R.E.A.C.H. Earthship Community, a pictorial

So, in my last entry I showed you what a viga run looks like. But there’s plenty I didn’t show you! Including the fact that the entire escapade took place at R.E.A.C.H., the original Earthship community founded in 1989.

R.E.A.C.H. (or “Rural Earthship Alternative Community Habitat” if you favor flavor over brevity) is a PRIVATE community, so don’t just go traipsing up here uninvited— but realistically, you probably couldn’t make it if you wanted to. The roads are only accessible with a 4×4, and then only when the snow isn’t too thick.

Jimmy is staying in Mike Reynolds‘ old house, which only has one parking space out front; the rest of us park along the main road, and walk up the steep hill.

The elevation is 8400 feet, almost 2000 feet above Taos. Particularly if (like me) you’ve just come from sea level, climbing this hill is enough to make you feel like having a heart attack. I managed it by taking lots of breaks to photograph things, while trying to swallow my heart back down into my chest. My first time up here, I couldn’t even walk a full minute without stopping for air. Still, we all made it up this driveway to Jimmy’s house.

Then we started to climb in earnest.

Steep, narrow trail, loose gravel, unsteady footing: a challenging hike even at sea level. I watched in dismay as Jimmy, Rory, Brian, and Mike zoomed up the hill. My head felt like exploding.

I eventually made it to the top of the ridge (another few hundred feet in elevation), where the first tree had been felled & limbed, and was already on its way down. I got there just in time to watch the crew run past me dragging a whole tree; all that was left was to carry the chainsaw back down the hill.

After that (two more times up the ridge, almost to the top), I didn’t try to carry my camera or anything else with me. It was enough work just to hike. And so it is that there are no photos of the first viga run! Thank goodness Sol brought her camera the next week, taking all that video footage; otherwise, you’d never believe me about this viga insanity.

But let’s talk a bit more about R.E.A.C.H., shall we?

This tract of land is 55 acres big, and none of it with an electric meter or water line. Utilities can’t make it up a hill this steep, and that suits Earthship owners just fine. The challenge of building up here is daunting at best, but once your house is complete, you don’t need those unsightly power lines blocking your view.

 

 

After our first viga run, we all felt like superheros after bringing down those trees. We rehashed the day’s adventure on Jimmy’s porch, overlooking the entire Taos valley.

 

 

 

This is an older Earthship, with a less-standard design— but it still works amazingly well. Even on this cold, cloudy, windy day, Jimmy’s place is hot indoors.

The house extends horizontally and vertically, following the hillside. It’s big enough to house several people; it’s also recently empty, and will be lodging for some future interns (only those whose cars can make it up this crazy hill, of course). On our final viga run of the month, we let ourselves in and had a little tour of the place.

 

 

 
 
 

 

The house is beautiful, with lots of curved lines and separate living spaces: perfect for intern housing. Plus it’s warm-n-cozy, and the view can’t be beat. I think most of us were a bit jealous we’d missed the chance to live there.

There are a couple funky things about it: water stains, old roofing, open outdoor cistern (no longer used in Earthships these days). But it’s an old-ish house, and an early incarnation of these sustainable design techniques, and still it’s more comfortable and beautiful than any standard house of its age.

R.E.A.C.H. is one of those truly unique places in the world, where innovation and elbow grease have conspired to create a new sort of human habitat. It’s closed to new building sites now, but its presence indicates a burgeoning reality that most people would consider impossible: a peaceful, quiet life off the grid, even in extreme conditions. Even though this is an experimental community and by no means utopian, it is definitely a beacon for those interested in sustainable living, and a sign on this blogger’s winding pathway toward a more complete way of life.