You know, there's nothing quite like a pistachio. I ate plenty of them Saturday, while stuck on a cold, rocky ledge above the Zion Canyon floor--up 185 feet, having only 165 feet of rope...
From Brian falling through the ice on rappel #1, to Toby's white-knuckled stunt on rappel #8, Brian dubbed the day's course as "epic". Whatever one calls it, one must appreciate it as a adrenaline-filled escape, a chance to realize one's exhilarating abilities and physical limits, and a breathtaking experience at every turn and drop.
Constantly focused on each backward step, and with thoughts of, "is my harness on tight?", or, "is that worn carabiner going to snap?", exhaustion had set-in as I weakly and slowly spun down rappel #9, and made the ensuing boulder jump to the Emerald Pools' trail. I turned back from the Grotto to view Zion Canyon--the sun had just set but the silver cottonwoods hadn't yet lost their shimmer. The pack was heavy, and the future is light, and despite not yet having my ideal dealt hand, I recognize a real satisfaction in my life. All the while, I happened to forget the fact that I had some very good news Friday, some very good news...
