Today was our stake activity. I woke up at 7:15 A.M., one thing I haven't done in a while. Then we hiked the Y, also something I haven't done in a long time (like years). Oh my gosh did I feel way out shape and pathetic. I had little kids (not that surprising, since they are like little Energizer bunnies) and old people doing better than me. Even my bishop passed me up! How said is that? I was stopping at like every turn to rest (the trail is made up of like 13 switchbacks and 1.2 miles long, all uphill). The one thing that did make me feel better is that Janessa was doing the same thing I was, but she's in way better shape than I am. What made it hard was the altitude (not used to it) and it is just so steep. About halfway is when my breathing semi-stabilized and my didn't feel like it was going to explode anymore.
I can't believe people do that hike for fun. Janessa said she was never making her kids hike the Y and I agree. Oh, another thing that made me feel oh so great about myself was that a group of seven us drove to the trail head (in a four person Camero) while most people walked from the Seven Peaks parking lot. They walked further than us, but they were passing us up. One thing that made the hike a little more enjoyable was that there was this guy, with one arm in a sling, going up and down giving everyone (and I mean everyone, no person left behind) high fives and saying good morning. His enthusiasm gave me a little boost. It took about an hour to get to the top, where we heard a five minute message from a member of the stake presidency. I cut my ankle while climbing onto the Y. I bled. Rosi, Janessa and I sang a little Shanie Twain because it fit the moment. Looks like we made it. Look how far we've come my baby. We might have took the long way, but I knew we'd get there someday. And a little David Archuleta. So I put one foot in front of the other, no, no, no nothing's gonna break my stride. I keep climbing, gonna keep fighting until I make it to the other side of down. Or in this case the top of the Y.
The way down was easier, but you couldn't just walk. It's so steep that you kind of have to jog and pray you don't slip and fall. Walking is just so hard on your knees. Well, I managed to score a blister on each foot, in the same spot on each foot. Thin socks and running down hill caused my feet to slide around in my shoes a little and therefore gave me blisters. I'm just all about injuries and discomfort today. I'm not a masochist, I swear.
At the bottom got wrist bands that allowed us to spend the day at Seven Peaks for free, including tube rentals. We went home and changed into our swimsuits and then walked back over to Seven Peaks (it's like a five minute walk from my apartment). We were treated to a breakfast of french toast sticks and sausage. Yummy. Fried and greasy food...just what I want on an empty stomach (besides the granola bar they gave us for the hike) and after a killer hike.
Then we hit rides. They were fun! We did all the ones where where you ride a tube, we used double tubes because four of stuck together the whole time. After the rides we hit the wave pool, where we stayed for an hour and where most of my burn came from. Every other fifteen minutes there's ten minutes of waves. We stayed for a few cycles. The first time we were just swimming around and didn't have tubes so I was out in 5ft deep water trying to jump the waves so I wouldn't drown. I kept getting bombarded by people in their tubes which made it a little difficult to keep my head above water. The rest of time we were just floating around in our individual tubes. We grabbed on to each other's so we would stay together. after the second wave cycle we found three more people from our ward. It was so much fun. During the waves, the three guys would kind of swing our tubes around. I could tell I burning, but I didn't realize how bad it really was.
I'm pretty forgetful when it comes to putting on sunscreen and I've learned before that my skin is really sensitive and I can't just use any brand. Oh Disneyland trip of '09. I usually don't burn that bad in that amount of time so I thought I would be okay. Silly me, I forgot the air is thinner here. I burn faster in a shorter amount of time. I'm not used to it since this is my first time spending the summer in Utah and so far this summer I haven't spent a ton of time outside. Not like I would if I was home.
After we got out of the wave pool, the guys left and us girls decided to lay out and dry off. I really wanted to allow my back to get some sun to kind of even out. Hopefully I end up with a really nice tan. Who am I kidding, I'll probably be shedding all my skin like a snake. Gross.
When I got home, Christina (the EMT) told to take a long cold shower to stop the burn from deepening and getting worse. I forgot that you still burn for a while after you're out of the sun. A cold shower has never felt so good in my life! After I got out I lathered up with some aloe lotion. I ate a bowl of frosted mini spooners (frosted wheaties) and crashed. I took a four hour nap. I was so exhausted. I woke up because of the pain. Went to sleep feeling fine, woke up feeling like I wanted to die. Not really, I just wanted to be poetic and rhyme. But I did have a short wave of dizziness and nausea hit. Today has just been so wonderful. It really has, minus the injuries. I'm thinking maybe since tomorrow is Pioneer Day and I'm in Utah, all this was to give me a little taste of their suffering. Although I did do a pioneer trek once so this little lesson was unnecessary.
The next few days are just going to be great. I can tell.
Here are clips of most of the rides I went on in case you were curious.
No comments:
Post a Comment