Sistah Pat

I made it!  Here’s me in the pool at the end of Lower Calf’s Creek trail.

Today has been a comedy of errors.  One thing after another has gone wrong and we’ve been acting like a bunch of Keystone cops all day.

For starters, I woke up two hours later than I usually do.  Don’t know why but no one gets up till after me so I had to get Manny cleaned up and get the guys up.  We were late leaving the campground and heading to Lower Calf Creek and didn’t get there until around noon.  We’ve been going through so many steep mountains that Manny has a hard time towing my car which is not a little bitty thing but a big old Lincoln so I decided to drive my car and DH would drive Manny.

As soon as I spotted Lower Calf Creek, I pulled in and DH followed me.  I came to an immediate stop because there was a sign that said the road could not accommodate RVs bigger than 25 feet and Manny is 37 feet.  Of course, our screeching halt was a tad too late because we’d already pulled into the area.  I told DH to wait while I scouted out the road.  I drove down a little bit and verified that there was no place to park Manny and no way he could maneuver the road.  I drove back up and told DH he would have to back up about thirty feet so he could get Manny off the Calf Creek Road and we’d drive down the main road until we found a place to park him.  Of course, one of the reasons I didn’t want to take my car is because DH and I can not back up the RV with a trailer on it.  DH tried and DS tried and every time they started backing up, the trailer would begin to jack knife.  Ok, so DS decides they’ll unhook the trailer and pull it off to the side, get Manny pointed the right way, and then reattach the trailer.  Me?  I’m a smart girl so I know that my job is just to get the Hell out of the way.  I move my big white Lincoln and I’m sitting there watching them move the trailer to the edge and then DS starts directing DH and I see him backing up a lot farther than he needs to and I’m realizing something is just not right about the time I see him back into the trailer which knocks DS down right behind the RV and the trailer begins to roll over the edge of the hill.  When he hit the trailer, DH stopped immediately and DS is trying to get himself up off the ground behind Manny and he’s grabbing the trailer to keep it from rolling down the hill and over the cliff.  Well, Sh8t!  I’m freaking out but before I can do anything, DH is jumping out the door of the RV and helping DS hang on to the trailer.  They pulled it up and then we all just sit there shaking for a couple minutes as the implications of what could have happened sink in.  DS could have been run over, or he could have hung on to the trailer and been pulled over the edge with it!  Normally, I’d be screeching and raising Hell but I didn’t need to.  They knew without me saying a word.The guys reattached the trailer and we drove down the road about ¼ mile to a pullover where we could leave Manny and we all piled into my car and headed down to the trail.  I parked and loaded up my knapsack with a big beach towel, my camera, a washcloth for sweaty brows, and 5 bottles of water plus a two liter bottle of water.  I told everyone to make sure they had what they needed and we set off on the trail.  Before we had gone a half mile, DH was feeling the heat big time and we were really struggling to walk in the sand.  Imagine walking on a beach in 100 degrees where every step has you sinking in deep sand.  Andrew and Steven, the twin grandsons seemed to be doing okay and DS was okay so we told them to go ahead.  After they pulled away, DH said, “I don’t think I can do this.”  I said, “You probably shouldn’t then.  We’ve just gotten started.  Do you want to go back to the car?”   He got “the look”.  You know, the one that says, “You got me into this mess but I’m going to have to do it because I can’t be the only one who can’t make it.  I’m not going back.”

Chickies, I’m telling you…It was grueling!  After a little bit, I was really struggling and DS had slowed down so I caught up to him but DH kept moving ahead.  I could not keep up with him and pretty soon, DS and I were bringing up the rear and passing hikers who were gasping for breath (we’re at an altitude of 7,000 feet and breathing is rough!), throwing up, and drenched in sweat.    We kept pushing on but I had to take frequent breaks where I’d throw down the beach towel under an outcropping of rock or a tree that would give us a little shade and slurp down some water and pour it on the washcloth to try to cool off.  As soon as we got our breath and cooled off a little, we’d push on a little bit further.  I’m telling you, girls, I was sick!  I was dizzy, light headed, breathless and nauseous.  I kept thinking, “I’m having a heat stroke.  These are all symptoms of heat exhaustion.”  Finally, DS said, “Mom, I can’t do it.  I can’t go any further.”  He took the two liter bottle of water and I told him to take his time going back, rest frequently, etc. 

