First things first, I decided to finally transition to my new laptop that I've had for 5 months, I just hate switching from a Macbook. Apparently IE isn't supported by blogger for some reason and downloading google chrome was a failure so now I have firefox up and running just like on my old laptop. Failure. I will post some pictures from the trip tomorrow hopefully, today I am in catch up and back to normal mode.
Moab was a good trip, I had a lot of time to relax and do nothing while I baby sat the dogs in the hotel room. The temperature was up to 97 degrees and with zero shade or clouds around I didn't want the dogs hanging out in a non moving vehicle. Even if it's hot, as long as you have air flow it will keep you cool enough. The in-laws enjoyed the first trip there, and probably the only time they will ever go. Father in-law is almost 83 and can only take so much bouncing around and even the drive there was hard on him on the highway in a truck. I'm glad they went even if the trip was way out of the norm from what we would do on our own.
What shocked me the most were the other people on the trails. I'm driving, with 2 vehicles behind and we are all swerving all over to avoid/go over a huge rock or ledge. I am the pack lead, so I'm keeping my eyes out for anyone coming down the trail and things the other people might not see. The tail gunner is supposed to let me know when vehicles want to go by and I'll find a place to move out of the way (at our convenience). Instead of being patient, people just go as fast as they can around you as close as possible. No patience, I'm not paying attention and there were several close calls when I would swerve left and suddenly have a motorcycle or ATV right next to my door. In such a hurry to get to the end of the trail and turn around, I suppose that's worth getting run over.
No water was also a trail issue for many people. Between our 2 vehicles we had 6 gallons of water and 2 cases of bottled water, 1/2 case of chocolate milk and some juice pouches. Each day was a new case of water loaded up and cycled into the cooler. We kept the cooler clean so we could use the melted ice if needed. Most people on the trail had zero water, including a group of 20 ATV's that went by. 97 degrees, I'm drinking a bottle of water every 20 minutes just to stay at my normal hydration level and these fools don't have any. We had plenty of water and food in case we broke down in a vehicle and had to wait for the rest of the group to go get a part and come back, or even an overnight stay.
Clothing optional... sort of. I'm wearing shorts, t-shirt and hiking boots, almost everyone else on the trail had flip flops, shorts and a wife beater t-shirt or tank top. 97 degrees and they are bright pink and cruising around on the motorcycle or ATV without water or food. It was so draining out there that I tried to run really early, or really late to get some trail running in and still got my butt kicked. I only went 3 miles one evening before I almost had heat stroke and I was 100% hydrated. My morning sunrise run was about 2 hours and I was glad the sun only hit me for the last couple of miles, it was intense and I'm prepared for this sort of thing and conditioned.
Perhaps everyone is in a hurry to die. I have never been so happy to be home after a vacation than on this trip.
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