Survival School: Day 3
Jul 17, 2007, 9:10p - Life
Woke up & tried to drink as much of the Earl Grey as possible. There was mosquito larvae in it, but they get killed in the stomach. "The stomach is the best canteen" [which means that you shouldn't "save" water by not drinking it if you have it - apparently many hikers who have died of dehydration were found with water in their packs].
"Earl Grey" watering hole - nastiest water of the whole trip. Yes, that's water, not mud. Can see "mokey steps" along the back wall, depressions worn out of the rock over thousands of years by Ancestral Puebloans (aka Anasazi) as they climbed to where Abe is standing. Students Pinky, Nic, Ted, & Nick Ph. filling up on water.
Hiked a lot today - didn't find any water until the end of the day, pretty much. Rob dropped his Nalgene as we hiked out of the slick rock. Still a pretty flat hike.
Me standing atop the slick rock canyon we slept in
Sheer face of the slick rock canyon
Saw cougar tracks on our trail. Crossed from BLM [Bureau of Land Management-managed land] to Dixie Natl Forest. Took our mid-day break @ the crossing, learned about 2 more plants - Pinon Pine & Juniper. Pinon leaves taste sort of sour, & Juniper berries taste sort of bitter.
Sketch of Pinon pine
Sketch of Juniper tree
Sun was beating down, but I actually felt pretty good - no nausea, & I wasn't throwing up my water like some other folks. Learned about lightning and how to avoid it.
Juniper (big, dark green tree) & sagebrush (small, light green bush) below rock precipice
Blue sky above red rock
At the end of the day, found the purest stream ever. H20 was crystal clear. Found place to sleep 50 ft from there. Learned about 6 W's of shelter - weather, water, wood, wigglies, widow-makers, & way out. Learned how to make a duff bed ["duff" is the word used for all the leaves, esp. oak leaves, that fall to the ground], though I didn't sleep in one because it was pretty prickly. I was tired & lazy & didn't want to build one, & I sort of wanted to be alone. I haven't been too excited about the social aspect of the trip so far; people are interesting, but I didn't come out for that, you know.
Self-portrait before bed on day 3
Slept on a small pad of duff next to the cougar tracks, but I wasn't worried. Slept better than the previous night - peed a lot though (3 times). Mosquitoes bussing in the ears, & a little cold as the sun rose. Dreamt again, this time about Tin as a kid & me trying to get him to look in a certain direction (follow the finger) - noticed a mark (stie?) to the lower right of his iris. Started feeling hungry as I lay there - been 2.5 days w/o food.
[Written on day 5]
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