I’ll preface this post by saying that Aaron Ralston is a super badass. Ralston is the hero of 127 hours, where he survived several days in the desert stuck in a small canyon.

I don’t really see how he did it.

This is a long post and I apologize. I had my own close encounter with death on June 11th, 2011. It was simple enough- 12 miles hiking, decent elevation changes, 95 degree heat. I decided that I wanted to stop one day in Canyonlands, Utah, right near Moab. Last Moab trip I took, I didn’t have time to see some of the sites available.

Note to oneself #1- If you’re hiking more than a few miles, pack more water than you think you will need.

Note to oneself #2- If, in fact, you do pack less water than needed, ration it so that you don’t drink it all at once…

Both seem like common sense, right?

Anyways, I violated both. I started on a 8.5 mile hike, with a 3.5 mile side excursion. The hike was listed as a 5-7 hour ‘strenuous’, etc. Whatever, no big deal. I packed lots of food, a mistake that I made last time I went hiking (not enough food).

So the hike started off well. It was a bit annoying at first, in that the trail went into a descent and then ascent instead of otherwise. I personally would rather have the hard part first and then ease into the descent.

The trail was difficult to see. It is marked by Cairns, or little rock piles. Read more HERE

So right around the midway point, I’m feeling good. I have gone through about 2.5 water bottles and I continued to eat trail mix, granola, and a peanut butter/banana sandwich.

At the midway point, there was a trail that offered to a 3 mile roundtrip/no outlet side view inside the canyon. I decided to do it and was woefully disappointed. Overall, the 3 mile trail was a waste of time, and I found myself with 2 water bottles and 4.7 miles to go.

In many of the other climbs/hikes I do, I’m used to doing the hardest parts first. This one, though, the hardest part is the last.

I had to do a rock scramble up for the first part of the second half. This was a ton of fun, and, as a rock climber, I felt like I excelled. This lasted for about a mile upwards. (Just imagine nothing but massive rocks and you have to jump from rock to rock…super great).

So after the rock scramble, I realized that 4.7 miles going up is far, far different than going down or even sea level walking. I had little sense of distance due to the elevation, and I found that I was losing energy very quickly due to both a) going fast and b) it being an ascent.

I controlled my water intake. It was a bit of a catch 22 though- I needed nourishment but I couldn’t really eat because I’d get even thirstier than I already was.

I trucked onwards. I ran into two groups the entire hike, both of them shortly after I got done with the rock scramble. I asked one guy “how much farther till the end?” and he couldn’t even give me an answer.

My water went from 2 bottles to 1 pretty quickly. By this time I was freaking out a bit as I realized the potential danger I was in- I had no idea how much farther until the end, I was on my last (tiny) water bottle, and I was really tired from not eating for a while.

Those last 3 miles were some of the longest I’ve ever exerpienced. I kept telling myself “one more ridge, one more ridge” and was distressed when I saw no end in sight. There was nothing but sand and forest around me for miles and miles. I heard only birds and rocks clattering together, not the sweet sound of a car rushing past or civilization.

I took one swig at a time. I told myself that if I saw anyone on the trail, I was going to ask them for water. The breaks I took became more and more frequent, and I was caught in between saving some energy on the breaks or not wasting my time and trying to get to my car as fast as I could.

I don’t even remember the last bit of the hike. I was in a zombie state, and I grew more tired by the minute. If I had passed out there on the trail, I think I would have been severely injured or even dead. There were few people on the path, it was a hot day, and I was insanely dehydrated. I estimate that I was maybe 1 hour from passing out (1 hour of ground level hiking, much less if elevated).

If you haven’t seen the movie 127 hours, check it out. It’s a bit slow at times, but overall, a fun watch. Throughout the movie there are many scenes where Aaron Ralston is thinking about nothing but water and other liquids. Weirdly enough, I experienced the same thing- I couldn’t keep my mind off anything but a large, icy cold powerade. Another hilarious image I had was my friend John, who chugs big gulps like there is no tomorrow (he has a grave of cups in his car).

The one beacon of hope I had was the sound of a car. This sound brought me an inexplicable feeling of delight and joy, and I increased my pace. I finally realized that I had made it and that I was at the parking lot. I went off trail (I felt awful about this) and went straight to my car.

