Grateful:Thanksgiving past revisited

My first Thanksgiving with family in a looong time. Delicious food, great company and Eli and Miles, my grandkids are so full of energy!  Since 2003, I've spent most of my Thanksgivings freezing my tootsies and hoping to survive traipsing in the Utah Canyon lands.

Thanksgiving 2003.

We're wandering through canyons around Poly''s Island. Rabbi -Mr Outward Bound -Hoffman, asks me if I can see where we are on the map. I cant read Chinese or mapese, sorry. Roots of overturned trees from a recent hundred years flood freak me. When I stumble in the thickets and on the brambles, I bounce back up.  My biggest concern are the rocks on top of the canyon walls, waiting to fall down on me. IF they've been up there for 2 million years, that increases the chances they're gonna fly down and crush me. 

The crew: Mr outward bound, his 22 year old son Ari and 22 year old friend, Eli. 

Eli lit in to me. Will you quit your complaining, you'd probably be home watching "the Sopranos."  "I don't watch the Sopranos. I didn't realize my recreational whining was bothersome."  

Toins out that if you don't voice a complaint, it becomes smaller in the mind..

I loint something.

I'm grateful for the 20 somethings who took turns making sure the guy at the end of the line-me, didn't fall too far behind. I'm grateful to Sharon, who helped get my gear together. Without her help, it would have been my last trip.

Thanksgiving 2011 Fish and Owl Canyon

I had my burning bush moment. A green leaf backlit by the sun was Caught in a naked bush. Wow! I was already maybe a 1/3 of a mile behind and instead of falling behind another 1/4 mile, I paused but kept on schlepping, praying "G-d,

please guide my feet."

I was going to leave my sleeping pad and ski pants behind.  My backpack kept on getting caught in the brush and bushes and I needed to climb out up this steep canyon wall the next morning.  Rabbi -Mr Outward Bound -Hoffman took offense at the desecration of his holy place. "You're pushing my buttons!"  "I just want to not get killt, ok?"

I'm grateful to Alan, who stayed in his tent during the drama but explained later, that my leavings would have disturbed the feng shui of the spot. Hmm..

After climbing the steep canyon wall the next morning, there was the last 6 feet to climb.  We were on a narrow shelf atop a thousand foot cliff. All you have to do is step on a little pile of rocks and stretch your other foot overt your head like a super limber dancer (right..) and stretch a hand Gumby like to reach a hold and somehow pull your bodyweight up 6 feet.  Can you throw me down a rope to tie around my waist so I don't get killt?  Down comes a shoe lace tied to another lace. Hmm..

Thanksgiving 2013

The plan was to go back to Fish and Owl Canyon. To traverse the last 6 foot climb out the canyon, I bought 50 feet of rope, enough to tie back and forth multiple times so I wouldn't go sailing off the cliff. Smart tinking, right?

The road in was impassable due to a storm, so we went somewhere else.

After 5 days of hiking-and quicksand-our exit was blocked by a 50 foot high rock.

"NO problem, we can hike back out in 4 or 5 days and eat the oatmeal I brought that no one wanted to eat." My friend, Mr you-know who- said "no problem, we'll belay up the rock w your rope." "Beh-what??"

The White Line is my Rope 

I'm grateful that the rope held for 8 people to climb out. And that when the sole of my shoe came undone after my belay scamper, and duck tape did not work, Ted had a pair of hiking sandals for me.

Lastly, I'm Grateful that I was lost and scared by choice, not like my parents who hid, or marched or worse during the war and then wandered through Europe after World War 2 trying to find lost family.