The past two days have not gone according to plan, and that's okay.
Yesterday was a rough day. After the previous night's rain, the morning was spent drying out our stuff, not running a canyon. I talked everyone into going to see a waterfall on their way out of town. It was supposed to be a 15 minute walk down a creek. 30 minutes later, everyone else decided they were over it. We said goodbye right there in the water, and I continued on alone. The waterfall was less than impressive.
I wandered around for a while and explored Mount Hillers, then camped at Little Egypt again.
I was super excited to go hike Mount Ellen this morning. Mount Ellen is the highest point in the Henry Mountains, which are so remote, they were the last mountain range in the Lower 48 to be mapped. I've never heard of anyone hiking up there, so I thought it would be fun to do that. The drive up the mountain was beautiful; everything was so lush and green. It sounded like an easy hike- park at Bull Creek Pass at 10,500 feet and hike to the summit at 11,500 feet.
And then, all of a sudden, the road was completely covered in snow.
There was nowhere to turn around. I was so scared. I was going to have to reverse quite a ways downhill and around curves on a narrow shelf road with a huge drop off.
I texted Jason and Paula because I needed to not feel like I was alone in that moment. I was terrified. Ever since I backed into Nina's car and gave it a "dimple" in high school, I've had very little faith in my reversing skills. But I gave myself a pep talk and started inching backwards. And I survived.
I felt pretty shaky after this ordeal, so I pulled over as soon as I found a good spot. As I calmed down, I started to notice just how perfect this spot was; grass and dandelions in the middle of a desert. I couldn't help but twirl around and have a Sound of Music moment. Then I took things to the next level and turned on Let It Go and sang along at the top of my lungs. I felt so happy in that moment.
I sat there and read for a while. I'm reading this fascinating book by Elizabeth Gilbert called "The Last American Man." Then I spent the afternoon in Hanksville, showering, talking to my parents, etc. My next stop was the San Rafael Swell.
I am camping in an absolutely amazing spot in an ancient reef. When I look at the holes in the rock, I can easily imagine Nemo and his friends popping in and out of them. I went for a walk after dinner and climbed and explored and was utterly content. I am in a beautiful place. I am happy.
(For some reason, the pictures want to be all out of order. I'm just using the Blogger app and can't fix it. But the pics are all from my campsite last night and my drive up Mount Ellen.)
Here is a video of my campsite:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vONUl4qNkjk
And here is a video of my Sound of Music moment on Mount Ellen:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_DlEmJyLE
Yesterday was a rough day. After the previous night's rain, the morning was spent drying out our stuff, not running a canyon. I talked everyone into going to see a waterfall on their way out of town. It was supposed to be a 15 minute walk down a creek. 30 minutes later, everyone else decided they were over it. We said goodbye right there in the water, and I continued on alone. The waterfall was less than impressive.
I wandered around for a while and explored Mount Hillers, then camped at Little Egypt again.
I was super excited to go hike Mount Ellen this morning. Mount Ellen is the highest point in the Henry Mountains, which are so remote, they were the last mountain range in the Lower 48 to be mapped. I've never heard of anyone hiking up there, so I thought it would be fun to do that. The drive up the mountain was beautiful; everything was so lush and green. It sounded like an easy hike- park at Bull Creek Pass at 10,500 feet and hike to the summit at 11,500 feet.
And then, all of a sudden, the road was completely covered in snow.
There was nowhere to turn around. I was so scared. I was going to have to reverse quite a ways downhill and around curves on a narrow shelf road with a huge drop off.
I texted Jason and Paula because I needed to not feel like I was alone in that moment. I was terrified. Ever since I backed into Nina's car and gave it a "dimple" in high school, I've had very little faith in my reversing skills. But I gave myself a pep talk and started inching backwards. And I survived.
I felt pretty shaky after this ordeal, so I pulled over as soon as I found a good spot. As I calmed down, I started to notice just how perfect this spot was; grass and dandelions in the middle of a desert. I couldn't help but twirl around and have a Sound of Music moment. Then I took things to the next level and turned on Let It Go and sang along at the top of my lungs. I felt so happy in that moment.
I sat there and read for a while. I'm reading this fascinating book by Elizabeth Gilbert called "The Last American Man." Then I spent the afternoon in Hanksville, showering, talking to my parents, etc. My next stop was the San Rafael Swell.
I am camping in an absolutely amazing spot in an ancient reef. When I look at the holes in the rock, I can easily imagine Nemo and his friends popping in and out of them. I went for a walk after dinner and climbed and explored and was utterly content. I am in a beautiful place. I am happy.
(For some reason, the pictures want to be all out of order. I'm just using the Blogger app and can't fix it. But the pics are all from my campsite last night and my drive up Mount Ellen.)
Here is a video of my campsite:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vONUl4qNkjk
And here is a video of my Sound of Music moment on Mount Ellen:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_DlEmJyLE
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