It’s weird, being that close to being severely hurt. I remember I even contemplating making a last video with my camera during my delirious return. I chugged water and went to the store and bought some brats, a watermelon, and a big gulp of lemonade (assholes only had a 44 oz as their max). I sat near the camp fire for the next several hours and ate like a freak, happy that I made it out alive. I saw the time and I finished the hike in 4h 30 minutes.

In Bryce now, I’ll be doing a 8 mile hike tomorrow I think. Should be fine. Will post more later.

So I was met with utter failure when I tried getting a camp site. I forgot that it was Friday and everyone and their grandma would be out trying to get a spot. I was fairly delayed in looking for a spot as I had to pick up some stuff for my trip.

So, after a few hours of searching (hopelessly) for a spot, I was forced to go to a ghetto Great Western in Nederland, a small town outside of Boulder. While I normally would not have done this, I already made plans with a friend to do a long hike the following morning (today).

I bit the bullet and paid the $100 for the night. I got up at 6:30 this morning and met my friend in the parking lot. Normally, this is only a 8 mile round trip hike. But with the weather and the delayed road opening, we had to hike an extra 3 miles just to get to the trailhead.

I was ill prepared for the hike. Though I brought my boots and some extra clothing, I idiotically decided not to bring them. Audubon is 13,000 feet up, and there is still a heavy amount of snow in the area. I didn’t really think it would be that big of a deal, as A) it was warm as hell and B) this was supposedly a fairly popular hike. Both proved to be wrong assumptions and I paid the price.

It started off alright. The snow at the base was fairly solid and I had little trouble hiking.

We hiked for a few hours, with the plan to turn back around 11:00-12:00 noon, depending on the weather.

We were slowed heavily by both the snow and the road being closed. Because of the snow we were unable to find the trail at times, which delayed us even further.

Around 12:00noon, we decided that it would be best to turn back and check out the lower summit, ‘nondubon’.

The summit that we would never reach:

A cool shot that we took near the other summit:

All in all, a fun ascent.

The descent was pretty awful. As stated previously, I was ill prepared, and decided that hiking shoes (not boots) would be appropriate. Since the area was getting warmer, the snow was turning more into slush, and I soon found myself on my ass, slipping and sliding all over the place. My shoes and jeans were filled with water and snow. To top it off, we overshot the road due to the massive amount of snow that covered it, delaying us even further.

We were all decently tired and I exhausted all of my supplies (3 bottles of water and snacks). Hail came infrequently and was a minor annoyance. The car was such a relieving sight, and I tore off my shoes and laid there like a slug. I bade goodbye to my friend and ordered a 2 pound pizza from a local pizza chain in Colorado (beau Jos). I’m now sitting in Barnes and Nobles waiting for my friend in Denver to get off work.

The next few days I’m pretty unsure of. I think I’ll end up stopping in Denver for a night and then head south. Everyone I talk to keeps recommending Southern Colorado to me. I’ll probably end up doing it, and hopefully I can camp in the process. Will update at the next B&N I go to.

pz

So I’ve alluded to a possible road trip this summer, primarily along the west coast. I have decided that I will in fact take this trip.

Primary Goals: To visit friends, to hike, to rock climb (and boulder, if need be), to bike in good areas. I want this to be an outdoors trip for the most part. I have many friends along the way, so hopefully that will help.

Where: West coast U.S.A. I plan on leaving Omaha and driving through Colorado, where I’ll stay in Ft. Collins with a friend for a bit. I might do a hike or two there and maybe try to boulder. After Colorado I plan on driving to Utah and Nevada, hitting up as many national parks and good climbing spots along the way. I think that my destination after Colorado is the Grand Canyon in Arizona, so I’ll have to think of the best way to get there. (Either through Utah or New Mexico, not sure which offers more).

I tentatively plan on stopping in Las Vegas for a few days, not sure of the dates. I’m sure there will be friends there during this time and it’ll be cool to see them. I might end up skipping Vegas, I’m not sure yet.

After Vegas, I plan on going south to LA and then begin my road trip up California. There are alot of national parks that I’m excited to visit (Yosemite being one). After Cali I’ll probably head up Oregon and into Seattle, where I’ll meet with my family. Then I’ll do a long drive home.

Duration: Not sure. I’m thinking about leaving late may/early June. I’m not exactly sure how long this trip will take. I guess I’m not on any sort of time table either, so that’s nice. I’ll probably meet in Seattle in late July and then drive home. So probably about a 2 month trip.

There is alot of other planning I have to think of and I will continue to add onto this. (And just bump it when I do).