Elevation Gain: Approximately: 1500 ft (down on Day 1), minimal in-between, and 1500 ft (back up Day 7).
Time: Tues. 2/21 - Mon. 2/27
Weather: Amazing. Mostly sunny to sunny the whole time. Cold nights and a one really windy day.
I went into Dark Canyon on Tuesday Feb. 21st for a 7 day and 6 night backpacking trip. For the first time on any long backpacking trip, I kept a journal. I did a decent job staying current with it. I am going to copy the entries I wrote into the blog. Here we go...
Tues. 2/21 - Dark Canyon - Day 1
The first day of a 7 day 6 night backpacking trip started on Tuesday. We took awhile to get out of the Hanksville Inn and on the road, but we were finally walking on the trail by 10:20 am. After about 10 minutes a kid remembered the tent in the car. He ran back and we all were seriously moving again by closer to 11 am. This is the 3rd time in 4 years I have done this same trip. The first year was Feb. of 2009. We spent 6 days and 5 nights in Dark Canyon. Mostly alternating days with full packs and day packs. Last year, I was in Dark Canyon for 7 days and 6 nights which overlapped with Week 26 (the half-way point). This year's trip was off to a splendid start. We day hiked on Sunday, overnighted at a car camping spot, day hiked on Monday, took a night in Hanksville, and were off finally with everything we needed. The next hour went by like it always had. We walked the Sundance Trail about 2 miles around a rim of a canyon to a talus rock slope that defends about 1200 feet in a little less than a mile. We took a nice, long snack break and started our walk down around 12:50 pm.
The decent into the canyon began like all other years. It was sunny and warm on the south facing slope. It was slow going for a few of us. I saw Creighton ahead with 8 kids close behind. I had 3 students a little ways behind me, and my other co-leader was with one student a little further up. As I occasionally look back to see the other 3 following me, I am enjoying a spectacular day in the canyon. I kept going down. Then, around 1:30 pm, it happened.
I heard a student scream and looked back to see a student on the ground crying. I called out to her and told her to talk to me. She just kept crying and not responding. I threw down my pack and quickly got up to her. She said her ankle hurt, and she had heard a pop. I took off both her boots and socks. I could see her right ankle was already swelling. I asked if she could have hurt her back when she fell and checked down her spine. I then told her to tell me if it hurt if I touched her ankle. I barely pressed the outside of her ankle and she screamed. I called to Creighton, who was gathered with the 8 students a bit below on a giant rock, perfect to take a rest and regather the group. He ran right up. He looked at the ankle and talked with the young lady, and he confirmed my fear: we needed to evac the student. Our other co-leader was over soon, and we all agreed upon and planned an evac.
Creighton ran up to the top of the rim with a satellite phone (and all our forms and numbers) because we could not get a signal on the slope. My co-leader and I took a set of vitals and gave the student 800 mg of ibuprofen. We took out her rest pad and tried to make her more comfortable. Then we waited to hear what Creighton would find out. We were about half-way between the rim and the base of the canyon. My other leader and I were discussing options and changes to the route for me to more easily join back up with the group, when Creighton had come back down. He had gotten ahold of the San Juan County Sheriff who would come out with the Search and Rescue team. He was going to meet them at the trailhead. I would stay with the injured person and get to the hospital to figure out how to get her home. My other co-leader would take the other kids to our first campsite, only 20~30 minutes from the base of the talus slope, and she would wait there where Creighton would rejoin that evening, hopefully. By now it was around 2:30 pm. Creighton took off for the trailhead. The kids were on the rest rock below, and two of the seniors were entertaining the group. My co-leader and I could hear them laughing. Kids came up and down to chat with the injured kid, and we waited. Around 4:15 pm, my co-leader and I agreed, they need to move. It was getting dark, especially down in the canyon where they had to go, and it was starting to get colder. We ran through the details of the plan again, gave each other a hug, and wished each other a safe journey. I took some layers and personal food in my day pack, and I had the students pack too if I needed anything else. The 11 other students and my other co-leader took off for camp, while shuttling my pack.
