When plans for a backpacking trip through Death Valley's Surprise Canyon were derailed by illness, the group adapted. Evan '26 reflects on resilience, presence, and thriving in adverse conditions.
Creosote Brush or Larrea tridentata is a common shrub. It sprinkles the arid landscape. It doesn’t compare to the towering saguaros of the Sonoran Desert or the Joshua trees of the Mohave. It doesn’t even stand out much from the other dessert shrubbery. But no matter where we go, it follows. As we traveled through one of the harshest environments, its resilience reflected everything we had overcome to be here. We pulled into Death Valley with the plan of backpacking up Surprise Canyon. This wasn’t the first plan, however. Only days before, California was still a mystery to us all. Under the Joshua Tree stars, we deliberated settling on a plan. And here we are. The land is empty and flat. Mountains tower off in the distance, encircling us. The only life is small flowers and the creosote shrubs sprinkled across the valley. Our plans didn’t turn out exactly as we hoped. A sickness had made its way around our group and the trek was out of the question. The next morning we endured. The bags we packed were all we had, no more, no less. Even if we didn’t get to backpack fully, we still lived every moment like we were. Even if we hiked up the wrong canyon it was still gorgeous. The trickling stream filled, revitalized, and replenished our water as we continued up the increasingly vegetated wash. The canyon's life matched our own, soon growing too thick to continue. As the sun set on our camp the distant lights of fellow travelers spangled the horizon.
The next day we leap out of bed and dash to our bags. After only 45 minutes, our bags were packed, and we were ready to hit the trails. After the grueling 10 yard walk into the bus, we are on our way to Death Valley. Two visitor centers and countless rangers later, we finally caught wind of a campsite. This time, we set off for real, leaving our bus and trailer behind. Everywhere we look is teaming with wildflowers. As the sun set on our camp, we prepared for the incoming rain. From the moment we got the news we were going off script we found the beauty in every moment. We blossomed no matter how dry, windy, cold, or uncomfortable we were.
The next few days had some of the worst weather we had experienced in a long time. Wind that blew away not only our food and chilled our bones but also put us to the test. In every desert we thrived, the smiles and laughs grew no matter the weather. Just like the creosote shrubs that surround us from the banks of the Rio Grande and blossomed underneath the saguaros and the Joshua trees, we lived the life of the shrub.
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