camping

wednesday sara and i went camping. i was in charge of most supplies and food. i ended up spending a lofty amount on supplies...but hopefully they'll be things that last me longterm.
we went to RRG and took our time the first day exploring.
Indian Staircase.
Half Moon Arch.
Those were my favorite of the first day.
Gray's Arch was my favorite of the second.
I found that the "unofficial" trails were MUCh more exciting and entertaining...even among those I found myself climbing up the more difficult areas rather than following the cut out path. There were a couple places I felt my fear rise up. Standing 15 feet or more off the ground and swinging myself across, my fingers holding onto one stone and my feet resting unassured on the inclined stones beneath me. Sara didn't follow me everywhere but that's probably a result of wisdom. I just like pushing myself....challenging myself.... knowing that if I make one wrong move I could slip, get a little hurt, break a leg. Most of the places i put myself to this test would only lead to (at worst) a broken leg.....it's so excited tho! in the face of such possible danger! i really felt exhilarated when I crawled around a 2-3 foot wide ledge anywhere between 30-50 feet from the cave floor. *sigh*.... adventure... risk... love...

We camped at Half Moon Arch the first night. It was a challenge to go up the cliff the first time....but I scaled it again alone at sunset to watch the lights go out over the landscape and some of the stars peep out. It was brilliant. And later that night some fellow campers hauled in next to us. They decided to take a late night stroll and climb up the Arch...which I probably knew wasn't the best idea, but couldn't help but join them. I'm glad I did, too. It was so black. We climbed out to the furthest ledge and sat in a little dip of the stone. There was so little surface that the night's light barely reflected off the surface we were sitting on....just a scant haze of grey a few inches around us and the stones faded off into blackness. All around us a line of blackened trees/hills created the horizon line....where a slight glow began and then faded off into an indigo night sky scattered with stars and satellites.
No worries...no one got hurt...thankfully...

All in all, I'm proud of myself. Sara and I set up camp. I built the fires while sara would gather more wood. I cooked and sara enjoyed (at least she said she did!!) It was a great learning adventure and I'm looking forward to the next time, which will only increase my backpacking/camping skills.