Does it really rain this much in the desert...

Day 210
10-3-2006
Started: Outside Moab, UT
Finished: Green River, UT
Today's Miles: 23.5
Total Miles: 3050.5

Some days are undoubtedly more challenging than others. Well, today our morning ranked pretty high as far as challenges go and fortunately we ended our day with smiles still on our faces. When we unzipped out tent this morning and took our first steps outside we couldn't help but to notice the dark storm clouds that surrounded us in every direction. We could even periodically see bolts of lightening off in the distance so we quickly packed up our gear and outfitted ourselves in full rain gear. It wasn't long before Mother Nature unleashed her fury and we were being bombarded with a heavy downpour of rain, loud roars of thunder and fierce bolts of lightning. We continued to walk through the storm, knowing there weren't many options in the wide open spaces of the desert to take shelter, until the once hard packed sand under our feet quickly became puddles of thick, slow moving mud. The torrential rains caused the ground to melt under our feet and we soon felt like we were walking on treadmills, no matter how many steps we took we were making no actual forward progress. If walking through the mud this morning wasn't a challenge enough, try pushing a baby jogger carrying 80 pounds of water! Within minutes you could no longer even see the tires as they were not only covered in mud but had at least ten pounds of it hanging off every rim. The mud that splattered up and over the frame and the piles that collected in every inch of the cart must have added at least another twenty pounds as well. Every once in awhile Randy would become so exhausted from either pushing or pulling the thing through the mud that he would let Sheri get a hand on it and help him just long enough for him to catch his breath and go back at it. We even contemplated at one point turning around and re-walking what we had already hiked this morning so we could made it back to a paved surface and then take a longer route to reach our final destination for the day. Either direction though would lead us down a path of a muddy mess, so we continued to walk on. It had actually rained so hard through the night and into the morning that a couple of times we even had to pick up the stroller and carry it and ourselves through shin high streams of gushing muddy water. Does it really rain this much in the desert? Hours would pass until the rain finally let up and we eventually made it back to hard ground. We were both feeling rather fatigued, Randy especially from dragging an extra hundred pounds of muddy gear through the messy desert, so we took advantage of the break in the rain and regrouped before walking any further. We will say one thing, we are a walking testimonial for the company "Baby Jogger" because we have put our stroller through conditions on this hike that parents would never dream of pushing a child in and our stroller has stood the test of time and is still truckin!. Parents should feel more than comfortable with their kids in one of these strollers! So, the rest of our day was a walk in the park compared to the early morning hours. We walked on an old county road that nobody uses anymore and we were actually able to lay all of our gear out in the sun to dry late in the afternoon as the clouds and storms finally dissipated. We eventually made our way into the small town of Green River. Green River is really a tourist stop for outdoor enthusiasts, especially those who come to raft and kayak the Green River. It seems there are more hotels than any other businesses in town and some were even closed due to the rafting season having already ended. The Green River State Park sits nestled alongside the Green River and offers an array of outdoor activities along with places to camp. We decided to call it a day after reaching town. Our early morning festivities were catching up with both of us so getting off of our feet for the day sounded like a great idea. The forecasted weather over the next several days we are told is rather unusual for Utah this time of the year and we are expecting to walk through more severe thunderstorms and heavy bouts of rain. For right now though, we are enjoying the blue skies that have emerged and the cooler temperatures that are happening outside, but our rain gear will remain close at hand as we start our treck towards Hanksville tomorrow.


Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
Follow our Journey at www.treckusa.com