Day 55 (ODT 23)

Day 55 (ODT 23): 22 miles

It rained all morning. I just chilled in my tent and decided to start after it stopped. I finally got hiking a little after 11, but not the way I had planned. Since it rained all morning I opted to continue on the alternate route on the rim of the canyon instead of dropping down in. It was described as a slot canyon and I wasn’t sure if it would be dangerous with higher water levels so I played it safe.

Due to this decision, I wouldn’t have access to water like I thought I would right away in the morning. I hadn’t drank very much the previous day and finished off what I had when I awoke in the middle of the night with a thirst.

There was one possible water source listed on the alternate so I thought I’d be alright. It turned out to be dry. But I held out hope. On the alternate the day prior I passed by cow tanks that weren’t in the map but had water. I passed by a lot more today too, but all were dry.

After not having any water all day, I started feeling it in the afternoon. I was stumbling a lot more. I told myself maybe it was just because the terrain was really rocky, but it was happening too frequently. My vision started to act funny. I felt like I started to see little specks that weren’t there and it got a little blurry off in the distance. I started to hold my mouth open to feel the cool wind. I told myself there were some small water particles in there I could enjoy, but really the cool wind just felt good on my tongue.

In the evening, I reached the end of the alternate and dropped down into the canyon. It seemed fine and I regretted not being in the canyon for the whole day because it was pretty. When I first got to the water, I sat down for 40 minutes drinking and filtering. It was glorious. When I started to actually “hike” in the canyon, it was tough. I probably did less then a mile, but it was a lot of going a little bit and then turning around cause there was nowhere to go. I also saw a couple snakes which I didn’t like.

I saw a couple caves along the canyon and was hoping to sleep in one. The one I made my way over too ended up having an uneven floor so I couldn’t sleep there.