Injuries and bad weather

2 Oct, 2017; Boondocking near Needles, Canyonlands NP, Utah

A weekend with a sprained ankle

Even after wrapping and icing yesterday, I woke up on Saturday to find my ankle swollen and  colorful.  It looked a lot like a small eggplant had attached itself to my ankle.  Fortunately, it hurt a lot less.  I could walk on it – carefully.  I spent the day reclining in the zero-gravity chair with ice on my ankle and a book in hand.

Sunday, wasn’t much better.  I decided that with hiking boots providing some extra support I might try some walking. With the swelling, a wrap and socks, the boots were a bit of a snug fit, but that actually felt pretty good.  There was a very short (.6 mile) walk in the National Park that I wanted to see before leaving on Monday.

Cave Spring hike – a short hike with a lot of history

Cave Spring consists of a long labyrinth of alcoves/caves under a huge rock overhang.

Smoke blackened ceilings, old fire rings, pictographs dating back to 900 ad, and an old cowboy camp show that people have been using this convenient camp for a long time. 

This was used to store feed for horses

Under the rock overhang, the temperature is way cooler than the surrounding temperatures – natural air conditioning and access to water make this a great campsite!  In one alcove, along a horizontal rock fracture, the spring seeps water.  Ferns and mosses line the wall, and there is a small puddle where the water collects.

To complete the entire loop, there are 2 ladders to climb – the trail goes up and over the rock formation that houses the spring.  I got up the first ladder – but, my fear of heights kicked in.  To continue, I would have had to step over a deep crack and scamper up the rounded face of the next big rock.  I just couldn’t make myself do it.  Several couples had passed me while I was walking the first part of the hike – they apparently had no problems with heights.  Intellectually, I knew that physically the few steps I had to take to regain the actual trail were simple and not any more taxing than other slick rock areas I had crossed in the last week – but still – couldn’t do it.  My body feeling is very much like a panic attack – I don’t think my breathing was back to normal until I was almost back at the car.  So disappointing!  I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that I can’t hike as fast or as far as I did when I was much younger – but to be stopped by stupid panic is entirely different.

Rainy Monday

I woke up to misty, cold rain this morning.  Although I had planned to leave today, my motivation was low and I decided to make this another camp day.  I checked the batteries and added water.  I removed the filter on my water pump and cleaned out some green gunk and a small piece of white plastic (like plumbers tape) that was probably residue from manufacturing that eventually got sucked up into the filter.  Maybe I’ll vacuum later on.

I’ll do some food prep so that, while I’m traveling over the next few days, meals will be easy warm-ups.  And, I still have a couple good books and lots of hot tea.