"Nirvana" refers to the hillside sloping gently down to the river:
that's where I planned to ascend to the mesa above.

The greenery in the foreground is on a long, narrow sandbar in the
middle of the river. The far bank is hidden behind it. Straight ahead,
behind the sandbar, is where I went ashore about two minutes after
this was taken. We're going to pass the sandbar, turn around,
and go upstream behind the sandbar to find the drop-off point.