Utah

Nearly three years ago, I left the east coast and headed west to start life anew. Two years after ending a six year marriage and a few months following the end of a year-long relationship, I was ready for a change.

My first year in Denver proved to be one of continued trials and tested my will and strength more than I ever imagined it would. Despite being one of the toughest years of my life, it was also a year of growth. During that year, I hit some of my lowest lows battling anxiety and depression, but I also learned that I could be successful in conquering even my fiercest demons.

After living in Colorado for nearly a year, I decided to take a solo trip to explore Utah, and maybe find a little more of myself. I signed up for a half marathon just outside the Zion National Park and planned my trip around that. Friends and family certainly pushed back on my decision to, as a single woman, pack up my car and drive thousands of miles for over a week to places I had never been and doing so alone.

There is no doubt it was a little scary. There are millions of things that can go wrong on a trip, with or without people with you. It can be infinitely scarier doing so without backup.

But if I had let that fear stop me, I never would have fallen in love with Utah as much as I did. I probably would not have gained even more confidence in myself either.

While in Zion, I was able to meet up with some old friends who were also there for the half marathon. I camped inside the park and they stayed in town. After the long drive from Denver, it was refreshing to see people I had not seen in so long.

Prior to meeting up with my friends, I was able to hike the trail up to Angel’s Landing. It was a bit drizzly that day and towards the top, it started to snow. The last thousand feet or so of the hike to the top of Angel’s Landing is certainly not for the faint of heart with not much more than a chains anchored into the side of a cliff keeping you from falling to certain death. With rain and snow, I was not about to take the chance and decided I had gone far enough. Although, even about a thousand feet from the top, the view was still one to behold.

After the race the next day, I said goodbye to my friends and headed to Bryce Canyon National Park the next morning. The two parks are maybe an hour and a half or so apart, but worlds different in topography.

Bryce Canyon is at a higher elevation than Zion, and as I later learned, can get a substantial amount of snow in early April.

Again, I camped in the park. I picked a campsite towards the back of the campground. After I set up camp, I realized there was a trail next to my campsite. Of course, I decided to see where it went and walked up the trail a short way to find I was camping at the edge of the canyon next to the Rim Trail. The view was breathtaking!

The weather changes quickly in the west, and I had become accustomed to checking the weather regularly. After setting up camp and realizing the access I had to the canyon, I decided to check the weather again. Clear skies for that day, but the next day snow was forecasted for the entire day.

So, I decided I needed to take advantage of the time I had and I set out on an eight mile hike through the canyon. The trail started along the rim with views of such a vast canyon and countless hoodoos. This was like nothing I had ever seen!

After a while, the trail went down into the canyon and I was able to see the world from an entirely different view.  In a world like that, you realize just how small you are and how insignificant certain things are in life. The world and nature is so much bigger than any problem life can throw your way.

Following the hike, I decided to get a drive in to other parts of the park knowing that the weather would prevent me from doing so the next day. I drove to and stopped at every overlook I could, taking in as much of this unbelievable landscape as possible.

The temperature dropped below freezing that night and I was thankful for warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag. It was still not quite warm enough. The next morning, I awoke to a winter wonderland. I got dressed and walked up to the edge of the canyon to find it had changed overnight and was even more beautiful covered in snow.

Knowing that it would be snowing for the remainder of the day which would have prevented really any additional hiking, I knew it would be best to shorten my stay in Bryce Canyon and head to Moab a day early.

On the drive to Moab, I, again, passed through a section of I-70 I previously traveled on the way to Zion. On the drive to Zion, I passed through that section before sunrise and in a snowstorm. This 100 or so mile section of I-70 is remote. There are no real rest areas, no gas stations, no towns, no stores, no cell signal – nothing. I had no idea what this No Man’s Land looked like, until the drive to Moab.

Again, Utah took my breath away. My mind could just not wrap itself around the vastness, the openness, the beauty of a desert. I truly felt like I was on another planet.

That feeling only continued once I arrived in Moab. I found a campsite along the Colorado River, set up camp and started my exploration.

My first stop was a drive through Arches National Park. It was later in the day, so I knew I would not have time for really any hikes. I just wanted to get a feel for the park and see where I should go first the next day.

Of course, the next day, my first hike was to Delicate Arch. This is probably the most well-known arch in Utah and it showed by how many people were already on the trail early in the morning. The hike to the arch was not necessarily long, maybe two or three miles round trip, but the first section is pretty steep. It was certainly worth it.

From there I did a few more short hikes in the park and then decided to drive to Canyonlands National Park, which was about 30 miles away.

Yet again, Utah left me breathless. At that point, I had never been to the Grand Canyon. Canyonlands was the closest I had ever been to something of that size and it was impressive. The grandeur of rocks and holes in the ground was proven to me that day.

While in Canyonlands, I also hiked to Mesa Arch and Upheaval Dome for more proof of the immensity of nature and the triviality of most of my problems in life.

Upon returning to my campsite, I also learned that the desert is not the best place for tent camping, especially on a very windy day. Despite having my tent completely zipped up and the rainfly on, the combination of winds and powder fine sand resulted in nearly an inch of sand inside my tent and all over my bedding.

By that time, I was losing daylight. I took everything out of the tent and shook it off as much as possible.  I took the tent down completely and shook it out, but by then, it was completely dark. This was one of the times on the trip I did wish I had a companion to help out.

Knowing I was only five or six hours from home at that point, I decided sleeping in my bed sounded like a fantastic option. So, I packed everything else up and started driving back to Denver.

Although, the five or six hour drive back ended up taking me far longer and resulted in more lessons about the volatility of the weather in the Rocky Mountains. A snowstorm moved in on my drive and Vail Pass was closed. There was no way around, unless I drove a two-lane road almost all the way to Leadville and then back down to Copper Mountain to bypass the closure.

I opted for the bypass. It seemed like a good idea at the time. In hindsight, it probably was a terrible idea. Snow and ice, narrow mountain roads, inexperience driving in those conditions – all of these made for a very, very stressful drive. I was certain I was probably going to die, but at least I would have died in the mountains.

Thankfully, I conquered the wintry roads and made it home safe around 3am. And that was the end of the trip that made me fall in love with Utah and myself again.

Since then, I have been back to Moab countless times. I have seen even more of Arches and Canyonlands. I have mountain biked, run, gone 4-wheeling in a RZR. I have met some truly amazing people which has made each trip back even better than the last. While I have not been back to Zion or Bryce Canyon yet, I will plan a trip back there as soon as possible. Until then, I will visit Moab as much as I can.

That first trip to Utah, though, will always hold a special place in my heart. Experiencing such a place on my own was unforgettable and something I will be grateful for and proud of the courage I had in order to accomplish it alone.