American Fork Canyon Death Defied or NOT (continued)

After getting locked out of the campground the night before, I decided to break one of my rules and camp in a wild camping area.  I had spent the day hiking and taking photographs and had found this grassy area where you could park a trailer.  I was pretty tired when I got back to the trailer so I just hopped into bed without really looking around.

When I woke up the next morning I was thrilled to find out I had camped in a place where ground squirrels had created a colony. They were all around me.  Hopping around, chatting with each other. I had a fun time taking photos of baby squirrels with their siblings and baby squirrels with their mama.  It was a thrill to watch them interact and I was able to get within a few yards of them.

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I started to get my trailer ready to hitch up when I noticed that something was different.  I looked around and noticed that there was not a squirrel in sight.  All 100 or so of them had completely disappeared.  Then I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.  I looked closer and realized that a goshawk had caught one of the squirrels I had just taken a photo of.  The photographer instinct kicked in and I got closer to watch the goshawk.

The mother squirrel by this time had gotten on her rock and started to do a chirping warning sound.  She was the only squirrel I could see and she was clearly warning the others that danger was nearby.  I circled the goshawk trying to get him/her in better light.  Goshawks are not seen too often, they are pretty elusive, so like seeing the squirrels earlier, it was awesome to see this bird up close.  I took a few pictures, then I realized the squirrel was still alive.

What to do now?  I stepped forward and the hawk  had enough of me a flew back into the trees.  The squirrel limped into the sagebrush.  I hope the little guy made it.  I would feel bad robbing a hawk of his breakfast if the squirrel didn't make it.

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Nature is awesome!!

The difference between us and the squirrels?    Maybe not much.  We are playing, working, doing things when danger enters our space.  Sometimes it sneaks in as quiet as that hawk; sometimes it is very noisy.  If we listen, we can usually hear something or someone warning us of danger.

The difference?  We have a conscience.   We have choices to make.  We know that Heavenly Father loves us and that we can make things right.  We know that life is real and eternal.  If you don't know that, if you are confused about life's plan.  Pray.

Death Defied

I took a little three day  trip in my teardrop trailer to American Fork Canyon. I had seen many photos created by Willie Holdman ( one of my favorite Utah photographers.) and  I wanted to check it out.

There were several hikes I wanted to attempt.  I got to the Silver Lake trailhead about 5:00.   I looked at the map that was posted and noticed that it said 3.5 miles. It's too late I thought.  I will never make it. Then I see some people sitting in a vehicle.  Maybe they know about the trail.

Two 20 something year old guys told me oh yeah you can do it. It won't get dark until later. It is worth the trip. It only took us a few hours.  So then I thought well the 3.5 miles must be round trip. Ha.

--Note to self--when you are a fifty one year old woman. Do not. Do not compare your self to a twenty something year old guy. Don't even double it. Maybe triple it.

This hike was rough. Rock scrambling is hard on my knees. The weather was turning colder. It looked like it might storm. The night before it had snowed a foot in these mountains and I would see still patches of snow along the trail. I knew I was in a bit over my head, but I could not give up so I kept plodding forward. With every turn or uprise I would think I had made it finally to the lake. Disappointing, but I again kept moving forward.

I can't even discribe how important these solitary trips are for me.  They take deep down energy. No when else is there to rescue you. Here's the thing, If I had been with other people they would have talked me into turning back. Once I have set a goal, it is really hard for me to give it up. Maybe one day I will learn my lesson and be smart instead of stubborn.

Finally I made it to the lake. Just as  it began to snow. Not super heavy snow, but nevertheless, snow. I was a bit worried, but then I heard voices. Ok, there were other people here so if we needed to, we could form a huddle and survive the bitter cold night. Maybe I would survive.  Or maybe they would find us all huddled together in a frozen circle. Well, before we huddled I wanted to make sure that I took photographs of Silver Lake. After all,  that was the whole purpose of this death defying hike.

The landscape was incredible and the lighting superb. The photos on this trip are some of my best. When you are looking for photo elements you are on hyper mode and notice things that other people wouldn't even notice. The shape of a cloud. The way a tree bends into the wind. The ripples in the water.

 It  stopped snowing, so I didn't have to huddle with complete strangers. By the time I made it back to the jeep it was 9:30. By the time I made it back to the campground it was past 10:00 and I was locked out. I have never heard of anything so silly. Curfew at a campground. I parked near the locked gate, grabbed whatever stuff I could and after that death defying I had to walk another mile through the locked gate to my trailer.  My, oh my.

This is the view from trail 036.

This is the view from Silver Lake down into the valley from which I came.