New Mexico Descriptive Essay

The Mountains and I

New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment; the land of blue skies for as long as the eye can see; warm days with the rays of the sun beating down on your neck. Cool, windy nights with millions of stars dotting the horizon, and the vast Milky Way, exposed and vulnerable, like a beacon standing out from the dark, blank canvas that is the sky. The vast Land of Enchantment welcomed us into its arms, with the smirkish smile on its face, hiding the deceit in its eyes.

The rocky, mountainous landscape of the Sangre de Cristo was an obvious provocation, but other challenges, we were oblivious to, lying dormant until we faced our menacing adversary. We were told beforehand that “ this isn’t just a hike in the woods” by our crew

leader, and that we would need to prepare in all aspects, but somethings we just couldn’t prepare for. When our crew member, Ben, got sick and became dehydrated, literally in the middle of the vast, desolate, wilderness, we knew this wouldn’t be just a hike in the mountains, it would be a trip to remember.

Persevering through this obstacle mentally drained us all, even though we weren’t physically affected (yet). Having to divide up the weight he had to carry,as he was incapable of carrying it, hindered our progress, and it was like if somebody had loaded bricks into our backpacks. It had us gasping for air, literally, on some of the steep mountain ascents. This was not the only challenge we confronted, relying on our team was a crucial aspect, and having to equally contribute might have been an even harder part. The responsibilities of being a team member knew no boundaries, whether it be having to purify the frigid mountain water for our crew on a dark, cool night; or having to

hang bear bags multiple times late at night, and having to find your way back, when everything looks the same. The only way to be a successful team is to contribute and compromise, whether it be carrying an extra five pounds to help somebody, or willing to sacrifice sleep to wake up while the stars are still out, to go at a slower pace just to make it to our next campsite right at dusk; the willingness to be involved and to compromise helped us all to claim victory in the trial of teamwork.
While it seemed that we had gotten on the good graces of karma, our luck soon changed- when we faced our next adversity, and stared into the lionhearted, mettlesome eyes of Mother Nature.

The terrain was a diabolical adversity, unforgiving, aged and toughened, the terrain was forgiving to no one. Arguably, one of the most destructive forces of nature, water, still seemed to grip into importance, even in New Mexico. The rushing force of cold, mountainous stream rises and falls like an accompaniment to Nature’s hymn. This extreme force of nature was our next obstacle; with extreme fluctuating water levels, trying to cross ‘small’ mountain streams that were originally ankle high, that in reality, were waist high and at least two times larger, was almost an unfeasible opponent. This challenge was a demanding obstacle, trying to detour through windy mountain hills, filled with luscious green vegetation, not normally present in the usually arid environment. Our opponent had no mercy, throwing in steep ascents and declines, with the vicious sun beating down, relentlessly on our skin, with rocky, jagged, exposed ridges that just seemed to stretch on forever in the incessant heat of the day. The terrain was an almost impermeable obstacle, with literal mountains in our path, rising high into the sky, with one as the biggest adversary, Baldy Mountain; when it was covered in fog, it radiated an eerie atmosphere, foreshadowing the challenges to come. The terrain grew more

harsh as the trek progressed, with exposed trails through the burned forest, only with the charred trunks still standing, with the whistling wind eerily blowing through the remnants of the forest, which stretched over the vast, rugged landscape, as a reminder of the power of Mother Nature. The landscape gradually sloped higher and higher, growing more arduous and isolated, eventually rising 6000 feet in elevation from where we started, peaking at 12,441 feet. Our trek to the summit was onerous, starting early on a cool clear July morning, with the cool mountain breeze whizzing by while the stars slowly fade away. The expansive forest of the Aspens slowly thinned out as we climbed, slowly becoming few and sparse, leaving the summit lonely and desolate, almost like an exotic planet. At the pinnacle, the view seemed to be limitless; expansive and infinite. The wind was icy, jabbing into my skin, as it flew by, careless and cold hearted, but up there, everything seemed so small and almost unimportant; the pale blue skies set the perfect background for the green little blobs that dotted the mountainsides and the horizon that seemed to extend in every direction, with the flat, open plains on one side, and the protruding, snow capped mountains on the opposite side. While the terrain was a formidable opponent, the combination of teamwork, self belief, and dedication led us from start to finish, with an experience of a lifetime.
The challenges that the Land of Enchantment provided were burdensome, but the teamwork and strong self dedication made what might have been seen as strenuous into a more accomplishable task. The land continued the rhythm of nature, cycling through warm, bright days and cool, starry nights; the wind still wooshed by, the rain still fell, leaving muddy puddles that seemed to suck your boot in, and the streams still flowed. From this memorable experience, I learned so much, like how unimportant some small things are, but most importantly I learned that in order for teamwork to work, everyone must contribute and work together; and that self belief is an important aspect in order to achieve and succeed. This experience is one that I will cherish for a lifetime, remembering it as an important reminder of what is possible to achieve.