We spent the rest of January in Red Rocks. Jake and Kat brought us out to a few of their favorite boulders near Kraft Mountain. We returned the favor by showing them a few of our favorite climbs, Haunted Hooks and Olive Oil.
We enjoyed exploring various areas of Red Rock Canyon with these two, hiking, climbing and running the trails. Together we trained, climbed, ran and celebrated successes throughout the winter.
One evening Jake, Kat, Kyle and I decided to take ‘rest day’ and relax ourselves in hot springs. We drove to Arizona, arrived around 9pm and started our hike. None of us had been to these springs before. Headlamps were donned and we started off into the darkness. The path eventually lead us deeper and deeper into the canyon. Slowly the walls closed in on us. Then, suddenly we could smell the springs, we scrambled our way down into the slot canyon and discovered 3 different pools. Pool #1 was MUCH too hot, we waded on through to Pool #2. Pool #2 was toasty, but quite pleasant in the winter air. Kyle and I sat here and relaxed for a while until I was too warm. Then we made our way into Pool #3 which was just wonderful for a nice long soak. The bottom of each pool was smooth rock, and the slot canyon closed in all around us until there was just a sliver of sky we could see above. I watched as the stars slowly made there way through the slot canyon. It was a peaceful night and so relaxing in the warm waters. Eventually we hiked back to the vans, Kyle and I had some ice cream and started a movie, despite it being past 1AM. This is one of my absolute favorite memories of natural hot springs.
Our last day together we climbed the epically classic, Olive Oil. At the top we found the summit registry and recorded our ascent. It was a beautiful day out climbing.
Then we went out for pizza, one of our favorite treats. Kyle and I were sad to leave Jake and Kat, but we knew it was only temporary and our paths would cross again soon.