Kolob Arch

Why did I agree to do this? Seriously. Kolob Arch is a 14 mile hike. After the car accident, I have been slow to exercise without pain. So I "trained" for this hike for a month, walking 3 miles a day as fast as I could on the treadmill. I am so lame! Actually, we were supposed to do the Narrows hike in Zions but there was too big of a chance of rain. So, some of our young men and women, along with three leaders (I was the only girl) ventured out for an all day excursion.

7:45am. I haven't been out to see anything this early in the morning since... I'm not even sure!

We found itty bitty frogs and loads of tadpoles along the way.

The kids were good sports about finding scat so I could show Macy (scat obsession thanks to Grandma Kaiser).

The first five miles or so were downhill. And I mean straight downhill. We walked another two miles along the stream and then hiked a half mile up to see the arch. Here it is. The world's second largest free-standing arch. I must admit, I was a little disappointed that I hiked all the way there to only get this close. I don't know what I expected...

Here's the crew, minus me, taking the picture.

And me with the young women. Such cute girls.

We ate lunch here and then turned back to hike out the same way we hiked in. I did fine until we hit the last five miles, which were now straight uphill. Oh, I can't tell you how I thought we would never get out. I drank a ton of water, but still overheated. I wanted to cry but didn't want to lose face in front of these super energetic kids. I am so old. Some of the kids were pretty dead, but they all made it without major injuries or complaining! We hiked for 11 hours total. I went home and laid on the floor for like an hour before I thought I could get into the shower. I kept telling Sam that my toes hurt, but I think he thought I was a big wimp about the whole thing. I can remember two things he said. 1. "Welcome to your thirties." and 2. "I would have rocked that hike." Lovely. And supportive, huh? Almost a week later, I decided to take off my toenail polish to check out the damage...

Yep, those are crazy-bruised toenails! So gross, I know. No wonder they hurt! I should have had them drained or something. I prayed I wouldn't lose them, but as I write this two months later, I am sad to say I don't think I will avoid that. It's going to take forever for them to grow out. Until then... lots of two-coat polish for me! I'm not sure I will ever do that hike again :).