Our Hike

As we were setting up for camp on Friday night I heard my mom ask, "is this a flash flood danger zone?" The answer was no, but it planted a fear in my mind. We had heard it was going to rain and so when I woke up in the middle of the night to howling wind and a fierce rainstorm, it wasn't so much unexpected - just more worrisome. It took a little while for me to calm my fears and convince myself that this unknown threat really was imaginary and that I should relax and sleep peacefully. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself staying dry and warm. Eventually I fell back asleep.

We were camping just a mile or two beyond the entrance to Little Wild Horse Canyon. Originally the plan had been to hike that in the morning, return to camp for lunch, and then drive out to Goblin Valley for the remainder of the day. When we woke up and found ourselves preparing breakfast in the rain, we considered altering our plan and doing Goblin Valley first instead. But by the time we were ready to leave camp for the day, the rain had stopped. We decided that it did make the most sense to stay near camp so that we could return for lunch and the people who weren't going to stay a second night could pack up and leave directly from Goblin Valley. Logistics won out, and we stayed with the original plan of starting our day with the hike.

Although my tent had kept me warm through the night, my mattress had not been so kind. I woke up with my back completely out. I could hardly walk, bending over to pick up anything was difficult, and carrying children (like Peter who likes to be held) was impossible. We all wondered how I was going to be able to hike. My mom was smart enough to get some medicine in me before hand, and I kept trying to convince everyone (including myself) that I was walking it out, and that my back was going to be fine.

We loaded up two cars of people (my dad and mom, my sisters Katy and Rebecca, Katy's family which includes her husband Jeremiah and three children Carolyn, Kylie and Isaiah, and my family of four - Andrew, Ammon, Peter and myself.) In total we had 12 people: 7 adults (ages 18-56)and 5 children (ages 2-7).

The hike was a lot of fun. As we started out, I noted that we were walking in what looked like a dried up riverbed. My mom made the eery comment that some of the plants were growing sideways as if they had been pushed by rushing water. Those observations were quickly forgotten as we began to enjoy the beautiful terrain we were walking through. Our group spread out. Dad is a fast walker and was up near the front with Jeremiah and Rebecca. Carolyn, Kylie and Ammon had fun running through the canyon. Katy followed along with them, and my mom, who slowed down to take pictures of the lovely scenery, we just ahead of us. Andrew, Peter and I brought up the rear. Andrew took some time to climb the mountainside. Peter started out walking, but tripped on a rock early off and wanted to be carried after that. I went at a slow and steady pace, being considerate of my back.

We got to a point in the hike where we climbed the side of the mountain and the trail narrows so that it couldn't be more than a foot or two wide. You hug the mountain as you go around to the other side of it, and find yourself needing to jump down three foot plus drops. I didn't know whether I should be panicked or relieved that Ammon had done this without me there to keep him safe. I wondered if I would be able to make the drops with my back the way it was, and I questioned whether or not we'd be able to get back up if I did. The advantage of being last in the group is that everyone had found the best way down, and between my dad and my husband offering their hands, I was able to make it down without issue.

At this point in the hike we found ourselves in what we would later consider a nice opening. Everyone had gathered back together again to make sure we all made it over the ridge, and to take a little break. The sun had come out and we were hot. We decided that since we weren't doing the loop, but would be coming back out the same way, we should go ahead and leave our coats up high in a place that was covered and somewhat hidden from immediate view. Peter was wearing his T-Shirt, his sweatshirt and his coat. We knew he must be burning up, but we had to fight him to get those top two layers off. Still, I was worried about him being too hot and insisted.

We started our hike again and immediately were walking through slot canyons. The only experience I have ever had to compare to these is a place in St George that my brother-in-law Jeremiah has taken us to called The Crack which gets so narrow that people have actually gotten stuck trying to get through. These slots were a bit wider and it was fun!

We got through one slot area only to realize that we were going right into another one. And after that, another one. About the 4th time of entering the slots, my sister started mentioning her claustriphobia. I was actually surprised that she and my dad had been doing so well and not mentioned that sooner. Andrew had carried Peter this whole time and as the slots narrowed even more, he tried to get Peter to walk just so his head wouldn't get banged against the sides of the canyon. Peter refused to walk, though, and Andrew considered just turning around and taking Peter back out. We decided against that, but a while later Katy brought up her concern again. She also mentioned that she had been hearing a sound and wondered if it was thunder.

No one in the group (other than Katy) had heard the rumblings she was talking about, but as she mentioned wanting to turn around and go back, I jumped right on board and said that Andrew and Peter were also ready to go, so maybe we should get Ammon back with us and head on out. Jeremiah said we were about 3/4 of the way and that since we were so close, he wanted to keep going. He had Isaiah with him and Rebecca and my dad also wanted to continue on. So, it was decided that we would split up - some heading back out, and others continuing on to the opening that marked the end of the hike.

Somewhere during all of this discussion, my niece Carolyn went to her mom and mentioned that she had a really bad feeling and that if Jeremiah went on without us, something bad would happen. Katy told Carolyn to tell Jeremiah about that feeling. At this point I am not sure what happened in what order. We had turned back and were heading out of the canyon when we all started hearing that thunder sound Katy had previously reported. Some of us got a little nervous and decided we needed to just get out of there. As we started to run, raindrops began falling.

Katy and I were the first ones into the first clearing. I had Ammon and I think both Carolyn and Kylie were with her. Andrew was right on my heels with Peter. We looked towards the next slots and back at our feet (in an open area) and realized that although it had been raining for only 3-5 minutes, we were already standing in rushing water. We looked towards the next set of slots and realized that the water was easily 6+ inches. Even more terrifying was to see that it was filling up as water came crashing down the sides of the canyon walls, in from the opening, and down from the rain. Katy and I suddenly realized that we did not have time to get out if the rain continued. We stopped everyone and started climbing to higher ground.

Having never been in a flash flood scenario, or even knowing what nature was capable of, we were terrified! We climbed a good 15 feet in the opening, but I still wondered if we were high enough. We had no idea how long the rain would last or how bad this would get. All we knew was that we were trapped.

To be continued in Getting Out