Roughin’ It!

#3 – Starry nights, Beautiful Sunrises

As dusk settled down over the forest and into the canyon, heavenly stars began their stage entrance high in the heavens. With such clearness, the brilliance and abundance of all those twinkling points of lights filled the darkness above us. The Big Dipper, of course, being the first formation to be recognized. I gazed through the windows from my rooftop tent, lying back, marveling at the site. 

Night brought deep darkness and cool breezes that drifted through the pine needles, their soft whispering like a sedative, easing away any lingering tension. As evening settled in, the cooling breeze became a soothing balm for peaceful sleep.

With the setting sun much cooler air descended upon us. While I slept comfortably up in my rooftop NatureNest, snuggled in my sleeping bag with a pillow and blanket, Mark, in the tent on the ground tried to manage discomfort on his inflatable mattress and sleeping bag. Next morning he told me he needed a better arrangement. So, for the next nights we made space in the back of the 4Runner, dropping the back seat forward and keeping the tailgate open so that he could stretch out and hopefully find more comfort there. With some adjustments over the next days, he found it to be much better and could rest more comfortably. 

During the next day, we packed up and moved to Timp Point, the southernmost point on the Rainbow Rim Trail. This too was a good place for the views into the canyon and a more secluded campsite. A group or bicyclists were camped nearby, who were quiet and out of sight of our camp. After setting up camp we hiked south on the trail where we met up with the bicyclists. After some chatting Mark and I continued on. I had believed we were headed toward another overlook, but after hours of hiking, the sun and heat were too intense.

We headed back to Timp Point. Not intending to have gone so far, we had hiked 9 miles. I was really dragging by the time we returned. Then midafternoon, it was time to just rest, read or listen to music. And to get clean.

With all the outdoor sun exposure, heat and sweat, our bodies were becoming a bit odorferious. Time to bath!

And how does one do that in the wilderness?

With a solar shower bag. A plastic bag holding about 3 gallons of water, one side clear and other black. With a small tube ending with a shower nozzle, the bag was placed in the sunlight and within about an hour +/-, the water is usually hot enough to take an outdoor shower. From experience, if left out in the sun for several hours, the water becomes scalding.

Hung up on a tree limb, pulling down the nozzle, an adequate amount of hot water is released for a comfortable cleansing.

Our second night was still and warmer. I am a cool sleeper, cool, like in temperature not like I’m an egotist, bragging on myself. Warm temps make it more difficult to get to sleep and to stay asleep, for me. Though restless, I did have the stars above to view until I naturally drifted off to sleep. Waking during the night, I would gaze out my windows and see just how the sky had changed over time, new stars replaced the first as the earth continued its revolution throughout the night.

Sunrise from the North Rim looking out into the canyon was so beautiful. With the rising sun behind us, the first rays of sunlight were cast upon the distant opposite canyon walls. Slowly at first, the distant top edges caught the early morning’s golden glow.

Then gradually as the sun rose higher behind us, that golden light flowed downward like warm honey, melting the shadows in its descension while brightening the colors on the cliffs, walls and trees within the chasm. Shadows hung deeply below us but eventually even those melted away as the sun, rising ever higher, cast it brilliance deep down into the depths. It was an awesome way to start the day, with a cup of coffee watching a new day awaken before our eyes.

OH, but this day had an early surprise for us.