Day 32. Grateful.

Thursday February 9, 2023

What a deep sleep those last few hours! One of those hard sleeps you know? Not 'cause the floor of the jeep is hard and has hinges where the seats fold over, that tend to dig into your hip bone, although that is a thing lol. But hard like one of those sleeps where your face is just mashed into the pillow. With maybe a little drool down the side of your lip and you're not even sure of your first name when you wake up. Dp who? One of those lol.

But the sun is pouring into the jeep and it feels good to be alive! I have a little smile on my face having weathered that storm or whatever it was. Super strange - but the only remnants are that the jeep is pretty solidly covered in a reddish clay dirt. I climb out as soon as I realize I have to use the men's room and take a little walk over to it. There are no showers here, no bathroom either per se, just a toilet surrounded by four walls. Not even a roof lol. And no it does not flush!

As I walk back to camp I notice there is still no sign of any other life nearby. Not even animals of any kind. Great! Greeting a mountain lion first thing in the morning is still not on my bucket list of things to do. Or the evening. Or anytime come to think of it. The 'mens room' is far enough away from the jeep that as I walk back I kind of take in the whole canyon view and where I actually hunkered down last night. The pics below capture it pretty good. One of those "man am I really small in this huge expanse" right now moments ya know?

It was still a bit chilly and there was a decent breeze flowing through the canyon. Enough so that I sat at the back of the jeep to have breakfast rather than on the picnic table. This way the sun bore down on me and I was out of the wind. It wasn't like that morning in the Florida panhandle but man did it feel so good.

As I'm throwing back some chocolate milk and cereal, I did a little gratefulness to start the day. The feeling of being alive was so much more tangible and raw today. A deep resonance with life and the beauty that surrounds us...definitely had something to do with that storm last night...more on that below.

Time to pack up and get some riding in! The Navajo trail system just up north a bit off of Rt. 313 had caught my attention yesterday in the coffee shop. The description labeled one of the trails as moderate and another as moderate to expert (black diamond). I know from snow-boarding that each mountains' idea of what they consider black diamond can vary...be interesting to see how these are.

The trip out of the canyon was even more spectacular than the way in it seemed. Maybe because the light was brighter and I could really see the depths of the canyon I was driving through. For every picture I've included here I probably have five more...there's just to many to include! That goes for most blogs actually. Part of me is in the moment and another part is saying "take another photo to share with everyone back home!" If you really absorb the colors, the steep drops off to the side, the massive presence of the towering buttes and even just the remoteness of where I was...you can get a taste what its like to actually be out here. There are several spots where you can see drawings on the stone dating back to the Historic Ute Period and some even earlier. Yes the Ute period. Back then there was even more than two Ute's. Ha! (see earlier blog). Funny how that word keeps coming up! Apparently Ute's were people that occupied Eastern Utah and into Colorado back then. So if someone ever ask's you..."What's a Ute?" ...now you know!

Finding the Ramblin' Trailhead was super easy...the pamphlets I picked up yesterday were super helpful in both picking and finding these trails. Whoever compiled 'em- so glad they did. Nice job all you 21st Century Ute's!

The only remaining unknown was how well marked are the trails? Would I be able to find my way around...and back!? I took some pis of the trail maps and brought them with me too. Starting off on the Ramblin trail instantly put a smile on my face. It climbed briefly but then banged down pretty hard over what is called slick rock. Super fun and had to use my whole body as shock absorbers because it was pretty bumpy. Not loose, rock bumpy as much as hundreds of smoothed over, embedded rock with cracks and just different angles that popped the bike every which way. For the first time in my life I can see why having a rear suspension would've been so good. Impossible to keep the butt raised out of the saddle the entire ride so my bum took a pretty good beating at times. Totally got better at lowering the seat and sitting way back over the rear tire on the fly also. Throwing your weight further back prevents (hopefully!) you from flying over the handlebars in the steeper downhills. Especially if you have to throw on the brakes wow. So many times in the descent the wheels are carving through rock and sand just nicely but when I came near a sheer drop I brought my speed way down. One slip of the tire and 'off balance' equals 'off the trail' and off the trail means...well...down. Really far lol. I gotta say I really love this kind of mountain biking versus bering in the woods back home. Not that I've done a lot back home but here it's just so much more open! The views are everywhere and not impeded by a thick forest. Something about the red clay look and the dizzying heights with killer views that just add so much more to the ride out here.

I blasted through this trail and made it to it's opposite end a few miles down the road. Here I could either take the same trail back, or try the other one that has a black diamond in its description. I thought labeling the last trail a blue one was spot on and it was pretty manageable so I'm going for it on the Rocky Tops trail back to the jeep. I'll have to connect up with two other trails (Coney Island and Middle Earth Trails) to to make it 'home' but that'll keep my wits about me too.

Turns out this trail definitely has some more challenges to it! Some vertical technical stuff that had me dismount the bike at times 'cause I just couldn't...and other times- 'cuz I just didn't even wanna try! But 90% of it was perfectly challenging with just as many awesome views for picture taking.