The injured kid and I were now sitting alone. She was fine as long as her ankle stayed immobilized. We were chatting and waiting, when we saw and heard a helicopter. The helicopter flew above and around us. I was standing waving my arms while holding my bright colored orange jacket. I was confident the chopper saw us. Soon, I could see 3 men heading down the slope. They were carrying a big backboard. The helicopter was back, and another 2 men were heading down. By 5:30 pm, there were 6 adult men (including me) with the injured student. Two of the men were EMTs with the helicopter pilot. The other 3 were San Juan County Search and Rescue. The EMTs were now in charge. I read them my SOAP note (an assessment of the situation, I was trained to do at a WMI Wilderness First Aid course). The EMTs were happy with my training. They began giving a stronger pain medication through an IV set up on the left hand. We then padded and stabilized her right ankle. We then moved her to the backboard and strapped her in. By 6 pm we were ready to move down. The choice to go up or down was still a question. The EMTs in communication with the pilot agreed on down. The pilot came into the canyon and landed on a rock near the base of the slope. It was perched on rock that was barely big enough. The entire party was impressed. The EMTs tied a rope to the top of the litter, and one S&R guy would body belay the student, so we wouldn't lose her if we lost hold of the litter. The other 5 of us began carrying her down. This might be one of the most physically demanding and exhausting tasks I have ever done. It took us 3 hours to get to the helicopter. Once we got down to the chopper, the EMTs gave more pain meeds, and got the student into cabin safely. They had Cliff Bars, Gatorade, and water. During the litter carry, Creighton came by with a broken headlamp some S&R guys had given him at the trailhead. He asked if he should help carry the litter, but I told him he needed to be with the other kids and our other leader. He took off down the slope, where he was able to get to his pack, right before it was almost too dark.
By 9 pm, the student was in the helicopter, and the team was ready to fly to Moab, 30~40 minutes away by helicopter. They were obviously not returning so late to pick anyone up, so the 3 S&R guys and I had to hike out, back to the trailhead. We spread out alined the slope and climbed up looking for site of the injury, where one guy left his pack and where my day pack and the kid's pack was. We were able to find it and continue up. I reached the top of the rim around 10 pm. Two S&R guys were still working their way up. It was the first time since 1:30 pm when I felt like the kid was going to be fine. I was eating some almonds, when I looked up at the sky. It was the night of a new moon, and the night sky was breath-taking. While I hated the reason I was sitting there, I was blown away by its beauty. By 10:20 we were all gathered on the rim. We walked the trail on the top and were back to the cars around 11:40 pm. There I met a big crew of S&R guys and the sheriff. After I shared a lot of info with the sheriff, I gave a lot of thank yous and hand shakes to the fine volunteers of the San Juan County Search and Rescue. They all packed up, and I took a rental van, and followed them to Highway 95. I was on the road by 12:30 am. I drove to Moab and was at the hospital by 4am. The student was asleep, and the hospital set up a place for me to sleep. After a few minutes of text messages and phone calls, the heaviness of sleep out weighed the adrenaline of the day. I slept for the next 5 hours.
Wed. 2/22 - Moab Regional Hospital - Day 2
I spent all day with the student and communicating with all sorts of people: school administrators, parents, nurses, the orthopedic surgeon, my parents, and, of course, the student. During the day, the kid and I talked, laughed, napped, and watched some movies. The plan was for me to stay until the kid's parents could get there at which point I would return with the group. Creighton, my other co-leader, and I agreed that they would base camp 3 nights at the first site (instead of 2 as the original plan) to give me a chance to join up easier. The kid's parents took the fastest flights from Sea-Tac to Moab and arrived around 9 pm. I sadly left the student (I felt like we had become so close) and drove to back to the trailhead. I was parked next to the other two vans by 12:30 am. I slept in the car and woke at 5:30 am.
Thurs. 2/24 - Dark Canyon - Day 3
I geared up in the car and walked out to a frigid, dark morning. I needed a headlamp to see, but I could see the sky lightening up in the east. I did a few jumping jacks to get warm, and took off for the first camp, my watch read 5:58 am. Thirty minutes into the hike there was enough light I could turn off my headlamp (which was actually the injured student's lamp, I had left mine in my full pack). I was at the top of the rim by 7:05 am. I began walking down the talus slope. All I could think about was how 36 hours earlier, I was on this slope involved in a crazy litter carry down to a helicopter. At 7:20 am, I was about half-way down, when I realized I was only a few feet away from the scene of the injury. I took a moment to just think about all that had happened. I kept on walking down, slowly. I was at the base of the slope by 7:40 am. I was walking toward the camp, and I could see people milling about. I shouted something that now I cannot even remember. Creighton and my other co-leader came running over to me. We embraced in a big hug, and I fought back the welling of tears in my eyes. I could not have imagined a better reunion. People gathered about me as I told the story, and I listened to their tales too.
