September 24: Car Camping   Miles Today : ~11 Total Miles : ~23

After sunrise, Diane and I quickly ate breakfast and packed up camp. We only had 11 miles to go, but it was going to be rugged and uphill for most of the hike, so we wanted to get an early start. Despite the warnings from the guidebook, the first few miles were gradual and pleasant, while also providing excellent views. It seemed like no time before we made it the three miles to the next campsite. The day to this point was gorgeous, the trails were in excellent shape and the views were way beyond what we had anticipated for this section. Things couldn’t be better.

As we continued south under the rim, the views and canyon walls only got better. Then, off in the distance, I spied a gray, sandy hill topped with gray sandstone formations. It was small enough to be accessible but large enough to be fun. I told Diane that I hoped the trail went over that hill so we could do some exploring.

Well, as luck would have it, the trail came very close to the hill, but didn’t quite go over it. So we dropped our packs and climbed up the sandy dome until we were touching the sandstone formations. It was a very cool place and we enjoyed playing around and exploring for a little while. However, this place lacked a name, so since we were having so much fun we designated this mound “The Playground”. After we had thoroughly explored the area, we headed back to our packs and continued south on the trail.

It was more graded terrain and great views for a few more miles right up until the dreaded Corner. The Corner is the part of the Under-The-Rim Trail where it turns the corner on the main canyon wall, goes around the back side and starts a long climb back up to the rim at Rainbow Point. This climb was a total bear, but also extremely beautiful.

Several interesting canyon formations and hoodoos that I had been checking out from afar were now drawing closer as we rose up the canyon. At several different outlooks, Diane and I would stop and stare at all of the hoodoos and try to take in all the dimensions, which was impossible. The more you looked the more you would find something that you didn’t think was there. I felt as if my eyes were inadequate to absorb all of the layers that I was looking at. It was mesmerizing to stand here and try to see every hoodoo, every layer and know that it just was not possible.

From this point, the trail followed a narrow spine of land through the hoodoos and then returned briefly to the woods for the final part of the climb. At 2:15 PM, we make it back to the parking lot and left the remote backcountry for touristville. That’s where the real fun for the day started.

Diane started to demonstrate some of the typical signs of dehydration, and after some discussion we agreed that she indeed did not drink enough water on the hike. So for the next several hours we visited all of the roadside attractions while I forced her to drink water and made her walk a few feet here and there.

After two hours of that, she seemed to be on the mend and even had a little bit to eat. However, this good news was short lived and by 8 PM we decided that the smart move was to head to the local hospital, a mere 27 miles away. Along the way, she deposited most of the fluids that she had been drinking in the Red Canyon, and later some more into one of my stuff sacks.

We arrived at the Intermountain Health Care Hospital and found it seemingly deserted. There was no one at the front desk, no one in the lobby, no one anywhere. I felt like I was in a bad remake of the Tommyknockers. Then, out of nowhere, a nurse appeared and asked what the problem was. We were immediately escorted to the emergency room/storage closet. No joke, there were two beds and various instruments inside a large storage room. There were several shelves of supplies, and a couple of pegboards with even more doodads hanging from pegs. But my favorite item in the ER/SC was the defibrillator machine that was sitting on top of a Craftsman tool bench. That was classic, and I really wished that I had my camera.

Anyway, the people here were the greatest, and Diane was doing much better after having a bag of saline put into her system. It was an interesting day, on the trail and off, for sure. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

-Chomp

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