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Published: October 23rd 2007
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We waved goodbye to the spectacular Californian coastline turned inland and were back in the mountains. Poor old Tommy had his work cut out, climbing up and down and zig zagging this way and that. Our next destination was Death Valley, doesn't sound very appealing. We left the threat of the great white behind and only had to contend with rattlesnakes, scorpions and tarantulas. Our biggest worry was conking out in the middle of the desert but luckily we got through and made it to the aptly named Furness Creek campground. Spent our first night literally under the stars (I think Nik fancied himself as a real life cowboy, I'll buy him a rocking horse when we get home), put our matress on the ground and spent the night gazing at hundreds of constellations and only being able to pick out the Plough and Seven Sisters. Every now and then the wind would blow and make me think that a herd of Tarantulas were running through my hair, after having a good old shake and pulling my hood up tight it was back to the land of nod. An awesome experience. Lots of spectacular rock formations to view and of course
Death Valley
Sleeping Beauty!! a sea of salt. We made it out of Death valley alive and headed for Las Vegas. Funnily enough there was no campsites in town, they only seemed to accomadate the high rollers. We camped 20 miles out and went back in for the day. Very glitzy, a bit like Blackpool with huge knobs on. On the strip each hotel had its own particular theme, New York, MGM, Luxor etc but once inside they were all pretty much the same. Slot machines, poker, roulette and many other ways to fleece you for as much money as possible. Nik only let me put 20c in the slot machines and you'll be pleased to know at one stage I was 10c up. The fountain display outside one hotel was the most spectacular with spurts all choreographed to music. Glad we went but it's not somewhere I'll be rushing back to. Nik feels a little peeved he didn't get the chance to visit Hooters ( an establishment where the waitresses are very well endowed), he blames me for not letting him go but really his legs were aching with trailing about and he couldn't be bothered to cross over the bridgr (must be
Las Vegas
Blackpool with knobs on. getting old).
From Vegas we headed east to a region called the Colorado Plateau, this area is mainly in the south of Utah an area about the size and shape of France, pushed up millions of years ago to the height of between 5 & 10,000 feet. The rock originally sand dunes compressed into sandstone has been eroded over the years by water and weather to form an array of canyons, columns and arches. I could fill the page with adjectives to descibe the landscape but that wouldn't make very good reading, so hopefully the photos will suffice, I shall just say it was very 'nice'. The exact locations we have visited are Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef National Parks , Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon. What we have come to realize is that what goes hand in hand with spectacular scenery is the element of risk. I can best give an example of this by recalling our experiences in Zion National Park. Zion is a 12 mile long canyon flanked by shear cliffs up to 1,200 ft high. The Canyon narrows at the north end until acess is only possible along the riverbed, this stretch is known as the
Narrows. There is a hike up the Narrows along the river bed using a stick for support and to test the depth of the water , the danger being flash floods. Several people have met a sticky end this way over the years. We set off and an hour up the narrows clouds formed. We somehow managed to cover the same distance retreating in half the time. For the next two days we had organized a backcountry permit which basically means you can get off the beaten track and hike into the wilderness, camping overnight in the middle of knowhere and return unscathed. We were advised to carry a gallon of water per person per day which seemed a bit excessive and heavy but we were assured there were springs where we were heading so we could refill. We set off with full packs as required. Our route took us past a high rock column called The Angels Landing. This was accessed by a rocky ridge path about half a mile long, very narrow in places with 1,000 foot drop either side. Nine peolple have fallen in the parks history the last one in June of this year. June and
Zion N.P.
Angels Landing I looked nervously at the ridge not made any easier as we had to take our large packs . We made a pact, if either of us fell to an untimely death we agreed it would be OK for the other to find a new partner..... providing they didn't start looking 'til after the funeral. Well we made it and lived to tell the tale . We pressed on into the wilderness merrily consuming our water supply. The temperature was in the 80's and two hours on I was sweating like a PTI doing a maths test and had a tongue like Ghandi's flip flop. We climbed higher and higher and crossed several dry streams, it seemed the chance of finding water was becoming more remote and we were both inwardly panicking. Just when I was losing the will to live I noticed moisture seeping from a rock ahead on the trail. I rushed forward and thrust my face against the 'rock of life' with my tongue out. Unfortunately my nose is longer than my tongue and I recoiled back into the desert sand. Through blurred vision I saw June calmly step forward placing her palm against the rock of
life. The moisture gathered in the web space of her thumb and index finger, trickled down the lateral aspect of her fifth phalanx and metacarpal down to her radially deviated wrist and into the water bottle she was holding in her other hand. In five minutes the bottle was full. Water is not usually my preferance unless with a teabag in or fermented with hops but this was like nectar. Having quenched my thirst I was wracked with guilt June the human tap had just saved my life. This fact made worse by my thoughts prior to salvation..... If June had died could I bring myself to eat her in order to survive? If I could which bit should I eat first? If I were later rescued would I be back in time for the rugby cup final? And how would I explain that June's body had no buttocks. The rest of the trip was quiet and serene until June started talking to me on the next day, oh well never mind.
In the Grand Canyon we had a stroke of luck, really fancied walking down to the bottom and camping overnight but all the sites were taken as you
had to book up a year ahead. Tried on the off chance and got a last minute cancellation at the Phantom Ranch bunkhouse. Seven mile trek down, night in the bunkhouse, breakfast at 6.30 and a 10 mile trek back out. Marks out of 10 = 10.
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John
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Caught up
Glad to read your latest blog and you both are ok. Thought you might be caught up in the fire in california!! All ok this end Stu and Sally still in Tenerife we go for a week on 16 nov. Sounds as if your having a great trip all the best.