We decided to stay a 3rd night anyway, since I had already hiked a good 5 miles and was a little tired. We day hiked up Lost Canyon and hung out around camp. It felt like home to be back.
Fri. 2/24 - Dark Canyon - Day 4
We packed up and moved camp up Dark Canyon, to the base of Young's Canyon. A great hike with a full pack that always blows me away with its beauty and diversity of terrain. I was in the back with a very heavy pack. It took me over 6 hours to walk 7 miles up the canyon. I had another great evening, with an amazing meal and a couple of games of cribbage with my co-leader. I was in my tent by 9:30 pm, asleep before 10 pm, and slept until 8 am.
Sat. 2/25 - Dark Canyon - Day 5
Up at 8 am, and the kids had already started hot water. Breakfast and baked goodies in our bellies had us day hiking up Dark Canyon by 10 am. At noon, we stopped for lunch. It was warm, but windy. Around 12:30 pm, the kids began moving back towards camp. I stayed behind to journal and have a little solo time. As I write this it is 1:10 pm and I told Creighton and my other co-leader I would start walking back around 1:30 pm. I am going to sit here in the sun until then…
I had a great walk back to camp. I stopped at a seep where I filled up my water bottle with naturally filtered water. There is a place where water is dripping out of a rock wall. It has found a way through a few hundred feet of sand and rock which acts like a filter. I have never treated this water and have never had giardia either. I made it back to camp around 3 pm and went for a dip in the pools in Young's Canyon. After drying off in the sun, I put on a new shirt. I felt great and sat in the sun above the pool for about 20 minutes. I came back into camp, played a few games of cribbage with some kids. I ate another delicious dinner, sat around camp, and enjoyed a small fire Creighton had made.
Creighton, the 4 female campers, and I stayed around the fire until 10 pm, when everyone but me went to bed. It is now 10:15 pm, and I am the only one not in my tent. I am watching the small fire and feeling its warmth on my shins and the rest of my body. It is chilly, even with a fire right in front of me. I am reminded of a warning Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac, "[t]here are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm: one is thinking food comes from the grocery, the other is thinking heat comes from the furnace." Right now, in this moment by the fire at the base of Young's Canyon, I know where heat comes from. It comes from the years and years that the pinion pine I am burning trapped carbon dioxide and changed it over into mass as it grew up on the hill above our camp. I am so thankful for all the work this tree, the sun, and the canyon did for me to feel warmth this evening.
Sun. 2/26 - Dark Canyon - Day 6
Up at 7 am and had camp broken down and packed up by 10 am. We backpacked down to the base of Lost Canyon for our last night in this magical place. It took four and half hours. I spent most of the time alone, enjoying how great my pack felt. I had finally eaten enough to get this pack feeling good.
Made it into camp and sat around in the sun. Surprise, but we had another amazing meal, then we shared our Orchids and Onions around a candle. I am always so touched by what student's get out of this trip. While we, the leaders, never specifically say we want to change their lives, I think it happens on this trip. I know my life is always impacted by this place. Its beauty and its rawness wear away the defenses of my heart. And I am always left at the end, fully open and loving the world and those around me.
My other co-leader and I played a little cribbage, and then we went to bed. I feel asleep to the sounds of our students laughing and gearing up for a night of sleep outside their tents. I am almost 100% positive I feel asleep with a smile on my face.
Mon. 2.27 - Dark Canyon - Day 7
We had a phenomenal morning with a bunch of breakfast brownies. Creighton and and I were packing up slowly... sad to leave such a magical place.
We all started walking by 10:20 am, we were at the base of the talus, rock slope at 11 am, and I was up on the rim by noon. We all had a huge lunch break, where we made crazy sandwiches using all our remaining food. We started walking around 1 pm. I was the trailhead by 2:30 pm. Creighton, my other co-leader, and I shared in a big hug. I felt the welling of tears, but I think I was able to hide these from everyone.
Another glorious trip in one of my favorite places in the world.
Orchid: Walking into camp on Thursday morning or getting the kid into the helicopter.
Onion: The accident.
Picture:
Google Map
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