WHY ARE WE LIKE THIS?

Disclaimer: This might just be the most humbling post I will ever have to write (hopefully)!

This summer we spent months planning our first long-haul trip that would take us from Florida to Colorado, the plan was to spend a few weeks on the road and try and hit as many National Parks as we could.

We were moving pretty successfully through the trip, we had survived the almost thirty hour drive to the Rocky Mountains, put 13 miles of hikes under our belts, and already hit our second National Park- Arches. But this was the day Devon and I had been really looking forward to: An 10.6 mile hike through Canyonland’s The Joints.

The Plan

Where We Went Wrong

There was one big mistake followed by a series of poor calls on our part that would ultimately lead to a very unplanned helicopter ride.

Somewhere in all of my meticulous planning, I completely missed that we would be entering the park 2.5 hours away from the trail head. Once I realized this we started doing the math and quickly realized that starting the hike at 8:00 would lead us to be chasing shade and we would be in for a very grueling hike in the sun, so we decided we need to shift to a new plan.

Option A: Forget trying to complete a slot canyon style hike and just do several smaller hikes throughout the park.

Option B: Hike the only other trail that was said to have slot canyons.

Without internet to research or the visitor center being open to get a map we decided that we would attempt Option B. Spoiler: That was the wrong choice.

One Bad Call After Another

The Hike

We begin the hike and it starts as a beautiful 1.75 miles through the Utah desert terrain with the sun starting to rise over the canyon. Then we hit the first decent- 1,200 feet down over .6 miles. The switchbacks were marked with cairns, required a mild amount of scrambling and were so much fun!

After this decent you spend some time going around the canyon rim which was filled with sheer drop offs, loose rocks, and a considerable amount of scrambling. At this point we are still really enjoying the trail, but are definitely moving much slower than anticipated as we helped August and Ella navigate the more technical terrain. After completing another short scramble of about 400 feet down we entered the wash aka the very road to Hell itself.

The next three miles consisted of walking in direct sun, following the wash and baking in the heat being radiated from the rocky walls. It was torture. Ella has now lost all interest in the hike and is stopping every 2.5 seconds to drink water which slowing our pace even further and at this point I think we were all starting to question every life choice that led to this point, but then we hit the slots!

We played in the slots for a bit, ate some lunch, and hydrated. The slots were breathtaking and totally worth the trip! At this point it was 10:53am and all hopes of a noon finish are out the door, but we are refreshed and ready to hit the trail and put this hike in the books.

Then the wash. The freaking wash.

I have never felt such a loathing for nature. The way back through the wash could only be equated to walking through the devil’s butt crack. August and I were trying to keep morale up and were pushing though, but poor Ella was struggling. She was so hot and just kept stopping to drink, creating so many little stops. It was starting to drain on us all.

Unbeknownst to me, Devon had become concerned about the state of our water and had completely stopped drinking in order to save water for me and the kids.

The Beginning of the End

By the time we make it to the first scramble Devon is out of water leaving us with about two liters. We ran into some other hikers that were attempting to go down and we warned then that the sun was pretty brutal and recommended they come back earlier the next day.

We continue around the canyon rim and finish the remaining water.

Honestly, at this point it was starting to feel a little dire. I was so hot, my hands were swelling and I was literally throwing myself under any shady rock which really looked like army-crawling under rocks for a moment of reprieve. The other hikers had now come from behind us and passed us and were well on their way to the top. We kept encouraging the kids, but had begun looking at each other with questions and concerns. And this is the point where my stomach began to cramp.

With only 2 miles left we kept pushing, taking, breaks, scrambling for shade, and praying that when we rounded the rim that the final ascent would be shaded.

It was not.

We take another break and the kids have found a large rock the is providing them shade. Devon and I start having a serious conversation about if and when to call it. He wanted to keep going- not seeing very many other options and I was in so much stomach pain that I had decided to just live on this trail for the rest of my life because hiking out truly felt insurmountable.

If your not into TMI skip this next part.

