Since my tent faced the horizon over looking a beautiful
valley I did not have to leave my tent to watch the sunrise. I was up at 5:30am to do morning
ceremony. I started to walk up the hill
to see the camp host since this camp site #10 was for 1 night only. Jane took my money and had me move from camp
site #10 to #5 which faces an arch and the sunset. I am hoping this site will put me in a more
sheltered spot for today’s 45 mph wind blast.
Jane recommended I don’t put up my tent until later after the wind
settles down. She said tents have been
blown off even with things inside to weight it down. But I really wanted to set up my tent in the
morning when I am not tired and when the sand isn’t blowing.
I made sure all the spikes were totally hammered to the ground. I started my day at 10:30am for Devil’s Garden trail. This trail was strenuous but fun and adventurous, I used up 4 hours doing this trail. I had fun with getting my photos taken. The stretch across Fin Valley on top of a mountain wall with 45 mph sandy wind added a high level of scary challenge. Goggles were needed for this day and a Sahara worthy scarf for breathing would have been wonderful. I should add this on my to take list. Families who also went on this trail had their children crawl across this pass in fear they might get blown over and fall down the mountain. I feared for them too. But somehow, no one turned around, everyone just pressed forward and enjoyed the knee shaking jaw biting challenge. These kids had more nerves than I do.
 45 mph wind, too strong to stand, crawl across to ensure safety
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I made sure all the spikes were totally hammered to the ground. I started my day at 10:30am for Devil’s Garden trail. This trail was strenuous but fun and adventurous, I used up 4 hours doing this trail. I had fun with getting my photos taken. The stretch across Fin Valley on top of a mountain wall with 45 mph sandy wind added a high level of scary challenge. Goggles were needed for this day and a Sahara worthy scarf for breathing would have been wonderful. I should add this on my to take list. Families who also went on this trail had their children crawl across this pass in fear they might get blown over and fall down the mountain. I feared for them too. But somehow, no one turned around, everyone just pressed forward and enjoyed the knee shaking jaw biting challenge. These kids had more nerves than I do.
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| Mushroom crisp for snack |
I got a bit lost today to the Double O Arch. I lost track of cairns on the way back. I was tired and hot and winded. I inhaled a lot of salt and sand. I also ate a lot of sand too. This was a good warm up to dangerous of
fatigue and heat causing the mind to have difficulty in discernment.
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| Check out all her jr ranger badges |
I am having a lot of fun through hail, snow, rain storms, thunder storms, sand storms, lots of storms on this trip so far, pretty much one per location.
There are lots of nice fellow travelers, it is great to
see smiles on their faces, the kind I can relate to because I have the same
happy one on me too.
I burned my finger in one spot and it blistered. I somehow blistered my left toe. It didn’t hurt or go red, just
blistered. Most likely from all the sand
that got into my shoes and rubbed against the sock and shoe. I was exhausted from the heat and wind plus 4
hours of hiking and lots of climbing with hands. 
I took another hour of scenic route down to Moab after the Devil’s Garden adventure trail. I wanted to stop and photograph scenic landscapes. I found Burger King to wash my face and hands then ordered veg burger and a side of fries, apple pie, salad. I sat by an outlet and charged all my electronics and found reception to call family and catch up to report in that I am safe and alive. I decided to wash my hair in the sink and blew dry my hair with the hand dryer. Felt good to have clean hair.
I stopped by the visitor center at Moab and got info on
petro glyphs in Moab and wall art. I
hope to get another night of camp at the site tomorrow so I can spend time looking for petroglyphs and
wall art.
On the drive up to camp I saw amazing sunset colors. When I made it back to camp, the wind felt more like a tornado with black clouds looming over the valley. I wondered as I approached my camp site how well my tent held up or did it get blown off the cliff? I also wondered about the sand issue, how well did my tent block out sand from the sand storm? 
Lightening struck tonight just over the mountains behind
my tent. There was no thunder, just
flash. There are lots of empty camp
sites tonight in the campground. I saw
quite a bit of groups choosing to not set up their tent in fear of the tent
blowing off. But they have no protection
from the wind and the blowing sand this way.
This is when an RV feels like the presidential suite. A lot of others who camped just stayed in
their car as long as possible like me. I
see why the chi is so clean here, the wind takes care of everything, nature
sets everything straight.
There aren’t any bugs out to bite tonight. They have all taken cover, hanging on their
dear life. My tent to my surprise was
still standing and well staked down. I
did find a warp in one of the frame, bent by the wind. I tried bending it back but I couldn’t. Other than that there weren’t any
damages. Inside the tent, sand covered
everything. It was powdery sand that got
through the mesh. Oh well, I brushed
sand to create enough room to rest for the night. In any case there might be more sand tomorrow
so I’ll deal with it when I am ready to pack out I guess.