It's so refreshing when you finally make your way to a point where you can see the road, and even see the jeep parked that I give a little sigh of relief. You realize you did it, you realize your 'safe' with no mechanical issues, no injuries and no getting lost and having to retrace or even be off trail completely at all. Have to hand it to the peeps that take care of the trail system out here. You can see in the photos that even on the slick rock there are painted marks that keep you pointed in the right direction. Even branches laid out lining the trail along the massive flat stone...just super helpful.

Back at the jeep I repack it with the bikes and gear, hydrate some more with some "Recovery" drinks and plug Salt Lake City into the GPS.

Tomorrow I'll meet up with the "Old Boss" for lunch!

Inside

Kinda continues from the morning paragraph above - I found myself so thankful for the ability to see this view, for the breathe in my lungs and thankful to be alive especially after that storm last night! I even thanked the canyon walls for protecting me, and for this awesome jeep that was there for me when I needed it! Good friends like that only come around so often lol... truth. Speaking of which - so thankful for all the friends in my life, and so many of you giving me shoutouts on this trip! Can't tell you how much it means to have you all just stoked by a picture I post, or that I gave you a laugh with a blog, or you giving a word of encouragement and even just knowing you are there, means the world to me. Blessed to know everyone of ya. As I'm saying these words to myself - all of a sudden this hard emotion arose from inside - being thankful for my kids. A really deepened gratefulness that just broke me down into sobs of love wow. Something about having walked through that storm last night, being alive now, tied into my four kids...and how blessed I am and how much I miss them. I honestly don't think (in hindsight) I was in a life threatening situation but who knows!? It was pretty nasty where those thoughts do pop into your mind. What if I don't get out of here and never see them again? Geez powerful. I have four kids. That's just incredible isn't it? I mean how many people get those kind of presents in their life? How many people have the gift of a child in their lives? I have four? Crazy good! Now how many people have the realization that their kids are indeed precious gifts? I realize in this moment also how beautiful and perfect they are -just as they are... almost especially if I don't interfere with the process God has laid out for them. Sure they need some guidance and gentle correction, even tossing them some bagel bites once in a while : ) but this gratefulness I'm feeling also married itself to the perfectness of the arches I spoke of a blog or so ago. The arches are beautiful in their own cracked and colorful way. My kids are a thousand times that beauty and I know we all know it - but in this moment it's powerfully deep. My face is soaked with tears of grateful joy for the amazing gift they are to me...

Here I am in the middle of a canyon, heart split open by a harrowing night and the deepened realization of the love I have for life and my children.

Thank you God for having gifted them to me.

I miss you guys.

If anyone reading this has kids...give em a hug and tell 'em thank you - 'thank you for the gift of you in my life'. It's just so beautiful...

Outside

Never know what Nature will throw your way wow! One moment having an incredible cocktail hour - minus the cocktails (anybody working on that word yet lol!?) - the next minute climbing atop a jeep in sixty mph gusts trying to batten down the hatches...

Upside

Geez so many... but -

Matthew, Arianna, Connor, Kaitlyn...

Love isn't a big enough word...

downside

Did I really go all day without a Latte?

Every Which way but East

There is literally a year's worth of trails and exploring to do in and around Moab!. It's so vast and so good and just so much. That's a lot of so's huh? I got a little taste and hope some day to do this and the other National Parks in this area. For now, I head off to Provo Utah, in the Salt Lake City area to connect up with an 'older' boss or better yet, good friend.

Wow the morning of mornings! Face a little reddened by a joyous tear or two - and just in love with life.

Morning Sun popping up

Two photos from my walk back from the men's room lol. IF you look close the jeep is in this above one...gives a little perspective to the vastness here. Below is the same shot as I walked a little closer...

The jeep up on Pride Hill, I think that's Pride Rock in the background : )

The Catter. : )

Breakfast at the back of the jeep...the sun was just incredible!

A good portion of the gear I brought along and how it all fits in the jeep. A backpack full of bike clothes, glasses, tubes, gloves, baclava, shoes etc. The red backpack has protein bars and powders, electrolytes and other 'fuel' like things for the rides. Plastic containers have food like Peanut butter, bread, cereal, chips and some toiletries in others etc. Cooler has just a few items needing to be kept cold like the chocolate Moo! A duffel full of all the clothes for the six weeks or so and the bag on the right is a survival one. Has all kinds of things. A cool knife, first aid stuff, even masks and the like. Not something I normally would've purchased but it was my late brothers... I brought it along for it's use but also kind of a take Tom on the journey I think he always wanted to take but never did...

Here's to you bro...love ya!

The jeeps first water crossing! Ok second. We did it on the way in last night too lol...

These three photos are of the same road, the same switchback that is just super tight. Last night there were some icy patches on the shadowy side of the turns also and the jeep in four wheel drive would do the 'hop' that any four wheeler does in tight turns. Just scared the bejesus out of me because it would hop towards the ledge...