Upper Salt Canyon

We woke late to another rain spell. Short but sweet. Everything was covered with red, claylike mud.

Last night was to be our solo night but the rain nixed that agenda since we hadn't taken our individual tarps with us on day one. Missy said we'd simply adjust the solo schedule to be from morning to morning. We packed up and hiked back past Kirk's cabin, checked out the inside of the cabin then went on our merry way.

(We don't know who Kirk was. The thought is that he was a uranium miner from the 1800s. The roof of the cabin was missing in some places but for the most part, the cabin was surprisingly intact. There were several artifacts inside as well. It was pretty cool.)

We stopped to get water and went a little way (a Missy mile) up onto the slickrock. It was still cloudy so we set up the tarp, just in case. We had a quick brunch and then Missy found an isolated spot for each of us where we were to stay until 6p.m. If the cloud cover lifted we would continue solo through the night.

It was cold. I was planning on doing some ab and other exercises to pass the time but I was too bundled up and it was too wet. Then, I just decided to rest.

Well, I guess solo (in its traditional sense) wasn't in the cards. The rain started coming down harder again. We all came back to the tarp and tried to wait it out. (Apparently I was a source of entertainment as I made my way back because I looked like an astronaut in the big, bulky boots and my blue rain suit.)

Lightening, however, decided to accompany the rain and Missy said we had to get off the slickrock and down low to avoid it. We high-tailed it. It was amazing how sure footed we were on the way down. You gotta do what you gotta do! All told, we had about 1 1/2 hours to ourselves.

We hiked back through the "rain forest" and back to the Salt Creek campsite. At one point we looked back up the slickrock ridges from afar and we could see cascading water flowing down the slickrock - the beginnings of new crevasses which will form in a million years! It was beautiful.

We settled in under the overhang and hung up all our wet laundry on the trees. Everything was soaked and I was cold all night.

We continue to laugh every night as we share stories about our lives and our days.

Me / Our Patrol / Our Fearless Leader / On the Way Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 Day 6 / Day 8 / Day 9 / Day 10 Things To Remember / Outward Bound / The Anasazi

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