The Sprit of the Canyon
By Catalin Olortegui
Photo: Shyanne Orvis
My mother always told me this universe was full of energy. It took me a while to really let her words sink in, to understand what she really meant by that. As I grew, I spent an ever-increasing time outside. Whether to use it as a means to cope with the stressors of life or to just feel better about existing in a superficial society, I found myself relying on my senses more than ever. It just makes sense-I felt the pent up tension shed from my core every time I ran barefoot on the beach, swam through a creek, casted my rod-I took out my negative energy and took in mother nature's positive energy. Every experience I've had where this has occurred has reminded me to stay happy and humble, two things everybody should feel in their lives.
The Black Canyon itself is humbling place-pictures truly do it no justice. I flew in on a redeye to Grand Junction with no idea what Colorado had in store for me, exhausted after a whole day of travel. The next morning changed my life the high desert air that buffeting my face stole my breath away as we sped down the highway amongst a watercolor splatter of ancient rolling dunes towards Pleasant Park. Steve, Joe, and Shyanne's words could not have prepared me for the grandeur of the Gunnison.
The moment my beat-up Redwings hit the dusty earth I felt like I had come home to a second home I wanted and needed to know so badly. The smiling faces of the Denver girls-my newfound friends-and the guides' amazing knowledge and lore from years on the Gunnison made this place all the more magical for me.
Galia and I in particular saw each other grow like weeds in skill. Spotting heads and tailwaters for each other, Steve's bubbling passion for the river rolling over our ears as we cruised the rapids-that's what our davs looked like, under the lazy mountain sun. Tactile, free, slow, refreshing and thrilling when we fought the bejeweled browns and bows.
Anout Steve Brown-he's lust a really swell human being. He has this way of storytelling that is so
rich in countless ways. Every rapid, bend, birdsong, rock wall is a chapter in the story of Earth's book, and he is reading the words, putting it in human terms.
And Shyanne is a force of nature powerful, ever-standing Joshua tree in a world that can be a harsh desert. She's a breath of fresh air and one of the most wonderful people to learn from.
Joe wasa treat to be around too, they all were. And by God are they good teachers, cooks-all of the above! When the first night's ice breaker is a low country boil for dinner, a cajun cacophony of aromas wafting across Pleasant Park, breaking my attention from a river-fork crawdad exploration, you know it'll be a good time.
Every lap through the sky the sun took was just that, a long day full of love, sweat, appreciation, and a well earned rest under the big starry sky.
Boulder garden was probably my favorite camp of them all. There's just something about the rush of life in that spot, tucked between quiet trickles and booming noise, a rite of passage amongst the guides of the Gunny. I love Steve's guardian friend, the Garden Guardian, a symbol of stability in when I learned of them, and in my life today, a solid pillar of morals in a raging flow. An infinite landmark to finite beings. As I lay upon a car-sized sandstone slab at boulder garden, mom's words resonated with me again. I felt the hum of the universal sound at my back, the light of a thousand stars brushing my cheeks, the roar of the rapids lulling me into a dream state... I felt content with mv existence. For the first time in many seasons, I felt satisfied with myself. The fish, the cottonwoods, the willows, and the warm rock at my back seemed to agree when I said inwardly, "You're enough! You are always going to be enough.
"The high desert air that buffeting my face stole my breath away as we sped down the highway amongst a watercolor splatter of ancient rolling dunes towards Pleasant Park"
These days I miss it deeply. To say that in the short time spent in the gorge has shaped my heart to be a little bigger is nothing close to how it has actually changed me. It is another north star to me now, an etch on my soul with a story to tell for as long as I live. Something to get a sick tattoo about, for sure.
Catalin Olortegui, 18, Florida
Cat joined us this summer under the Captains for Clean Water scholarship. She just began college in Key West where she can pursue her love for the ocean and protecting it.
The Black Canyon itself is humbling place-pictures truly do it no justice. I flew in on a redeye to Grand Junction with no idea what Colorado had in store for me, exhausted after a whole day of travel. The next morning changed my life the high desert air that buffeting my face stole my breath away as we sped down the highway amongst a watercolor splatter of ancient rolling dunes towards Pleasant Park. Steve, Joe, and Shyanne's words could not have prepared me for the grandeur of the Gunnison.
The moment my beat-up Redwings hit the dusty earth I felt like I had come home to a second home I wanted and needed to know so badly. The smiling faces of the Denver girls-my newfound friends-and the guides' amazing knowledge and lore from years on the Gunnison made this place all the more magical for me.
Galia and I in particular saw each other grow like weeds in skill. Spotting heads and tailwaters for each other, Steve's bubbling passion for the river rolling over our ears as we cruised the rapids-that's what our davs looked like, under the lazy mountain sun. Tactile, free, slow, refreshing and thrilling when we fought the bejeweled browns and bows.
Anout Steve Brown-he's lust a really swell human being. He has this way of storytelling that is so
rich in countless ways. Every rapid, bend, birdsong, rock wall is a chapter in the story of Earth's book, and he is reading the words, putting it in human terms.
And Shyanne is a force of nature powerful, ever-standing Joshua tree in a world that can be a harsh desert. She's a breath of fresh air and one of the most wonderful people to learn from.
Joe wasa treat to be around too, they all were. And by God are they good teachers, cooks-all of the above! When the first night's ice breaker is a low country boil for dinner, a cajun cacophony of aromas wafting across Pleasant Park, breaking my attention from a river-fork crawdad exploration, you know it'll be a good time.
Every lap through the sky the sun took was just that, a long day full of love, sweat, appreciation, and a well earned rest under the big starry sky.
Boulder garden was probably my favorite camp of them all. There's just something about the rush of life in that spot, tucked between quiet trickles and booming noise, a rite of passage amongst the guides of the Gunny. I love Steve's guardian friend, the Garden Guardian, a symbol of stability in when I learned of them, and in my life today, a solid pillar of morals in a raging flow. An infinite landmark to finite beings. As I lay upon a car-sized sandstone slab at boulder garden, mom's words resonated with me again. I felt the hum of the universal sound at my back, the light of a thousand stars brushing my cheeks, the roar of the rapids lulling me into a dream state... I felt content with mv existence. For the first time in many seasons, I felt satisfied with myself. The fish, the cottonwoods, the willows, and the warm rock at my back seemed to agree when I said inwardly, "You're enough! You are always going to be enough.
"The high desert air that buffeting my face stole my breath away as we sped down the highway amongst a watercolor splatter of ancient rolling dunes towards Pleasant Park"
These days I miss it deeply. To say that in the short time spent in the gorge has shaped my heart to be a little bigger is nothing close to how it has actually changed me. It is another north star to me now, an etch on my soul with a story to tell for as long as I live. Something to get a sick tattoo about, for sure.
Catalin Olortegui, 18, Florida
Cat joined us this summer under the Captains for Clean Water scholarship. She just began college in Key West where she can pursue her love for the ocean and protecting it.