My sleeping pad was on a weird split incline, so I slept somewhat poorly because I could either sleep on the split incline or I could sleep on flat ground against the side of the tent (which seemed to be a better option, but led to me waking up often due to cold). I woke up at 5:30am, since Hannah and Tessa were on the food team today, but didn't get up until around 6am. Apparently Hannah had a dream about nature taking revenge on us and Tessa started her (apparently) nightly dreams of having sex with various people in our group. Pretty strange but interesting dreams.
Breakfast consisted of oatmeal and yogurt. It was a really cold morning, so I had some hot chocolate and two packs of oatmeal before having a bit of yogurt followed by some hot water (to 'clean' my nesting bowl). I had left out my wet water shoes (old tennis shoes) and wool socks to 'dry' overnight - what a mistake! They were frozen and pretty miserable to wear in the morning.
False Sentinel from Ledges camp (photo by Manuel).
Ledges camp in the morning (photo by Jakub).
We loaded the canoes - Sean and I took the big kitchen dry bag, two ammo boxes with food, 2 8-gallon water jugs, and the Groover. The Groover is the portable toilet that we used for solid waste. The equipment team would set it up somewhere a short distance from camp that was both private and had a good view. We would then use a paddle to designate whether it was in use - when you went to use it, you would take the paddle from a tree nearby and when you returned you would replace the paddle. We were supposed to take a bit of hand soap after using the Groover and go wash our hands in the river.
Our introduction to the Groover the night before (photo by Manuel).
We got on the river at 9:13am, and it was extremely cold. We only had 4.14 miles to paddle today. We stopped to take a water break and a snack break. In general, the paddling was simple today so we didn't need to stop and scout and/or line any rapids. However, it was extremely cold when we were not paddling, to the point that I would start shaking every time we stopped. At one point I remember thinking that I was the coldest I had ever been.
On-water water break (photo by Manuel)
We didn't quite run this rapid shortly before Entrance Camp correctly...
...which led us to run into the river cane (photos by Manuel).
We reached our camp for the night - Entrance Camp - at 10:53am. We were all terribly cold, and Zack was semi-hypothermic as evidenced by his decreasing ability to function and his blue fingers and toes. Emily tended to Zack (warm sleeping bag, warm drinks, rest, ect) as the rest of us unloaded the canoes, changed into dry, warm clothing, and enjoyed some warm drinks.
Once we were dry and warmer, we set up the rest of the kitchen, tents, and the Groover. Then the food crew prepared lunch. After lunch, we had two Leave No Trace presentations. The first was one by Sarah Rose and I on the 'Dispose of Waste Properly' principle. We focused on packing out trash and on disposing of human waste properly in different environments. The second presentation was on the 'Leave What You Find' principle.
Entrance Camp (photo by Manuel)
Sarah R digging a cat hole in the sand for demonstration purposes during our Leave No Trace presentation (photo by Jakub).
Entrance Camp from the kitchen area (photo by Sara B).
Our canoes nicely lined up for the night at Entrance Camp (photo by Jakub).
Originally we were scheduled to have paddling practice in a calm area near camp, but the water and air were so cold that the 4 guides decided a hike into the Mesa de Anguila was a more appropriate activity. It was an optional hike, so about 5 people stayed behind and about 11 of us went on the hike. The original idea was to hike across the back-country to see the Rock Slide rapid from above. We started by hiking up the cliff by our camp, and then joined a rarely-used but carned back-country trail. We took the trail for a while, but eventually Chris decided that we would need to walk 45 more minutes to get to the Rock Slide rapid and that we didn't have enough time to get there and back to camp before sunset. Hence, we went back to camp on a more visible and quicker back-country trail before taking the faint trail back down the cliff. Partway down the cliff, we detoured to see the Entrance Rapid from above, which we would be tackling early Wednesday morning. I walked near the front of the group as we hiked, usually behind Brenden and Chris and right before Hannah and Zack. We walked against and through many spiny bushes and cacti, which left lots of thorns in my sweat pants and socks. I learned on this hike to only wear nylon pants (even thin ones) when walking in the back-country - sweat pants were a terrible idea (they were a magnet for spiny things). Ellie got some spines in her hand and Sara B got a few spines in her feet (that's why you wear close toed shoes!) - both required tweezers to remove. Sara B noted that even upon returning home she still had two spines in her foot.
The mouth of Santa Elena Canyon from our hike up the cliff (photo by Manuel).
Hiking up the cliff from Entrance Camp (photo by Manuel).
Entrance Camp from the hike up the cliff (photo by Jakub).
Hiking across the Mesa de Anguila (photo by Manuel).
Group picture taken with a timer in the Mesa de Anguila (photo with Manuel's camera).
Wide-open space in the Mesa de Anguila (photo by Manuel).
Short break during our hike in Mesa de Anguila (photo by Manuel).
Manuel's GPS track from our hike - Start: 3:01 pm. Finish: 4:48 pm. 1.95 miles round trip.
It made me really happy to go hiking in the back-country! It was neat to see so far, and to see no one but us. It was also pretty cool to hike in an area that very few people visit.
We did see one person today, once while canoeing and then once at camp. It was a Hispanic guy on a horse. He ignored us, and we attempted to ignore him.
We had dinner shortly before dark. The do it yourself kebabs were good - but there was not enough food and some people resorted to eating leftover quinoa from my group's dinner the night before.
Tent mates! (photo by Manuel)
Great sunset photo at Entrance Camp (photo by Jakub).
After dinner, we had another Leave No Trace presentation on the 'Minimize Campfire Impacts' principle. We carried two fire pans on this trip in which to build fires, which is one way to minimize impacts. Chris said that UT is trying to move towards not having any fires on trips. However, sitting around a campfire is important to some people, so in those cases, we should attempt to minimize the impacts. In this presentation, we learned how to build a 'log cabin' base for starting a fire using small sticks and kindling.
Although some people were sitting around the campfire chatting tonight, I opted to go to bed early after our final meeting of the night since I did not have kitchen duty and I had no personal dishes to clean. It was to be the coldest night on our trip, so I slept in long underwear, tights, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt inside my liner and sleeping bag. It was still pretty cold all night. I used a cotton scarf to cover my nose and mouth to make breathing easier (to avoid breathing really cold air).
Tessa and I were talking in the tent after she had been assigned to be leader for the next day about what day I would want to be leader. I stated that I would strongly prefer to do the Emory Peak hike day because I thought this day would showcase my abilities best. Only after saying this did I remember that Chris and Billy were in the tent right next to us, and were probably awake. Whether they heard me or not, (spoiler alert) I got my wishes and led the Emory Peak day on the last day.
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