After going to one particular class and sitting in on a lecture for my ECE class, I scampered home to throw my stuff into the Grand Vitara. Right as I was crossing the street home, Bryan had just arrived with Melissa and her stuff. Melissa is a girl in our outdoor photography class that needed a ride as well as some good friends to hang out with on the trip. So, after we clambered around getting last minute things packed up, we shut the doors, blasted the tunes, and off we went w/ a full tank of Costco gas. I missed the turnoff exit by a mile and in our turnaround, we hit up a McDonalds for a quick grease fix. During the trip, both passengers faded in and out of consciousness, since everyone including me was packing stuff up past 3am the night before. I was too busy soaking up the scenery to fall asleep. Great winding roads. I found out also why HW 6 is the most fatal highway in the nation. Its a safe road, but all the drivers are f*%..ing morons! If you have anymore than 5 feet between your bumper and the car in front of you, someone behind you will pull a suicidal maneuver involving slamming on the gas into oncoming traffic to squeeze in front of you, then slam on the brakes. I thought it was just a few moronic drivers, but no. 95% of the drivers on that road behave this way. On our trip back, we almost witnessed a dodge van going about 80+mph almost slam into a Pontiac head on.
Well, after the highway fiasco, we hit refreshing roads completely void of lines, guardrails, or even power poles! Before the road turned to the right towards goblin valley, the road continued for about of a mile to a parking lot in the San Rafael Swell at the Little Wild Horse Canyon entrance. Our instructors met with us, and did the basic checklist stuff where we couldnt resist giving them a blank panicked expression when they asked if we brought sleeping bags. Then as soon as everyone was accounted for, we departed. I received several puzzled looks when I pulled out my ice-axe to use as a walking stick. When I demonstrated on how I configured it into a camera monopod, instantly all snarky comments were silenced, and replaced by, ooooooohh. Things were slow, as one would expect with a class of about 17 students, some of which had never mounted a backpack of such size. Bryan, Melissa, and I kept pretty close to the lead, and snapped shots as we were hiking. There was only one tricky spot w/ a large puddle in a very narrow gap, that some students had trouble maneuvering with their large packs. We found a nice little campsite w/ great views in a wide spot of the canyon. Bryan, Melissa and I found a nice sandy spot up high away from the main cluster of tents. We got something to eat, then met up w/ the class to do some simple assignments in taking pictures. Bryan, Melissa, and I did a presentation on nighttime photography. The clouds still remained overhead and it appeared like it might rain overnight, so I pulled out the rainfly. Us three had a good little game of phase 10. Some sort of insect that looked like a crossbreed of a cranefly and a mudwasp somehow found its way in the tent and stung my finger. It died in a very gruesome fashion. During the night the wind howled and rain fell. Later during the late night, I thought the wind had ripped off my rainfly, and took it miles down the canyon. Im sure Melissa was glad she decided to sleep in the tent instead of her bivy sack.
Day 2:
I woke up around 5:30am and saw scattered blue specks of sky. The tent remained intact to my amazement. I jumped out of the tent, and was disappointed that I didnt find any scorpions in my boots, so I put them on, and went to go hunt sunrise pictures. The lighting was disappointing, since there was still significant cloud cover as to mute dramatic low angle sunlight. Still I went scampering around looking for a way to get out of the canyon w/o pulling a cliff hanger. In my travels I stumbled upon some petroglyphs and snapped some shots. I worked my way around the canyon until I found a nice steady sandstone incline that led me to the rim. I snapped away a number of pics, and just went out exploring and communicating with passing ravens. I then stumbled across a large cavern, but decided that Id explore that later. I got back to camp and started breakfast with Marjories old white gas stove. That morning, the class met up again to do more assignments here and there. We ended up going up the canyon wall where I had explored solo before to check out that cavern. We spent a while out there taking pictures, doing presentations, and assignments. The temperature dropped significantly during this time, and the wind howled. During the afternoon, we dropped back down to our camp away from the wind, and lounged in the warm sun that was starting to peak out from the scattered clouds. We then were given a few hours of personal time to do what we liked. Melissa had been studying her flash cards she made for a Monday test, and liked the idea of hiking while studying. Except for the fact that reading and focusing on Nutrition Science, you can get yourself lost if youre not paying attention to where youre going. Bryan took a nap, and I accompanied Melissa in a quick hike deeper into the canyon. I was impressed on how well she kept up to a rather rapid paced jaunt through rugged terrain. I quizzed her on her vitamins as we scrambled over rocks and ledges. There was a neat little dry waterfall that required significant upper body strength and grip to pull oneself up. Melissa pulled herself right up and made my eyebrows rise in amazement. We hiked on for a few miles, and dark clouds loomed overhead. It began to rain, so we decided we had better head back to camp. A few snowflakes dropped in the mix, but we were moving so fast that body heat was sufficient in keeping warm. We passed some of our classmates on the way back, and then rejoined Bryan at camp. I hung out wet clothes to dry on some trees in the sun, and then put on good ol dry cotton. After this, a nap was in order. I found a nice sunny spot on a slab of sandstone, however, the sandstone was still surprisingly chilly, and prevented much nappage. I retreated to the warm insulated tent for a midday nap. Afterwards, the class met up again for assignments, and we visited the petroglyphs. As the sun went down, the great lighting came out, and after our meeting was over, I BOLTED out towards the canyon walls, sprinting almost straight up to get pictures of the sun setting and reflecting off of distant lightning storms. When I was out of breath, and my legs pumped battery acid, I was amazed to find Melissa in close pursuit with camera in hand. Bryan, Melissa, and I snapped shots as the sun went down and stuck around until the wind came and found us. We retreated towards camp again in search of warm food substances. As we ate, the clouds cleared, and stars came out along w/ a thin crescent moon. Our class met up once again, and I gave a presentation on how to navigate w/ the stars, as well as some simple astronomy. We goofed off a little, tinkering with star photography, but due to the high winds, most efforts were abandoned. One by one we climbed into the tent for sleep.
Day 3
I woke up early again, but looking outside, the clouds appeared the same as the morning before, so I went back to sleep. After breakfast, we did one last round of assignments, and packed up to leave. We jettisoned our surplus water cache, and headed out. The sun baked down pretty good on us, and some sunburns resulted in addition to our wind chapped skin. Ahhhhh outdoors. We returned to the awaiting Grand Vitara, and headed out towards the nearby Goblin Valley. I couldnt help but to think of the Gorignak. After rock scrambling and goofing off taking pics of the bizarre rock formations, we departed seeking charred cow flesh. We hit up a Wendys pretty hard, and then departed for SLC. I had a few encounters w/ more stupid drivers who fail to use blinkers, or even look before they change lanes. And also people who will pass blindly in a 2 lane road, and rely upon your ability to slam on the brakes in order to prevent them from colliding with oncoming traffic. I dropped Melissa off, and later went to the McEntire's to eat strawberry shortcake. I scribbled off some homework that was due on Monday, and went to bed.
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