On My Way

I'm speechless at how amazing it's been going through the Uintah Basin! Mind blown, wild to say the least! I left Price, said goodbye to James and his amazing family and headed out on hwy 191. The first 10 miles were all up hill (a bit of a rough start). It was raining off and on all day and the funny part is that I had just sent most of my rain gear and warm clothes back to home-base for later. So I was damp most of the day and as we climbed in elevation it got much much colder. I had to stop to dry off and warm up so we turned in at a cattle pen just off the road. I made a little shelter for leeRoy out of my poncho so he could keep dry through the night while in the pen next to his I set up my tent and went to bed. It was windy, cold and rainy all night long. At about 2 am I woke up from the cold and couldn't fall back asleep. I checked on Leeroy and he was under his shelter laying flat like he had died... I yell "LEEROY!!!!"... Nothin.... I yell again... Nothing! I unzip my tent and start to get up as he lifts his head as if to say "WHATTTTT??? I'm trying to sleep!" I say sorry to him (Haha...ya I said it out loud) laid back down and did may best to sleep.

At about 6am I got up and started to break down camp. I loaded up and we headed out back up towards the summit.  It was brutal! The higher we went, the colder it got. At about 9,124 feet we found the summit and took an extra long break at the top. The summit was enclosed by trees so u really couldn't see anything (well not from where I was) so I walked about a block down the other side of the summit and the song "Bitter Sweet Symphony" randomly came on in my head phones. The trees part and I'm walking along the edge of the mountain with the music being the soundtrack to the moment. I looked out over the Uintah Basin with the rolling hills out in the distance. A few of them were snow caped with the valleys below, trees, and a beautiful blue sky with a few clouds slowly passing in the breeze. There I was... soaking up the moment.... it was like something from a movie! Climbing to the summit had taken all my energy for the day but now I was on top of the world! Smiling from ear to ear, I had this high...this... I don't know just this moment thinking about all that I have done to get there and all that was to come. Just pure joy! We walked another 6 miles to bring the total miles for the day to 15.

We kicked out as far off the road as we could get and ended up in the middle of this dust sage brush field. I quickly set up camp,  snapped a few pics and headed to bed. I was beat! At about 10:30pm I woke up to use the bathroom (the things we take for granted ) did my duty and noticed how quiet and completely dark it was. I jump back in my tent and into the sleeping bag... It was getting cold! I stuck my head out the tent door to star gaze for a few. It was amazing! So beautiful! Since then I have tried to watch the stars every clear night. It always makes me ponder God and how big He must be. I fell asleep late, woke up early and walked into the small town of Duchesne Utah. It has been 7 days since I strolled into the town of Duchesne and I have to tell you, my world has been turned upside down! That will be in the next blog...