Pooping in a National Park

During this discussion I looked at my poor husband and stated “I’m sorry, I am going to poop RIGHT NOW.” When I tell you I fought for my life in the following five minutes. Sparing you the details, I don’t think Devon will ever look at me the same way. Needless to say things were quite…messy. Unprepared for this occasion Devon began providing me with alcohol swabs. You can imagine how well that worked. Let’s just say that in the clean up effort things got decidedly worse and at one point resulted in Devon saying, “For the love, just get your pants on and they we can clean your hands!”

It was a real low in my life, guys.

Once the clean up effort was completed I went to return to our children only to step. in. my. own. poop.

There are not words for that kind of low.

Calling it Quits

We got back to hiking and then the turning point came. After taking a quick rest Devon went to stand and stumbled. We looked at each other and just knew- we can’t keep going. It is now 3:00pm.

We had 1.5 miles left.

Devon had stopped sweating some time ago and as much as we were hoping to make it up the final set of switchbacks and scrambles- it was just not a safe option.

Thank the Lord for satellite messaging- we were able to begin texting with 911.

Devon requested some water and electrolytes, hoping that after some hydration we would be able to make it out. The kids were being absolute champs- they were pretty well hydrated and had found a shaded rock where they could lay down and cool off while we worked on getting help.

We were texting back and forth with 911 and knew rangers were on their way, but it was taking some time. After laying in the shade for about an hour and a half our resting heart rates were still well over 120bmp and began to spike to 160bmp even with minimal movement. After communicating this to emergency services they stated that they would also send EMS.

The Rescue

At 4:45 we started to hear a helicopter- and y’all I don’t think I have ever been so humbled.

I don’t consider myself a new hiker or an inexperienced hiker. All of this could have been avoided, but we just made some really dumb calls that we now had to own and to be honest it felt really sucky to feel like you failed and could have potentially put your kids in danger. This is the unesthetic aspect of adventuring with kids. Every choice you make is not just for you, but for a little one that can’t make all those choices for themselves. We spent plenty of time beating ourselves up for this, but lessons were learned and we are just so grateful that everyone was okay in the end.

The helicopter circled and circled. We were waving some bright colored clothing, scrambling to higher rocks, but it was clear- they could not see us.

Thankfully, Devon thought quickly and pulled an emergency blanket out form the first aid pack and used to to flag down the helicopter. We were told later by the medics as well as the rangers that the emergency blanket was the only way they were able to locate us.

About 20 min later the rangers had hiked down to us, they had gained some information from the hikers we had originally passed about how many were in our group. (These hikers had actually made it to the top and yelled down the canyon to check on us- they had also notified the rangers we needed help and had stayed to communicate with the rangers at the top of the hike. Shout to you guys!)

After many Gatorades, waters, and electrolyte tablets they confirmed we were all good- no one was incoherent and we only had slightly elevated temperatures. They confirmed that we made the right choice to stop- had we continued the scramble one of us could have easily become very injured.

At about 6:15 we began our hike down to the helicopter and by 7:00 we were safely at our car.

Why are we like this?

We love adventure and we love pushing ourselves and our kids. We are strong believers that you and your kids can do way more than you think! Unfortunately, this time we pushed too hard and it defiantly made us reflect on our failures of that day.

We are so grateful for the Rangers and Medics that came to help– they were so kind and made every effort to not make us feel like bigger dummies than we already did. They hiked past my poo pile (I know, I know, you try digging a hole in solid rock) and graciously did not acknowledge it. They were amazing- and they completely reframed the experience for August and Ella by giving them a super cool helicopter ride over Canyonlands National Park.

We will definitely continue to attempt challenging hikes (six days later we hiked Guadeloupe Peak) but we will be more prepared.

What We Learned

NEVER drop water. If the choice is carry extra weight or drop water- carry the weight.

Don’t attempt a longer/challenging hike without doing the right research.

If you don’t already, always pack electrolyte tablets, a flashlight, and an emergency blanket. Also toilet paper and shovel.

And the most important- It’s always okay to ask for help.