1 minute read
After Hours
New heightsIntroduced to the great outdoors at
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE COX a young age by her father, Danielle
Martinez developed a passion for adventure that has taken her places she never could have imagined.
Two years ago on Bishop Peak, Danielle Martinez was “scared and nervous” when she craned her neck back and took measure of the massive granite wall before her. It was her first exposure to rock climbing. Despite her fear, she found the experience to be oddly “both invigorating and calming at the same time.” Since then Martinez has been on a rock climbing mission, pursuing the sport during nearly all of her free time in places such as Joshua Tree, Pinnacles, and Yosemite (she stays in top form by practicing her technique at the SLO-OP climbing gym in San Luis Obispo). During the workday she is a case manager and marriage and family therapist intern at the Family Care Network and explains that, in many ways, climbing is the perfect metaphor relating to her profession because it “demands consistency and patience while testing endurance and flexibility.” Martinez, who grew up trekking the Sierra backcountry with her father, attempts to share the experience with us: “I’ve camped and hiked my entire life—and I love being outdoors. There are just so many beautiful places to see. But, it’s an entirely different level of beauty when you are thousands of feet above the ground, it’s really difficult to describe.” SLO LIFE
