8 Days Backpacking : Part 4 – Finding Safety and Back to Civilization

maxy-hopkins (54)in #travel • 7 years ago (edited)

For part one click here
For part two click here
For part three click here

That night no rain fell and we awoke hoping for a calmer stream. Although it had been two nights since the last rainfall, the canyon rivers could still have been violent. What I took from this experience is that flashfloods can have lasting effects. The canyon acts as a sink and the closer you are to the drain, the more ferocious and lasting the waters can be.

We began hiking and clinging to the canyon walls for the first mile, our goal at this point was to climb out and on to the ridge – but there was only one way out and that was on the other side of the river. At our last effort, we found a high rise within the stream and point that looked somewhat safe to cross. Learning from our previous lesson from the day before, we took our time to prepare for this crossing – carefully checking all aspects and marking the safest route. But it was not needed, the water crept down the embankment at such a sluggish pace that even the supporting rope was not necessary.

Once on the other side, we all yelled in delight- we had made it and knew we had a way to get home. But now we had a greater challenge: the climb out. A large sand dune had built its way up the cliff over millennia and allowed for a somewhat safe passage. The climb up was not just hot – it was burning. The heat reflected of the sand and into our eyes, but to accompany that was the steepness of the hill and the sweat building under our packs. After forty painstaking minutes we hit the peak. Only now we had to rock climb, taking it in turn to pass up our packs and then scatter up ten feet of vertical rock with very little climbing holes. But my gosh, the view was worth it! The valley that we had trekked and been stranded in the past few days was all in sight – I felt victorious, a sense of elation and accomplishment.

Due to be stranded and our time commitment to the flight, we had about six hours to hike over ten miles across the burning desert. Although relieved by being out of the canyon, we were now without shade and very little liquid. At this point I want to describe our water situation. The first few days we had a working filter system to purify the stream, but our bad luck streak had taken that as well. By the time we were stranded, we were using iodine tablets to kill the bacteria in the water – but this left us drinking brown, murky filth.

On top of the canyon, the leader and I were walking towards the back of the group and came across a completely clear pool of water. We stopped and filled up our bottles and added our tablets, but by the time we looked up the group had disappeared. With no phone service, we were left scouting our own way back. At one point we came across a fresh urine patch right next to a big cat’s tracks – I did not feel so safe.

After a nerve racking hour, we finally bumped into the group. Looking back, the next cloud wave was forming and so we had to hurry to the cars. Without stopping for a snack, we marched on. As darkness fell, we made it to the cars and set up camp that night. For the first time in five days, I received charge on my phone and service to connect to the outside world. It hit me at that point that the world could have turned to chaos and I would have been none the wiser. At last, I crashed for my final night’s sleep in the tent – with weather now at freezing point.