Bouldering at Sunset
Upper Bidwell Park, Chico, CA
Bouldering at Sunset: Get Outside!
This is a classic, “When life gives you lemons make lemonade.” Ever since seeing this boulder, I’ve wanted to get a person on it for a distinctive shot. The problem I had was featuring the rock. There was an incredible amount of vegetation, most of it poison oak surrounding the area. I wanted a clean, silhouette transitioning into an interesting sky. I just couldn’t work out how to deal with all the poison oak.
Flash forward to the summer of 2024. The park fire started literally right below this area. Like many people who love Bidwell Park I was saddened for the destruction of the special place. When we were finally allowed back in, I passed through this area on my first hike. Most of that morning was frustrating and more than a little sad. When I got to this area, I was reminded that the change fire brings can be a good thing.
For several months, I had known that one of my climbing friends was up for doing this. The problem at this point was lining up our schedules on a good day. Being ready when nature gives you a gift can be a recipe for frustration. Sometimes it takes a lot of failed trips, on days that all looked promising. In this case, we got it on the first one!
I’ve mentioned it many times before, but it is shocking how quickly you can feel removed from society once you start hiking in Upper Bidwell Park. This Boulder is only a mile in. During the several hours we were on site, we might have seen 2 people. This is yet another image which reminds me how important it is to both value, and experience this unique gift the Bidwell‘s left us.