Grand Canyon adventure

 

It was bright, it was sunny, and it was a very hot day . . .

 

Last night it was dark and stormy.

 

Now it’s 115 degrees hot, and humid!

 

“Damn, I wish it was dark and cooler,” Dave mumbled to himself.  “We need to get some water soon, or we’ll die,” he thought to himself.

 

“Water, too little and you die from thirst!  Too much and you die from drowning” he said out loud.

 

“Save you voice,” Judy said, “its dry enough without you mouthing off.”

 

“I was just commenting on the irony of water and hiking in the desert,”  Dave said.

 

“Yeah, but keep your mouth closed so it doesn’t dry you out,” Judy said back to him as she continued walking down the trail deeper into the slot canyon.

 

Rounding a sharp corner, Judy noticed something small and green up ahead.

 

“Dave.  Look! look up ahead, on the left, are those green ferns?”

 

“By God, you’re right, Judy!”

 

Walking quickly, they both approached the green ferns on the west side of the slot canyon walls.  Slowly peeling back the ferns revealed a fresh water seep.  Fresh water was coming from a crack in the wall, and flowing back into a crack at the base of the wall.

 

“Do we need to treat it?”  Judy asked.

 

“No, this water has probably taken about three years to filter down this far.  It will be OK.  Let’s fill the camelback and rest.”

 

After about ten minutes, the only camelback they had was filled with fresh water.

 

“Before we leave this spot, let’s drink more, to fully hydrate our bodies.  That way we won’t have to drink from the camelback until later,” Dave suggested.

 

 

“If I drink anymore, I’ll need to pee every ten minutes,” said Judy.

 

“That’s OK, at least we’ll know you’re working inside,” Dave said.  He continued, “Anyway, we’ll rest here for a few minutes, then start down the slot canyon and hopefully reach the big river soon.  I want to be out of this slot canyon so we can figure our next step.”

 

“What happened back there?” asked Judy.

 

“Why did those three guys attack us?”

 

“I’m not sure, but I heard stories about drug dealers and illegal immigrants operating around here,” replied Dave.

 

“I’m just glad that that cougar jumped into our camp at the same time.  That cat scared the shit out of everyone, and gave us the chance to slip down the slot canyon unseen.  The last thing I remember was seeing those guys running back into the trees.  If that cat is not following us, then it may have gone after our attackers.”

 

“What was that gun shot we heard after we escaped?” asked Judy

 

“I don’t know, maybe they killed the cougar or scared it away,”  replied Dave.  “Anyway, we left all of our camp gear back there just to escape.”

 

“I still have a leatherman on my belt,” replied Judy, “so at least we have a knife and pliers.”

 

“Great,” replied Dave, “and my camelback pack has some breakfast bars and nuts at least.  I also have my cell phone, but we can’t use it down in the canyon.  Let’s get moving toward the big river and then we can think about where we can go next.”

 

“Why don’t we head back to the camp?” asked Judy.

 

“If those guys are drug dealers, then they need to kill us to keep their drug operation secret.  Going back is not a safe option.  Once we get out of the canyon, we need to inform the Park Rangers and Police, and get them to investigate,” said Dave.

 

Two hours later, Dave and Judy could hear the rush of water over rocks.  Before reaching the water, Dave used the leatherman to cut off some bushes.

 

“Why did you cut the bushes?” asked Judy.