Frustrated. I couldn't have picked a more inconvenient time to get sick. I mean, no time is a good time to fall ill, but 24 hours into a ten day camping trip in the desert (during January) isn't exactly conducive to enjoying my winter experience. If I am honest with myself, I wasn't feeling all that great the day I left home, but I chalked it up to anticipation and a long drive. When I started feeling icky on my first hike, though, I knew I was in trouble. By the time I got to my car I hardly wanted to move, and forced myself to drive into Moab to pick up some medicine. I pushed through the rest of the day, but by the time I had finished trying to enjoy a spectacular sunset over the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park through a major headache and congestion, I knew I wouldn't be camping that night. I drove back to Moab and found a cheap hotel room, hoping that a good night's sleep and a constant warm temperature would stop me from getting worse.
I woke up the next morning feeling okay, but not totally normal. I drove to Capitol Reef National Park, explored an awesome road (story in an upcoming post) and did a short hike to a small slot-like canyon, but after two miles I knew I was in trouble again. The drive back wasn't nearly as fun, and I found a hotel in Torrey and called it an early night. I'm pretty sure I called Jared and my parents, half-crying and upset with myself and the situation. I've never before seriously considered calling off a trip and heading home, but I was very close that night. Stuck in a hotel room while I had planned to camp every night of my ten day trip, congestion making it hard to breathe (let alone hike), and a headache so bad I probably shouldn't have been driving, I was miserable and on the verge of giving up. The only thing that prevented me from packing up that night and going home was the fact that I honestly didn't think I could drive, and I was so tired after a day of doing nothing that I went to bed when the sun was still in the sky and tried to sleep it off.
I am a motivated, self-reliant, and (best of all) incredibly stubborn person who hates being told she can't do something, so to have my own body preventing me from enjoying the desert trip I had planned out was seriously frustrating. I knew I shouldn't have tried to stick to my plan by driving to my next destination and attempting that day's short hike, but I at least had the smarts to not tent-camp in below-freezing temperatures, and to get a full night's rest. Twice. I wallowed in self-pity that night, sad that my experience in Canyonlands wasn't what I wanted it to be, and almost as upset that I didn't get to enjoy Capitol Reef like I should have, but even though I wanted to give up I would have kicked myself if I'd gone home after just two days in the desert. When I get this idea in my head of the way something is supposed to be, I take any deviation from that ideal as a serious blow. I just kept telling myself that I had a whole week ahead of me, and hoped that I would get over the cold quickly enough for me to enjoy the rest of my trip.
After more than twelve hours of sleep, the next morning dawned cold and cloudy over Torrey, UT and I actually woke up feeling pretty good. I stubbornly decided to take a chance and push on with my original plan to drive up and over the Boulder Mountains to the middle of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and my next hiking/camping destination. As it turns out, I couldn't have hiked or camped in the monument due to multiple road closures, preventing me from getting to my destination, but it kinda worked out. I made an impromptu stop at Bryce Canyon National Park, and by the time I walked to the overlooks I felt like myself again. I was back in the game, and ready to break out my tent again and enjoy the desert, magically transformed into a winter wonderland; it was right about that same time when the first blizzard hit.
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