Solitude. To many folks the word solitude brings some feelings of discomfort. Solitude is hard to find in most peoples lives, many don’t want it. I myself enjoy solitude, and in fact need it in my life. Today I found some serious solitude.
d=rt came to his senses this morning and told me that he was going to bail out today. His foot was still severely swollen and he knew he needed to give his foot some time off to let it heal. He told me he would try to meet up with me in Escalante in a few days. We said goodbyes, and I was off.
Being alone in a remote place gives feelings of fear and adventure that cant be found elsewhere. I found myself excited and scared at the same time. I have done many solo hikes before, but never into a place like this. My risk assessments go into play more, when reality says that i must get myself out of any situation I get myself into. Sure, after a few days lost or trapped somewhere, d=rt would send help. But it could be days, and even if they did find me, it would be a royal pain to rescue me out of a lot of places. So I take less risks by myself and hope for the best.
Through the rest of Lower Muley Twist Canyon. It was amazing, I absolutely love this area. Soon I made my way up Red Slide, a 2200 foot climb out of Grand Gulch. It was nothing short of exhausting. The guidebook says to take the path of least resistance. I couldn’t find a path. I did find other hikers prints and was proud of myself for finding my way.
The other side took me down Moody Canyon. It was a lot of fun, I weaved in and out, over and under boulders that choked the narrow canyon closed. It was fun but eventually it did wear me out. The canyon opened up and evidence of cows was abundant. I must say this is not the place to put cattle. For one, how much sage brush must a cow eat to maintain itself? I am guessing a lot. I also stumbled across another reason not to put cattle out here. I was getting close to the Escalante River when I heard a Moo. It sounded desperate. I looked up to see if it was trapped on a cliff. Nothing. Then I start to think I am going crazy. Walk on. Then I hear it again, look over and see a full grown cow trapped between a rock and some dirt. It looks like the dirt gave way and trapped the bovine. I wanted to help, but couldn't think of anything that I could do that would not put me in danger of being kicked. So I took a picture, marked the waypoint on GPS, and told Betsy I would let the ranger district know when I got to town.
About a half mile down from the struggling bovine, I smelled death. Some ravens took off and sure enough, a full grown dead cow laid in the mud. Tough luck, some rancher just lost a lot of money.
I made it to the Escalante River around 7. I set up camp and washed up in the river. My god it felt nice to rinse off. The water is a might bit chilly though. I have 25 miles of river walking to do. Its going to be beautiful. The cliffs on both sides of this drainage must be 2000 foot tall. I have a feeling tomorrow could be slow going, guidebook says I will cross the river one million times.
I hiked 27 miles today. Not easy miles either. I am exhausted, but feel like I did good today. Though I miss the company of d=rt, I know this is good for his foot, and it feels nice to have some time completely alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment