After poring over the Kelsey book, Nancy and I decided to do this 8 mile loop hike in the San Rafael Swell. I will never forget how Nancy grew more and more quiet as we drove further west on 70. I could tell she was slightly panicked when we passed the sign that stated the next services were in 40 miles, and that panic increased as we exited the highway and we lost cell phone reception. By the time we turned on a dirt road, she was pretty much silent.
We started by ascending Bell Canyon. There was one moment where we had to climb up a rock... I scrambled up it easily, but Nancy said, "I can't do it." Nancy has longer legs than me and was in better shape. She absolutely could do it. But her attempts failed, and I realized it was all about her confidence. This was a revelation to me as I thought about how I often I look at obstacles in canyons and think, "I can't do it." Attitude makes a world of difference. I also had sympathy for my friends- now I understand why they get so frustrated with me!
Nancy found an alternate path around the obstacle, and we proceeded up the canyon. She was very nervous when it came to scrambling, and I know she wanted to stab me every time I said, "Trust your shoes." (Karma came back and got me a few months later when I was climbing the side of a cliff in the Red River Gorge, and Rick James kept yelling at me to trust my shoes.)
We took a break for lunch in between canyons and admired the beauty of the San Rafael Swell, which used to be an ocean floor.
We then entered Little Wild Horse, the more scenic of the two.
It was more slotty, and Nancy was NOT a fan. She neglected to mention that she is claustrophobic. I was like, "Nancy, I told you to look for the words 'narrows' and 'slot' in the canyon descriptions... Why didn't you say something???"
(The reason Nancy is so far ahead of me is because she is just trying to get the hell out of there.)
We made it out of the canyons in one piece. Nancy became more verbal as we got closer to the highway, and her relief was almost tangible when we stopped for gas in Green River.
The funny thing is that, as much as she hated her life while she was in those canyons, she says that now, that's the place she visualizes when she goes to her "happy place." And I think she was such a badass to do something that was so scary to her and not even complain about it!
Eshet Chayil, Nancy!
We started by ascending Bell Canyon. There was one moment where we had to climb up a rock... I scrambled up it easily, but Nancy said, "I can't do it." Nancy has longer legs than me and was in better shape. She absolutely could do it. But her attempts failed, and I realized it was all about her confidence. This was a revelation to me as I thought about how I often I look at obstacles in canyons and think, "I can't do it." Attitude makes a world of difference. I also had sympathy for my friends- now I understand why they get so frustrated with me!
Nancy found an alternate path around the obstacle, and we proceeded up the canyon. She was very nervous when it came to scrambling, and I know she wanted to stab me every time I said, "Trust your shoes." (Karma came back and got me a few months later when I was climbing the side of a cliff in the Red River Gorge, and Rick James kept yelling at me to trust my shoes.)
We took a break for lunch in between canyons and admired the beauty of the San Rafael Swell, which used to be an ocean floor.
We then entered Little Wild Horse, the more scenic of the two.
It was more slotty, and Nancy was NOT a fan. She neglected to mention that she is claustrophobic. I was like, "Nancy, I told you to look for the words 'narrows' and 'slot' in the canyon descriptions... Why didn't you say something???"
(The reason Nancy is so far ahead of me is because she is just trying to get the hell out of there.)
We made it out of the canyons in one piece. Nancy became more verbal as we got closer to the highway, and her relief was almost tangible when we stopped for gas in Green River.
The funny thing is that, as much as she hated her life while she was in those canyons, she says that now, that's the place she visualizes when she goes to her "happy place." And I think she was such a badass to do something that was so scary to her and not even complain about it!
Eshet Chayil, Nancy!
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