It’s New Sock Day in Paria Canyon!

Day 3: Cave Camp to Big Springs Camp (approx 7 miles)

I think the poop last night must have caused some movement in my brain also, as I had the weirdest dreams overnight.  When I mentioned it to Pika over breakfast, she told us that there is this bush called Sacred Datura which has white trumpet flowers that have hallucinogenic properties, used by the native people in various ancient rituals.  Sleeping under these bushes has been rumored to give rise to strange dreams – so maybe it was that instead!

Breakfast was spectacular this morning – appropriately named “Hell Yeah Hashbrowns”.  The food on this trip has been great so far – very tasty and very abundant – so I don’t think this is going to be a trip where I shed many pounds! (especially given the amount of jam I’ve got to work my way through).  Today was also a GREAT day as I had new socks to look forward to.  Despite hanging your socks over the handles of your hiking poles overnight, both they and your hiking shoes were never dry by the morning, so you always wait until the very last moment to put your wet and smelly, sandy socks back on, and then to lace up your muddy, wet, smelly shoes.  At least today I got to enjoy the feeling of warm dry feet for just a few moments – before we set off for the day’s hiking upriver.  In camp, everyone changes into “camp shoes” – more often than not Crocs, as they are lightweight, fairly comfortable and easy to dry/drain if they get wet.   You’ll often see them attached to the outside of a backpack, dangling off a carabiner – mine were attached using one of my backpack’s straps, as the carabiners had been removed for weight purposes (yeah – I know – I could have had 15 carabiners for 1 pack of jam!).  In the morning, you could tell when people were almost ready to go, as there would be this cacophony of Crocs being clapped together to get rid of the caked-on mud, before being strapped on to the packs, and the sound would ricochet off the canyon walls like rifle shots.

Our day’s hike would continue to take us further up into Paria Canyon, with an estimated 7 miles to cover (not including side quests).  I am rapidly learning that 1 Canyon Mile does NOT equal 1 Forest Trail Mile or 1 Mountain Path Mile.  Canyon Miles are waaaay harder and slower!  Especially Canyon Miles that mostly involve wading through heavily silted rivers where you can’t see where you are putting your feet and where the ground underneath is slick with the stickiest gloopiest mud you can imagine!!   Also – by the way – Paria Canyon is correctly pronounced Paa-REEE-ah (as in Maria), rather than Paa-RYE-ah (as in Mariah).   It took me a couple of days to get it right – which then also led to various songs from the Sound of Music marching through my brain.

Our first side quest this morning was to a place mysteriously named “The Hole” on our maps.  Getting to The Hole involved fighting our way through a thicket of angry bushes, lining the river bank, while getting scratched on the legs and twatted in the face like an inept Indiana Jones.  When we finally broke our way through, it turned out that The Hole was a very cool gap in the wall of the canyon where you could look straight up between these imposing slanted side walls, into the sky, and feel very very small indeed.  It’s a bit hard to describe and the pictures don’t really do it justice either – but it was worth the visit, especially as you’d have no idea it was hiding back there, behind the tangle of undergrowth, so it felt like you’d stumbled into this secret place.

A bit later, we took a break at a place called Judd Hollow where Ronnie told us a story about how a rancher tried to install pumps in the 1940’s to get river water to the plateau above for his cattle to graze, but for numerous reasons, the project was a failure and the pump was never actually used.  You can still see it, rusting away – as I looked at it, all I picture was ManpanionTM and how much he would nerd out over the old machinery, thinking about how he could restore it! (it’s beyond saving btw, even for him). But it was a cool story – sorry I can’t remember more of it!!  For lunch, we stopped at a glorious place that our guides affectionately called the Fairie Glen (also known as the Mossy Flats).  As I was eating my lunch of jam, jam and more jam, I noticed that the fake tattoo on my right wrist was starting to wear off and had unfortunately now become the world’s Worst Inspirational Tattoo.  Rather than reading “Nothing is Impossible”, it now read “Nothing is ..possible”.  Not the most encouraging of sentiments.

After lunch, we were originally going to visit the intriguing named Pot Slots, but alas it was not…er.. possible as it wasn’t safe to do so (too much water and sand).  But instead we did take another fun side quest up a side canyon, where we all got some fun pictures of us shimmying up the walls with varying degrees of athleticism and fearlessness.  We got to Big Spring Camp by 3.30pm, so there was plenty of time to set up camp and to relax.  It was a large site so we were all able to spread out and I choose a spot nestled up against the sandstone cliffs to take full advantage of any radiant warmth. It was good that we were able to distance from one another as I have definitely started to notice my own signature Paria Canyon fragrance over the last day or so.  Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that Paria Canyon sand is like glitter – it gets everywhere and you will never be fully free of it.  I’m sure I will be brushing sand out of my camping kit for years to come….

Happy to report there were no slips or falls today!  I think we’ve all found our hiking feet and are now navigating this canyon terrain like a boss!  I do feel as if we need some sort of OSHA scorecard “CONGRATULATIONS! 48hours WITH NO FALLS!” but we still have 2 days to go, so perhaps let’s not get ahead of ourselves!   I’m also happy to report that I finally had a poop to be proud of and am feeling soooo much better as a result.  Alas, I am getting completely out-dumped by my Poop Buddy Amanda who, as a result of her excellent excreting, is now starting to get concerned about the remaining available volume in her Poop Tube.

Dinner was nice and relaxed, so we all sat around, swapping stories and telling Dad jokes (“Q: what do you call a row of rabbits moving backwards?  A: A receeding hareline!).  Everyone had their reasons for being on the hike and what they were looking to get out of the experience.  A common theme was simply to be out in nature, enjoying and also to bond with others over a shared experience.  As we sat and chatted, Pika expertly prepared some popcorn for us all to enjoy (no burnt bits and just a single un-popped kernel!) which seasoned with salt and pepper was absolutely delicious!  (As an aside, I have noticed over the last few days that my fellow hikers quite frequently break out into spontaneous British accents).  Supper was yummy tortellini, followed by squares of dark chocolate.  We watched Guide TV for a bit after dinner (Pika and Ronnie’s nickname for us sitting watching them cook/clean up) then enjoyed one last story from Ronnie (involving intrepid explorers of the 1800s forging their way through Paria Canyon, losing 1 cook and almost a horse to quicksand along the way) before heading off to bed at around 7pm. Tomorrow is our last day of hiking in Paria Canyon before we head into Buckskin Gulch!!!  This trip is going so fast!!!!