Canyoneering - Freedom from Fear

During our stay at Capitol Reef National Park, the three of us took a few short hikes, including a stop at Fruita (you can read about our previous adventures here), but we knew the only way to make this visit truly special was to try something new--something we never did before. In this case, that something "special" was hiring a private guide from the Capitol Reef Adventure Company to take us on our first "canyoneering" experience. 

When I contacted the company to book the experience, I honestly didn't know what came over me. It's almost as if I had an "out of body" experience where I was watching myself from above make the reservation. Having a fear of heights, I never saw myself hiking down a small hill, let alone propelling down a canyon wall. Yet, I read the GLOWING reviews on Trip Advisor for the Capitol Reef Adventure Company, and my fear somehow melted away. In an email, I explained to Tim, the co-owner, that we wanted to take a guided hike and that we'd be open to learning more about canyoneering. His response was straightforward and reassuring..."I can arrange an adventure with an early morning start, a short hike, and a couple of rappels for a taste of slot canyoneering--4 hours."

I reread their Trip Advisor reviews, and everyone said the same thing--"I was afraid of heights, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, but Tim had a way to calm my nerves and talk me through it..."  I thought to myself, if Tim could help them, he could certainly help us. I forewarned him, though--"We're a bit out of shape and not athletic at all!"

On the day of our adventure, we took a short hike of our own (even spotting some cool petroglyphs). It was a cool 40 degrees, so we dressed in layers. His last email gave us a few brief details:  "The canyon that I am thinking of doing involves crossing a creek at the beginning and the end...so I will bring a pair of flip-flops and change into my hiking shoes. The crossing can be done barefoot or in shoes...stuff dries quickly. Otherwise, bring a small backpack, hiking shoes, some water, and a snack. It will be fun."

Can you see the whole in the rock?

We met Tim at the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center and followed him a few miles down the road to a more remote location with no noticeable trail markings. Dressed for warmth, I didn't realize until seeing my photos afterward that I looked like a purple woolly mammoth; yes, this day would be a reminder of how "not cool" I am...

Our canyoneering experience was FUN! While we were nervous and definitely out of our element, we laughed and laughed because all of our maneuvers were awkward, clumsy, and more like the act of a three-ring circus instead of expert trapeze artists. If we had any "coolness" at all, it was lost right at the beginning when we needed to cross the creek. We balled up our socks inside our shoes, balanced ourselves on rocks, and clumsily stepped with arms flailing to help keep steady. Hubby crossed first, stomping in the water like a herd of elephants with no worry in the world. Then he and Tim proceeded to help Little Lewie and me cross since we were both taking too much time and likely to fall into the water. (We repeated the same spectacle when crossing the stream at the end of our excursion, too.)

After the creek, we began the CLIMB. Getting to the slot canyons was no easy task, and Tim helped coach us as we had to climb from rock to rock, ensuring we had stable footing along the way. It was soon apparent that this adventure would be something other than our typical low-key hiking experience. We sometimes needed to grab onto rocks and brush to help hoist our bodies up. I also had to stop looking down for fear that the sensation of pure terror would paralyze me. Little Lewie did better. Although he gave me a few angry glances, which appeared to say, I can't believe you signed me up for this, Mom!, he was a champ. He listened to Tim's calming words and moved his feet with the flow and cadence of Tim's voice.

There was prickly stuff we needed to look out for, too!

Our fearless leader, Tim!

After Tim, Hubby was always the first to finish any of the climbs, and he offered a hand or words of encouragement wherever he could. The funny part of this adventure is that Hubby and I were bickering about some irrelevant thing before we left; by the time we finished our first climb, we not only forgot about the argument, but we both gave each other hugs and high-fives.  

I don't know how much time passed before we came to our first rappel, but that first cliff was a doozy--about 80 feet down to the bottom. Tim secured the ropes, ensured our safety gear was in place, and explained how we would be inching ourselves down the canyon wall (backward) taking one small step at a time. The instructions were detailed, and Tim made sure to answer all our questions before proceeding. Come to find out, he was not only an experienced climber but a certified counselor, too!  We had a two for one bonus!

Hubby, who was "over-the-moon" excited about the experience, was the first to go; Lewie was next, and I was last. After I saw Little Lewie do the first rappel without a hitch, I knew I had to be brave and show my two Lews I could do it, too. As I started to inch downward, I felt a rush of excitement. Hubby was right; it was an AMAZING feeling. My feet felt firmly planted against the canyon wall while Tim carefully fed me the rope to inch downward. The boys were cheering me on from below.  I was doing it!  I was being adventurous and COOL...until...I moved my right foot down one notch and no longer felt the canyon wall!  Uh oh!!!  There was a gap in the wall and suddenly the entire right side of my body swung into the wall. SMACK!  It wasn't horrible, and I quickly got control of my footing again, but I knew I'd have a mean black and blue the next day.

