Coyote Gulch

It didn't take long for Guy and I to figure out what we should do during his visit to Utah. He's my backpacking buddy from back home in Alabama, so there was really only one thing to do - show him the natural beauty of Utah with a backpacking trip through Coyote Gulch in southern Utah.

Coyote Gulch lies smack dab in the middle of the desert and about an hours drive from any form of civilization. On the bright side tho, there's a stream that runs through the gulch and flows to the Escalante River. There was no way that we were going to carry enough water for four days so plentiful water sources was a must!

I had the whole trip planned out, but somehow things never seem to go quite as planned..... We started out on day one already leaving an hour late. Then the GPS found a "quicker" route, which included driving up and over a mountain on a narrow dirt road, which at times was on the edge of a cliff. I also didn't consider the fact that the last 30 miles to the trail head would be on a sandy dirt road. We'd been driving for a little over an hour and still hadn't found it. Just as I was starting to think we'd never find it or had somehow passed the turn off, the sign for the trail head almost magically appeared.

We had been planning to get in 6-7 miles the first day, but since we were already starting about 2 hours late, it seemed very unlikely. However, I had no clue just how little progress we'd actually make. Our goal had been to get to either where another trail joins ours or the Jacob Hamblin Arch. We didn't actually  make it to the arch until the next day, and considering how long it took us, we had probably only made it 3 miles the first day. It wasn't until later in the second day that we realized why we were making such horrible time. Granted I'm an amputee, and I go slower anyway, but this was just pitiful!

It turns out that we'd been making the mistake of taking the most direct route, which meant that we were walking a good portion of the time through sand. I hadn't really noticed just how much slower it was or how it was sapping my energy until the second day. It took us all day to walk 5 miles, and I was so tired that I was starting to get a little bitchy. Just ask Guy. I was disappointed that we only made it a mile past the arch, especially since the best features were between the arch and the Escalante River. We couldn't stay longer either, because we'd only packed so much food.

We headed back on the third day, and with our new plan to avoid the sand, we actually walked all 8 miles back the car. I was reminded that day of how I need to take better care of my residual limb when walking that far in the heat. I ended up with some small blisters and sores. I could have prevented these tho with some maintenance on the second day.  For instance, I should have wiped the sweat out of my liner during our breaks, and I should have put the sports tape on the areas being rubbed. I didn't do any of this until I started having problems.



Despite all of the problems we had, we still had a lot of fun and got to see some cool things.

The rattlesnake Guy almost stepped on on the first day.

Old Indian Pictographs

Jacob Hamblin Arch

What's Up With Me: Part 2

Our dreams are coming true!! What we've all worked so hard for has finally happened: Snowboarding was added to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games!!! This is so incredibly exciting! So many athletes, coaches, and organizations have been worked very hard to make this a reality, and honestly, I didn't think it was going to happen this time around. I figured that many of us would be too old to compete once snowboard was finally a Paralympic sport. So what a surprise it was when I got a text from my coach, Travis Thiele, at 6am yesterday saying that I needed to start training. haha

My next step is get into even better physical shape, so I'm not spending the first month of training getting myself back into shape. If I had the money, I'd also go with Travis to New Zealand for the summer, since it's their winter.


Here's a link to the article: Snowboard Included in Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

What's Up With Me: Part 1

First off I should update everyone on what's been happening the last couple months.

At the beginning of April, I competed in the Para-snowboard Canadian World Cup in Nakiska, Alberta. This is what all of my training this season has led up to, and I wasn't disappointed!! However, the was a series of problems leading up to the actual competition. First there was rain which ruined the entire race course! The entire course had to be rebuilt the day before the competition, which was supposed to be the training day. Regardless, I didn't get to do anything that day except hug the toilet, because I had a wicked stomach bug. I have honestly not been that sick since high school maybe... so a long time ago. Of course, I wasn't about to let being sick keep me from competing! We all know that I'm tougher than that!

The next day, we all gathered at the top of the newly rebuilt course and anxiously waited to get to slip the course for the first time. Everyone was very nervous and kept saying that the only goal for today was to not get hurt. Maybe it was because I was still trying to hold it together and not puke all over the snow, but I wasn't nervous at all. I was more curious to see what everyone was so scared of.

When I finally got my turn to slip the course, I realized that this was easily the fastest and most gnarly course I'd ever run. Some of the boys were even saying that it was as tough, if not tougher than the X-Games course. Wow!! I loved it though. It was very technical. I couldn't just fly through it. I had to memorize my line and be thinking one or two features ahead.

I'll admit that I was nervous, and I think that I could've done better (tho I always tell myself that), but I still came in third both days.

Bibian Mentel (right) came in first and Sara Dorigatti (left) was second.


Mike Shea, who took second both days for the men, posted this video of his experience at the Canadian World Cup. Towards the end he does a full run of the course. Check it out!!