I kept moving and, another quarter mile or so, I caught up with DH who was just as miserable as I was.  I kept thinking, “This was a BIG mistake.  I want to stop and go back.”  But I knew that the boys would be waiting for us at the waterfall and they might sit there all day waiting for us to get there.  The worst thing was knowing that after we reached the waterfall, we’d still have to repeat the entire miserable ordeal on the way back.  Pretty soon, I was collapsing on my towel in the sand and just lying there with the wet washcloth on my face in the sand.  Finally, we encountered Steven coming up the trail. He’d already been at the waterfall and, guess what?  He hadn’t taken any water with him!  I wanted him to continue on with us but he just wanted to get back to the RV and told us Andrew was waiting for us at the falls.  I gave him one of my water bottles.  I’d already used 1 ½ so that only left me with one full bottle.  We kept slogging on through the heat and sand and finally caught up with Andrew who told us the waterfall was just a little bit further.  He wanted to go back to the RV as well but he didn’t have any water!   I gave him my last full bottle and kept less than half a bottle for DH and I.  At this point, it wasn’t an option to turn around because we HAD to cool off.  We kept going another quarter mile or so and came to the falls.  I was so hot, I went in the pool with my jeans on.  I didn’t even have enough energy to pull them off.  What was I thinking wearing white jeans anyway?  DH and I spread out the towel and collapsed for about 30 minutes.  The falls area was totally enclosed by massive cliffs all the way around except for the way we came in and it was cool and shady.  As hot as I was, the water was so cold, I couldn’t even dive in but could only wade in up to my waist.  It truly was as beautiful as I remembered.  How could this unbelievable oasis exist out here?  The falls area cools you off quickly and my energy began to come back.  DH and I were out of water and I knew that was going to be a problem so I filled the two empty bottles I had with water from the falls and we headed back.

The trip back was even worse than the hike in because we couldn’t drink the water but had to take a mouthful, swish it around and then spit it out.  Things were desperate, girls, so I soon decided that I shouldn’t waste the water by spitting in on the ground but should allow it to dribble down my chin and into the top of my bathing suit to cool me off.  Cute, huh?  and oh so feminine!  We finally made it back and DS was waiting for us in my car with a big jug of cold diet Dr. Pepper.  He drove us back to Manny where both of the boys were crashed out in our bed with the air conditioner so cold that they had blankets on.

I’m glad I conquered Lower Calf CreekFalls because this is absolutely the last time I will ever see it.  I knew it was difficult but the last time I hiked it was 11 years ago and that was before any ankle problems and all this extra weight.  Today, it was not difficult, it was torture.  Still, I find satisfaction in seeing all the people a lot younger and in much better shape than I am who had to turn back.  Oh wait…maybe they’re just a lot smarter than I am!Okay, so our “morning hike” took almost all day and you’d think things couldn’t get any worse, right?  We had planned another four hours of driving to get to Moab this evening but we were so exhausted, I just wanted to find the closest RV park and pull in.  DS had other ideas.  He wanted to load my car back on the trailer and drive to Moab while DH and I rested.  I was NOT happy with this decision but he was adamant.  DH and I were supposed to rest and he was going to drive.  Crap! We’re still way up in the mountains and I can’t relax with him pulling the car through the mountains.  I did try.  I took a shower in the moving RV, put on my jammies, and curled up on the couch.  I was so exhausted; I was actually beginning to get drowsy when I heard him say, “Dad, something is not right.  I’m flooring this thing going downhill and it’s only going 40 mph.  Something’s wrong.  I wonder if Mom’s car has a flat or something.”  Okay, I’m UP!  We pull into a pull off down the road and the guys check the car but everything’s okay.  DH thinks it may just be too much of a strain on the transmission at the high altitude and pulling my big old car.  He pops the hood on Manny and they discover that there’s no transmission fluid in it.  The GPS says there’s a service station about ten miles down the road.  So, we have to take my car off the trailer and I have to drive ten miles to get transmission fluid.  On the way, I come around a curve and there’s a deer standing beside the road.  I slowed down and it was a good thing because I went around another curve and there are cattle in the middle of the road.  Can this day get any worse???  I finally got the transmission fluid and turned around to go back to Manny.  Same old cows are taking up the entire road and I’m paranoid as all get out about deer, cliffs, and cattle.

The guys filled up the transmission and DH drives Manny who seems to be just fine but I’m not putting my car on the trailer so I follow as he heads out of the mountains.  He and I are in complete agreement – the first RV park we see, we’ll pulling in.  We have no pool, no wifi, and we’re out in the middle of nowhere but I’m calling it a day. 

G’night, girls!