I made it down, of course, but that loss of control for one split second made me lose my confidence--so much so that the second rappel was not as high but I still had to be "talked off the ledge."  By the time the third rappel arrived, Little Lewie and I chickened out.  We had the option to climb down a steep trail instead, and we took it.  Meanwhile, Hubby, the bravest one of us all, did the third rappel happily. He wasn't afraid of a few scratches or a few bruises. Heck, he's lived through multiple broken bones, one back surgery, and four knee surgeries, so this was nothing!

At one point I was a little disappointed in myself for not going down the third rappel, but then again, that steep trail was no joke; Little Lewie and I had to coach each other--physically and mentally--as we made our way down. We needed each other. In fact, during the entire four-hour excursion, we all needed each other. We relied on Tim the most, but there were numerous times that Hubby came to our rescue, too. By the end of the adventure, we had crossed a roaring creek twice, climbed up cliffs, rappeled down lopsided canyon walls, slithered through slot canyons, and balanced ourselves on some very scenic but scary ledges. I was grateful we had Tim because he taught us the adventure wasn't about athleticism and skill--it was very much about breaking down the mental chatter in our mind that told us we couldn't do it over and over again. If it wasn't for him, I would have quit right after the creek, but instead, he showed us how to channel our inner monkey to stay flexible and nimble on our feet while quieting the voice in our head that wanted us to stay fearful. (I look back at this exercise now and realize that Tim wasn't just teaching us to climb--he was teaching us a valuable life lesson. Are we going to let that voice of fear hold us back every time we find ourselves in a challenging or uncomfortable situation, or are we going to reach for that voice of courage--that voice of trust, faith, and inspiration?)

We crossed the creek one last time overjoyed by our accomplishment. While fear did rear its ugly head on multiple occasions, our teamwork--that is, our praise, encouragement, and high fives--drowned it out again and again. In the end, it was love and trust that prevailed. We were so grateful for Tim's very patient and gentle nature that we didn't want to say goodbye. Couldn't he come back with us to Connecticut, so he could be our own personal life coach? Well, he couldn't come back with us, but instead, he taught us how to lean on ourselves and each other. We spent the rest of our Utah vacation cheering each other on, and we returned home feeling richer than the wealthiest person in the world. 

From now on, whenever a challenge comes my way, I only need to think back on this day to remember while a ledge can be scary and deep, our love for ourselves and each other is much deeper!

Capitol Reef Resort and National Park

 After two quick days in Moab, Utah, we were off to see the next of the Mighty Five--Capitol Reef National Park. Compared to the other five National Parks, Capitol Reef is the most expansive and least crowded. Travel bloggers explained that many visitors bypass Capitol Reef because of its remote location; however, those who made the trip LOVED it.

The feature near the park that sealed the deal for me was Capitol Reef Resort, which offered teepees and Conestoga Wagons for sleeping accommodations. To book a teepee, I would need to schedule a minimum three-night stay; for the wagon, the minimum was two nights. Before making the decision, I had a family meeting. "Which one guys? There are enough beds in the wagon, but for the teepee, Lewie will need to sleep on a cot," I remarked. The decision was unanimous; everyone wanted to sleep in the teepee!

Our trip from Moab to Torrey took two hours, mostly through dry, flat land. I knew when we reached the actual park because huge dome and castle-like structures towered over us on the right side of the highway. We stopped to take pictures. The resort, which was even more beautiful in person, was a ten-minute drive from the park entrance. When we checked in, they handed us a key for the bathroom and a tiny key for a lock, which was used to keep the teepee zipper in place. (It was a little nerve-wracking to know that anyone could simply cut through the canvas of the teepee to get inside, but once we met everyone at our campsite, primarily families with children, my anxiety disappeared.)

When we first stepped into the teepee in the ninety-degree heat, we felt like we entered a sauna. A mobile air conditioning unit was roaring on its highest setting, but there was no cool relief in the slightest. Knowing how much my two boys hate to be hot, I panicked. What if the teepee never cooled down, and they had to sleep in these conditions? I would never hear the end of it! 

Lucky for me, while the days were hot, the nights were cold--almost too cold--a brisk 40 degrees. So, when the sun set, we were trading the air conditioning for heavy blankets. (There was a trunk inside the teepee that had even more blankets, but we didn't notice it until the day we left!) Getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom was tough. While the bathroom facility was clean and warm, getting out of the warm bed, unzipping the teepee, walking through the whipping wind, and then zipping and locking the teepee back up was not pleasant. After learning from my first midnight bathroom run, each night thereafter, I stopped drinking a few hours before bedtime, so I could sleep through the night.  

The Conestoga Wagons--so cute!!

Lewie by the hot tub and swimming pool. The pool had a solar cover, but it was cold!

Capitol Reef National Park was astounding. We used the first full day to explore the park by driving, taking a short hike, and going to a geology talk. The next day we had our first canyoneering experience (which I will write about in my next post). Some significant features of the park (besides the towering domes and red rock) are the Waterpocket Fold; the orchards of Fruita, which go back to its first settlement in the 1880s; and the International Dark Sky.

