Spring Break 2026 - Hill People - Evan and Morgan's notes from along the way

Part one: St George, UT and the Grand Canyon

Cast: Evan, Leah, and Morgan

We did a single pitch of Leopard Skin (Leah's first!). We quickly bailed after Evan tried climbing the much harder route to the left, traversed to the anchor, then sustained second degree burns to his ankles from the sun baking his climbing shoes. Blister patches, moleskin, and lidocaine were our friends afterward. You can write to us directly if you'd like to see the video of popping Evan's blister with a pocket knife, but I'm not going to be putting that on the internet.

The next day, we rallied with force for an epic traverse: Island in the Sky. Over the span of five hours, we clambered up a massive mesa, wound our way through isolated rock gardens, wormed through chimneys, and finally rappelled down a few pitches.

There were a few precarious moments, but I was grateful to have Leah's steady feet and Evan's careful navigation to guide me. We walked back to camp, draped in ropes with gear clanking on hips. Sour gummy worms and water were quickly consumed and we then laid around in the sun for hours to recover.

That night, we were visited again by one of our campground friends: a charming older Canadian man whose name we never caught and his lab Sage. He and his wife have been visiting Snow Canyon in St George for a few decades. I honestly love this area so much that I could see myself completing the pilgrimage like this too.

Also, the Grand Canyon was so sick. We found a cozy little spot off the highway and kept driving back and forth to McDonald's to avoid peeing in the woods.

Part two: Sedona, AZ

Cast: aforementioned plus Tyler & Annelise, Camille, Emma, Richard & Baylee, Margot & Kiet

I booked a 12-person Airbnb near Sedona and took this as a chance to invite basically everyone I know. My sister, best friends from college, boyfriend, and new friends from grad school all got to mingle on our cute mini farm. We even had two pigs and a few chickens in the backyard!

House dinners were one of my favorite highlights. Each night, a few people would tackle the challenge of feeding the whole group and we'd all inevitably jump in to help with chopping, frying, and washing up.

We also went cragging and I was so proud of all of my friends' accomplishments. Kiet led several routes, Leah lead a scary runout that usually gets protected with trad gear, and Camille climbed outside for the first time!