Where to start? Where to start?
Dakota and I were able to go to camp on Monday with the 4th year girls for their hike. I was pretty excited about it since I have always wanted to go on a 4th year hike and for whatever reason it has never worked out. (I hope Dakota didn't mind me going). We met at the church at 8am. I of course had lost my good tennis shoes that morning (I really don't know where they were, I had them on the counter and then they were gone). We drove to Hurricane, Ut, had lunch at subway and then continued on to Kolob. We were hiking right by Kolob Reservoir- even though we never saw it. We all got our packs out. There were about 20 girls and 8 leaders. Those packs were so huge! Some of them were bigger than the girls carrying them. I had my Garmin watch on so I would be able to see how far we had hiked. It was really hot. We got moving and after about 1/2 of a mile I thought I was going to die! I was really glad I had taken a lot of the stuff out of my pack. I was almost at the very back of the pack. Dakota seemed to be doing good though. She was up towards the front. I think we were all sweating profusely! There were alot of cows wandering around mooing. The girls thought they were cute. We finally got to where we were going to be setting up camp. It was 3.7 miles in and took 2 hrs. to get there. Most of the way was on a trail but some of it was on this scary tiny game trail- DOWNHILL!!! We got the tents set up and ready for the night, then we were able to hike over to this waterfall and go cliff jumping. (The jump was probably 25-30'). It was pretty amazing! That cool water felt so good as you jumped in. It washed all of the nasty, dirty sweat away. It was fun watching the girls jump in. Some were daredevils and others were scardey cats. I think almost everyone jumped in. After we had swam as much as we liked, we went back to camp and made dinner. It was Mt. House meals- Lasagna or Beef Stroganoff. I had lasagna. It was pretty delish! We then had a fireside given by Brother Thorley. It was on if there really is a God. It was pretty good. I think it was a little above the girls heads but OK. At the very end of it, it started sprinkling rain. We all went to bed. I learned very quickly that I DON'T like sleeping by myself in a tent in the wilderness. Its super CREEPY!!! It rained off and on until about 2:30 am then it started pouring. My tent was by no means waterproof! It dripped like crazy! I finally got my 2 garbage bags out. I put one on my pack so it wouldn't get wet and be 10x's heavier in the morning and I put the other over my sleeping bag then I got in it. It was crazy but at least I wasn't getting wet any longer. I also got my pan out of my pack and put it by my head to catch the drips. I lost count after 700+. It did stop raining in the morning long enough for us to pack up and hit the trail. We didn't even take time for breakfast. (turns out that was a blessing!) Going back on that trail was seriously one of the hardest things I have ever done! It was so muddy and slippery. Our shoes quickly became so heavy with mud that it was hard to walk. Parts of the trail were so skinny and slippery I thought for sure someone was going to get hurt. It was a blessing and a curse to have the Garmin on. The first .10 mile took us an hour to traverse. The next 1/2 mile about the same. Then we finally made it to the big meadow and took a long rest. Dakota shared her beef jerky with me and I was so thankful! I felt bad eating it but I sure was grateful! Brother Thorley is one amazing man. There was this girl Sabrina who was having a really difficult time. He took her hand and practically pulled her out. I took her hand for about 5 min and thought I was going to die. I don't know how he did it. There was one point when we stopped to rest that I asked Sabrina if she wanted to say a prayer. She did but she couldn't talk. Brother Thorley offered it. It was the most heartfelt, sincere prayer I have ever heard asking for help (pleading), asking for the promise of living the word of wisdom- obey and ye shall run and not be weary. It was a beautiful prayer and I know it strengthened many on that hike. By the last mile I was counting steps, 1,2,3, up to 100 then I would stop and rest. It was that hard. I really didn't think I was going to make it out. But at the same time I didn't want to be "that" person that has to have help. When we finally did see the cars it was J.O.Y. I started to cry. It gave you that last bit of strength to make it. About 10-15 minutes after me came Brother Thorley and Sabrina. We made a tunnel of love for them to walk through as they finished. i am glad we did it because I saw a tiny smile on Sabrina's face as she went through. It took us 4 hours to hike out. We loaded our packs and got ready to go. I told the girls in my car that once they were in my car, they couldn't get out because the mud was so caked onto the shoes. I didn't want that in my car. Ewwww! Not to mention that Lorin would not have appreciated that! So they sat on the seat, took their shoes off and climbed in. I put all the shoes in a garbage bag. It was super heavy! Then, it was time to go!!! Yay!!! We were excited to get to camp! Sister Shimada was the first to go.......... She got stuck. We weren't going anywhere. You seriously don't have any idea how upsetting that was! She had a small car and we couldn't get around her. There was no plan. Brother Thorley wanted to sit tight and wait for it to dry out. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO DRY OUT? It had been raining all night and day!!! Sit there and wait? That could take days! We had no food & not much water! But sit there and wait we did. And remember when i said it was a blessing that we didn't eat breakfast? It was because we were each given 2 packets of oatmeal for breakfast which we were able to eat for dinner. And just let me tell you- I HATE OATMEAL! It is a big glob of slime going down your throat. But this oatmeal...... It was divine! We all had something warm in our stomachs. It felt good. Now came the trick of sleeping arrangements. I had 7 girls + me in my car. Dakota Noorda, Kimmee Raymond, Emma Bridenthal, McKenzie Green, Breanna Butler, Alicia Lucero & Rachel Silveira. We folded down the middle seat, but we couldn't the very back seat because of all the stuff in the back. Kimmee and I slept in the front seats, Emma somehow squeezed herself into the very back and the other 5 figured out the middle. There were arms and legs everywhere. You couldn't tell which body part went to what person. We did say a family prayer and that was comforting to me. I didn't sleep much that night because 1st- there was a lot of farting going on. Who knew teenage girls were so stinky! Then there was the fear that a bear or crazy man would try and kill us in the night and lastly the weight of the situation- what if we couldn't get out tomorrow? Was weighing on me. And having a steering wheel in your bed kinda cramps your style also. Not so comfy! But finally it was daylight! And we were getting out of there, one way or another!!!! We got ready again. Seat belts on- check. Prayer said so I wouldn't freak out- check. And then I gunned it! I was fishtailing all over the road. The girls were screaming. (I was silently saying a few nice words) And then we were at the top of the big hill. I think I started crying I was so relieved. But then there was a downhill. Oh CRAP! It was just as slippery and scary as the uphill. Up and Down, up and down. Finally we made it to the paved road. I think we all got out and kissed the ground. OK we didn't really but I know that I for one, wanted too! We tried to go down into base camp but Brother Thorley said it was too slippery. We decided to go into town and eat breakfast and get gas. We went to McDonalds. MMMM!!! I love their breakfasts! While we were there we got word that camp had been cancelled and we needed to go home. Disappointment. Doesn't even begin to describe it.
To be continued...................
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