Our hike and canyoneering experience gave us a first-hand glimpse of the cliffs and canyons inside the Waterpocket Fold; however, the geology talk, provided by the National Park Service (NPS), really enlightened me about how OLD the Earth, our home, really is in comparison to our own short existence. For instance, the layer cake of sedimentary rock reveals nearly 200 million years of geologic history. Our NPS Ranger explained that some of the layers were from periods when the area was covered by the ocean, then turned into fertile river valleys and swamps, and then covered over by the ocean again, etc. The fossils in the layers show precisely the types of animals (sea or land) that inhabited this area during a specific time period. He even explained what some of these now-extinct creatures used to look like. My takeaway was that even though the human race believes we are the most important and intelligent beings to roam the Earth, our time here is only a "blip" on this 200-million-year timeline. Will we become the next dinosaurs? 

The geology talk with the different types of rocks on display.

The Waterpocket Fold at Capitol Reef, according to the National Park Service (NPS), is a 100-mile-long wrinkle in the Earth's Crust. The "Fold" formed between 50 and 70 million years ago (long before us) when tectonic plates in the ground shifted, creating mountains and uplifting the floor. At Capitol Reef, the west side shifted upwards (about 7,000 feet higher) than the layers on the east side. As the NPS explains, the name 'Waterpocket Fold' reflects the ongoing erosion of the folded rock layers, for "water pockets are small depressions that form in many of the sandstone layers as they are eroded by water."  The erosion of the tilted or 'folded' rock plays a key role today--it is the reason why Capitol Reef has so many "colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, twisting canyons, and graceful arches."

Our second half of the day was spent roaming the fruit orchards, which used to be part of a small town called Fruita. If you're not a history buff, you can skip this next paragraph, but it's interesting. Capitol Reef became a National Park in 1955 when the National Park Service (NPS) purchased the land from Fruita.   The town of Fruita's origins can be traced back to the 1880s when pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled there and planted trees (orchards) for food and income. They grew apples, cherries, apricots, pears, peaches, and plums--all trees that are preserved today. In fact, the NPS still uses the same flood irrigation ditches that were dug in the 1880s as well as the same pruning, pest management, planting, mapping, and grafting practices. Some small historic structures from the 1880s, such as the Gifford Homestead and a schoolhouse, still stand today. While the fruit picking season did not begin while we were there--most fruit trees are not ready until July, August, and the fall--I could purchase some yummy apple pies right from the Gifford Homestead. My boys and I enjoyed the treat while we relaxed at Capitol Reef Resort.  

Imagine working and going to school every day near these massive rock formations!

The old irrigation ditches for the orchard trees.

I wish I knew the age of this tree.

Can you imagine going to school in this little house?

The inside of the little schoolhouse.

Some comic relief.

That night, we had a chance to go star gazing using a company called Sleeping Rainbow Adventures. We met them at the Red Rock Inn, and in caravan style, we all drove to their secret stargazing spot inside the park. (We had to follow them there because 1) there were no street lights, and 2) there was limited internet service.)  We were told to dress warm (coats, gloves, and scarves), but they also provided warm blankets and set up a coffee and hot chocolate station for us. Our guide knew a LOT about the stars, the planets, the Milky Way, and the other galaxies within the universe. He knew so much; there was no way I could digest it all. What I did remember, however, was the magnificence of the dark sky above me--the metallic clouds, constellations, and star clusters that I could have never dreamed of seeing in Connecticut. He set up a telescope where we could see even more heavenly star and cloud formations from beyond our galaxy! 

With Capitol Reef being an International Dark Sky Park, I knew we had to make stargazing one of our activities. Living in Connecticut, we have too much ambient light--or light pollution--from nearby cities, buildings, and even street lights. The International Dark Sky Association "advocates for natural areas that protect true darkness," not only so we can see the "true night sky" (the one our ancestors used to be able to see each night) but also to protect nocturnal plants and animals that get confused by artificial illumination. Both Lewie and I fell asleep in our lounge chairs as the peaceful, starry night and our guide's voice lulled us to dreamland, but we made it through the first full hour of stargazing, which was nothing short of amazing. For Lewie, this was his favorite part of the trip, and that meant a lot since he LOVED almost everything in Utah.

We spent our last day at Capitol Reef canyoneering, but I will save that adventure for my next post. In all, our visit to Capitol Reef was unforgettable between the hiking, the orchards, the International Dark Sky, and our stay at the Capitol Reef Resort. Even though I initially complained about having to leave the teepee to make those bathroom trips out in the cold, the experience of sleeping in an actual teepee was like no other. All night long, a gentle, steady breeze soothed us to sleep as we heard it softly whip the canvas walls. We'd wake up in the morning exclaiming how we got the best sleep of our lives! Oh, and can I mention one last favorite memory? Capitol Reef is where my son discovered a passion for the ukulele. Hubby had initially snuck it in his luggage to play on the trip (since he couldn't bring his guitar), but magically, Little Lewie picked it up, and it became his best friend--even more than his phone. It was one of those fun trip memories that makes me wonder, if we didn't go on this vacation, would he have ever picked it up? (It's been nine months since that fateful moment, and he still plays every day.)