Tuesday, May 29th-Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
Tuesday
I woke up in Page, AZ on Sunday and got the hell of there. I arrived at Zion National Park after being instructed to stop there by some fellow hikers at the Grand Canyon. Not knowing what to expect was exciting, as each turn within the park was a personal discovery. Very fortunately I acquired a campsite and got onto a shuttle bus to the Angel's Landing trailhead, a 1500 foot climb to the top of a jagged and narrow cliff in the middle of the canyon.
The ascent to the top of the peak is along a ledge in which one must grab ahold of chains secured into the rock in order to keep from plunging down into the valley. I'm glad that I did it, even though it was certainly the most terrifying hike I've ever done.
I don't think that I feel more of a purpose than when I'm moving. Hiking or driving, I just feel more productive on the go. Is this anti-instinctual I wonder? I don't feel that I am running more than I am seeking, something more, always something else.
Yesterday I hiked into the heart of the canyon where the walls narrow and the creek touches both sides of the rock at some points. I walked for 3 hours by myself, then met up with some guys that I had met the previous day at Angel's Landing and walked back out with them.
We all got dinner together at Wildcat Willies in Springdale, UT. This was my first spontaneous meetng of new people while on the road. All good folks.
Today I woke up after a very windy pre-dawn swept across the canyon. I became increasingly annoyed as the air whipped my tent, inflating and imploding it, wacking my walls around and waking me up at regular intervals. I decided to take a day of santuary at the Blue Pines Motel in Panguitch, UT. I am watching Rocky Horror Picture Show and feeling quite disconnected from reality.
Wednesday
For the rest of the day I sat on the bed of my motel room and watched T.V, allowing my muscles to hear. During times of hunger I'd wander through town to find a diner to eat at. The day was restful but began to feel lonely, secluding myself in room alone in a town full of people, or strangers rather.
This morning I woke up and drove south to Bryce Canyon to hike for the day an camp for the rest if the night. Bryce is a beautiful ampitheater full of "hoodos", or pillar-like rock formations. Though it is dazzling to behold, the landscape was kind of one-noted. Turn a corner, see hoodoos, turn another, more hoodoos. I could have just come here for a hike but I'd aleady paid for my campsite so I am trying to make the most of it. I bought a ticket for the 7pm Rodeo at Reed's Inn, so hopefully that will lift my spirts.
(it did.)