Dec 2005
Utah

By Howard

Thur Dec 1^st : Got confused today. I went into Death Hollow and got to the stream and couldn’t figure out where the trail was. I found a path headed downstream that looked like a game trail and took it. I turned around 4 times, going a little further each time, and then would walk back to where I knew the last part of the trail was. Each time I felt wrong but couldn’t find any other way to go. I had to cross the stream numerous times, so I took off my shoes, put my sandals on and pulled up my pants. The stream was too deep to throw rocks in to hop across and there were no strategically placed rocks so I waded across. The first crossing, the bank was a rock covered in ice, I slid in the water resulting in getting myself and my pack wet. This made me upset to be wet and cold so I started walking faster. I should have dried off, put on dry clothes and looked closer at my possibilities, but instead I made more mistakes and got myself more upset. The bushes scratched my bare legs and another time after crossing the stream I couldn’t haul myself up the steep embankment, so I started upstream in the water to a lower bank, I sank up to my thigh in what felt like quicksand and decided that I would turn around and go back to Crocketts house to find out where to go. I arrived to their home after sunset feeling silly for having gotten confused, but enjoyed a warm shower and dry clothes.

 

Fri Dec 2^nd : Went over the maps again and set back out on the trail with more confidence. Very nice weather, I am taking it slow and enjoying my surroundings. A peaceful night perfect for a fire to cook over.

 

Sat Dec 3^rd : Went thru Death Hollow again, this time I found the trail heading upstream and made it out of the Hollow passing by an incredible amphitheater shaped cave. Arrived in Boulder near sunset, called Crockett to let him know I made it and was told that the post office lady was trying to track me down, I had a package in Escalante and needed to go back there again to get it. Camped in Boulder , pitched my tent in the back yard of the town hall and watched as a deer strolled down the street. Boulder was the last town in the U.S. to receive mail by mule.

 

Sun Dec 4^th : Woke early and walked to church, needed to wait another hour until it opened so I walked up and down the road to stay warm and find a place that served coffee, hot tea or hot chocolate. No luck, nothing was open. As I waited in front of the gas station/food mart a car pulled in front and the lady told me she had the keys because her mother owned it and she was stopping on her way to work, the next door Anasazi Indian museum. There was no warm beverage to buy, so I bought cold chocolate milk, heated it in the microwave and voila, hot chocolate! She couldn’t open the cash register so I put some money on the counter and a note. She informed me I had a package at the P.O. in Escalante, I smiled and said I heard. Walking back towards church, watching my breath hover in the air, a man walked by and asked if I was the girl with a package in Escalante. News travels fast out here! After church I was invited to a families home for lunch and invited to speak to the schoolchildren. I was told that visitors who stayed for more than a day in town were automatic visual aides/presenters for the school! I was driven back to Crocketts to get my package from the P.O.

 

Mon Dec 5^th : Spoke to a high school class in town and then caught a ride back to Boulder and spoke to the elementary school. I was invited to spend the night with a teachers family, went to the museum while I waited for the teacher to finish her work. At the Anasazi museum saw an excavation site, spoke to the curator and was shown some pottery he was putting back together. Later met the man who used to live on the land that is now the museum site before it was discovered. He told me how his family used to have “pot fights” with the pottery shards on the ground. I chuckled as I thought about the irony that now there is a man at the museum who has to glue that all back together.

 

Tue Dec 6^th : Had a lovely evening sharing stories, I feel so privileged to get to share a part of people’s lives. I decided to take a break from the hike for the winter and will resume here at Boulder in the Spring. Hitched all the way to Grand Junction , CO ,  took the train back home to St.Louis and then the metrolink to my town. Snow the entire trip thru Co and Eastward home! Surprised my family when I got to O’Fallon. I will resume late April.