it's all about me

i had this idea to do "30 days until 30" and highlight some activity or event in my life over the last 30 years everyday until my birthday..to show some of my finest and not so fine moments. I kind of forgot about it and sadly, i don't even have 30 days left. So now, it's "22 days until 30". not quite so poetic but oh well. so here goes....22 days and counting

22. CANYONEERING:

my good friend David B Haynie invited me a number of years back to go canyoneering. Seeing that I can't say no and that I have FOMO (fear of missing out), I agreed to go and had no idea what I was getting into. But I loved it and hated it at the same time. The rappeling was awesome and sidling in between really narrow slots and scurrying over and under big boulders was a blast. Really the only downside to these activities for me is the heat. I'm not a delicate flower but I'm pretty sensitive to the heat and immediately turn into miss grouchy pants. But, for the most part, i loved these DBH adventures and if i ever get invited back (this is doubtful), I would go in a heartbeat. Some of the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen and it was so cool being so far down in theses canyons--places not many have seen. In my canyoneering career, I have done Pine Creek (still my favorite), somewhere in the San Rafael Swell (I always forget the name of the canyon), Birch Hollow, Orderville, the Narrows, Echo and Neon.

Neon was a disaster--I was "that girl" which i hate being. It was miserably hot and i was dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything rendering me pretty useless. I struggled the entire day and eventually had to break off from the group on our hike out. We were extremely lost and had already added multiple hours to the already long day. The sun had gone down, it was getting really dark and we had no clue where we were. Being that I was so slow, Dave and I actually managed to get ourselves out of the canyon easier and faster than the other group who was well ahead of us and on a dangerous and steep part of the canyon wall. This was the end to my canyoneering career and probably the reason I won't get invited back.....

Or it could be the time i broke my ankle midway through Echo Canyon, or it could be when i ended up in the ER with a kidney stone after Pine Creek or it could have been when I froze on a very steep face in San Rafael and couldn't move forcing David to have to scoot out to come get me, risking both our lives. or it could be the time Adam dropped me (still have the scar on my leg). Whatever the reason, it probably is a good thing for me to stay out of slot canyons :)

slot canyon in Neon

Echo

Pine Creek

Pine Creek

Neon

Cathderal at Neon