’t remember the last time i watched the sunset and promised myself i wouldn’t let that happen again.

DAY 1- Cathedral Rock in Sedona Arizona

Cathedral Rock is notoriously known as a being a vortex of positive energy. It’s just east of the awful touristy part of Sedona which is lined with crystal stores and jeep tour stores. Amy and I had no intention of making this climb at this time in order to see the sunset. In fact, neither of us knew if we could actually make what seemed to be a treacherous climb up the sides of several smooth and some deterorating rocks. With each climb we took pictures thinking, that was as high as we would go for the day but, then we would fine a new trail, or a more steady footing that make the climb that more reachable.

Along the way we met an older couple from Michigan who hiked all over the US. They gave us some tips on places and tours to take, but we left them on a smooth set of rocks and continued to climb towards a family on the next ledge. They had 4 small children who were scribbling their names in the rock and furiously asking a million questions about the hike. We sat with them for a bit only to watch a group of German tourist “love the rock” as they made their way down a frightening incline.

Watching them gave us the encouragement to continue to climb, but at that point we were on our own and for the next hour we continued to follow unusal trail markers to plateaus with twisted trees whose roots seemed to be trying to make a drill and escape the ground. the last .3 of the miles of rock was a spiraled rocky terrain leading straight up to the Cathedral like pillars of red rock. The top didn’t feel like the top, but maybe that’s the feeling of any climb. We sat on the edge and listened to te echoes of some teenagers that had been hanging out on the various rocky ledges that were all pointing toward the sunset. Taking in the rays we watched the rocks and our faces change colors. Suddenly I became dizzy and realized I couldn’t remember the last time i sat and really watched the sun go down.

The encompassing shadows were our signal to start making our trek down the path so that we didn’t have to navigate in darkness.

I’m not completely sure what makes the trees and plants twist on the sides of the seemingly beating red rocks of Sedona, but i know there is something there that you can’t understand until you touch it and even then you won’t know what it is.

How strange it is to forget to acknowledge the daily celestial event that has allowed us to keep track of time for centuries.