Well, "They" cheaped out and found reasons to not do surgery... and "They" said I'd be in a wheel chair in five years and wouldn't be able to stand the hurtin' any more; and then they couldn't hurt me... they'd do surgery then...
Really? The surest way to get me to do things is to say;"You Can't"... so I went back to cowboyin' for 15 or 20 more years... as soon as I learned to stand up again and got strong enough. Too Dumb to do anything else. ;)
Here I am... 60 summers and still walkin' around with a dislocated spine. I say it's a choice. You can quit or you can find the way to get it done...
Then "they" told me I couldn't take off on this life with the bankroll I had... and here I am!
Scramblin' up Gifford Canyon in Zion! Defying both sets of "Theys".
Betty, the friend we were meetin' here in Zion, found a trail online. The directions started with; "Look for the steep sandy trail behind the Outhouse"... So, you knew it had to be a good'un!
We got to the bottom and had to make a choice. Three ways a hiker could go...
Down canyon seemed a lil' cold and narrow to start right off on...
The second option was to scramble up this face and head up Gifford...
Betty and I were game... she's athletic and I'm stupid...
Now, Heidi tends to prefer "The Flat trails" ;)
so... we took the third option which was up Clear Creek canyon I think they call it.
Starts out fairly nice... flat and picturesque for a workman photographer...
But it quickly came to a "slot"... and the slot was filled with water...
Me bein' who I am, I scrambled, gruntin' and wheezin' up around the side to scout the blockade and see if there was a way 'round our maybe we could just tough our way through...
But a stubborn streak keeps the goin' movin' along and I got up to where I could see that there wasn't no joy up this canyon for us today...
So we exercised discretion and turned back down canyon to head for option two. With Heidi mumbling; "I don't know... that looked pretty steep!"
We took our time and picked our way to the top. For a bit it sounded like a bunch of asmatic mountain goats stumblin' around in the bushes, but we made it.
This trail runs up between a high sheer wall on one side and a steep mountain slope on the other... Kinda of narrow in spots but mostly flat and the best of all...
Few know 'bout it. We saw that one guy down at the bottom who went up twenty minutes or so ahead of us... and not another soul all day... only his tracks... leading us safely through the quicksand...
well... most of the time...
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| *Quick sand in Gifford Canyon* |
When my leg went in to the knee and showed no sign of slowin' down I tossed myself to the side to keep from goin' BLURP! and dissappearin'. :)
The fact that when I reached for it as I was "fallin' over" and Heidi jerked her walkin' stick away from me... gave me pause... ;)
They swore they'd have pulled me out... but I'm wonderin' juuuust a mite!
I got a lil sandy that time... and got a lil' more cautious!
It's so quiet up in there... the rock walls glowin' above. Tracks of all sorts of critters showin' in the sand...
It's a sweet trail to follow...
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| *Haven't figured out "who" this is...'bout the size of a quarter* |
It's almost... or pretty much impossible to get the real feel of the scale of the place in a photograph... so I try to focus pretty often on the smaller bits...
That's the best part of the West... you might be overpowered by the sheer size and power of the place... but if you look... there's soul filling parts all around you that won't bully your spirit.
The biggest thing is to lift your eyes off the trail every few steps, and look around. Too many people wander through a place and have little memory of it, 'cause their eyes were nailed to the trail at their feet.
We worked our way up to a place called Halfway Falls... or something pass ;) The pathfinders weren't real sure! LOL!!! Me I was just strollin' along and soakin' up the Canyon.
I get in country like this and everywhere I look is the hand of the Boss makin' art for the soul, lifting the spirit. Betty asked, was I happy... "Nah" I quipped... "Then you aren't ever happy!" she quipped right back. ;)
Even just the patterns in the sand have a beauty to 'em if you take the time to look.
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| *The end of the Trail* |
The only way past was a steep scramble up some pretty bare slick rock... off to the right of this pic...
or bush whackin' up through the brush and that notch where the two walls meet...
At that point our bushwhackin' itch had been pretty well scratched so we set down in the sun and had our crackers and cheese... and started back down...
Well, ok... not before the ladies had to play around with wearin' holes in their jeans slidin' down the slick rock of the dry falls near our lunch break...
But we did eventually head on back down...
... to find that Quicksand, I already told you about!
Now... since I am postin' this it's fairly plain I survived the excitement. The day ended with some soft scenes from the top of the canyon and back down near the Visitor Center as sunset caught up with some tired hikers...
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| *In Zion Canyon near Temple of Sinawava* |
Don't let the buzzards get your goat... Take your life and live it... To Hell with what "THEY" say...
Just a Crippled up Old Goat... Livin' Life
Brian
6 comments:
You all had quite the day. Hike looks like an awesome one....minus the quicksand. That sunset was spectacular. I live for sunsets.
What beautiful photos and I enjoyed your narrative too. The Boss does some mighty fine work.
I chose reading your blog tonight instead of the debates. Glad I did.
Nature's art. Great place for a hike, Zion is a magical, mystical, spiritual place.
Great pictures with that camera . Thanks !
acheapguy
Visited Zion a while back. I loved the beauty of it and everywhere in Utah. I think the Southwest states are just soooo full of beauty; and pictures, although great, don't do as much justice as one's eyes 'in person'. Glad you're having good times during the 'plumbing crisis'!
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