Not-so-Silent Retreat: The Hikes

We went on one or two "hikes" every day. Real hikers would perhaps scoff - we didn't rack up much mileage. But the trails were rocky, dusty, vertical, and sometimes directly through streams. I thought it was a great balance of activity and chilling. I need both.

The first afternoon, we took a stroll through a canyon where the highlight was a chance to climb on a rock wall above a waterfall. It was also my first exposure to how life is experienced when social media is not just for fun, but how one earns a living. Our professional photographer - and all of us - had to capture all kinds of moments to be used in posts that included tags for various sponsors. This was not annoying, just different. I'm getting more used to the fact that without pics it didn't happen, but in this case, it was not solely for fun - but it was always fun.  When we got to the rock climbing part, not everyone went up the wall, but I did. The difficulty was minimal, though as always the challenge is some transition in balance from using my arms to relying on my legs to hold me up.

The stream was mostly dry

I did that too

Social media life

The next day was a much more challenging slot canyon with a much taller waterfall.  It was truly scary, but we all did the climb at the end. First, however, we ascended a canyon with a very cold stream running through it, often forced to walk through the water directly. We had loaner hiking boots from one of the sponsors, Merrell. We also had hiking sticks (like ski poles) which I used for the first time. I have been reluctant to use poles because I think they look nerdy. But, balancing on rocks in a swiftly moving stream, I welcomed the extra help in balancing. I also found them useful for taking pressure off my knee when going up or down big steps.

The path is only through the water

Trying to improve my selfie technique - remember to smile!

Bits of sunlight changed the temperature

Gaining confidence

Slow shutter speed

Steep sides

Claiming it as my own

Yes, we did a bra shot

After chilling back at the house for some hours, we headed out to a place with big rocks for yoga at sunset. No pictures of the actual yoga, as I was doing it. Just the big rocks and big sky.

The next morning was literally up well before dawn to go into Zion National Park, climbing in the dark to a scenic overlook to watch the sun rise. This was absolutely the most amazing time. We had the spot mostly to ourselves, because of being early birds. There was a huge backup to get into the park we saw on our way out.

Not quite light

I could actually see the line of the sun move on the hills

Feeling on top of the world

This was pretty high up

The light is about to come

Everything is fabulous

More light

More yoga was done

Great spot for a pose - always paying attention

After dawn, we made one other stop in Zion to see some petroglyphs.

That evening, post chilling and before dinner, we did a trail run just a couple of miles from the house. My knee didn't actually let me run for more than five minutes. (I've got to get that fixed.)  Mirna the ultra-runner gave us tips and coaching. Since I didn't run much, I also spent time admiring the plants.

Trail

There was a very steep hill at the end

Datura

The last full day was extraordinary in a different way. We were going up a very steep canyon. It involved giant steps up rocks, requiring hands for me, and my knee simply couldn't do it. I said I was going to turn around, but due to a slight fear of thunderstorms causing a flash flood, everyone came with me. After the shorter-than-planned hike, we drove through the home of the FLDS (the splinter group of polygamists and pedophiles who think the LDS, Mormons, are not conservative enough. Since a series of arrests and trials, the world has come to this place, and it is slowly opening to the world. We did not actually see many people, perhaps because it was Sunday, perhaps because it was hot.

Enjoying the moment

A random arch

Apparently one is required to strike this pose when wearing this shirt

Perhaps the most brilliant day

 We headed in the cars towards a scenic overlook that required less climbing and that would be above any floods. But we stopped before reaching the spot, because the road was rough and it appeared there was a serious rescue of a mountain biker underway, involving many high speed vehicles. This random desert moment proved surprisingly emotional.

This patch of desert is the back door to Zion

We felt the end of our time coming soon

Community

Better selfie?

The final morning, the clouds and the rain were coming. We took a walk through cinders up the side of an ancient volcano. More yoga was done. Then were were done.

Early

Cholla cactus

Bye

Not-So-Silent Retreat, Part 1

I went off to a five day retreat in Utah. Immediately after signing up in July, I had cold feet. What did I know about this? Not much. A woman I read about in Runner's World, Mirna Valerio, and then followed on Instagram, and then joined her Facebook group, was the sponsor. But she wasn't the organizer. That was someone I'd never heard of. In early September, I got an email saying fewer people signed up than they hoped, there would only be three of us, but it would be fun and we should come anyway.

I hesitated a long time, before finally saying I'd come. I didn't want to go off with a strangers I'd have to talk to. The idea with the big group was that I'd be able to be lost in the crowd. With fewer, I might actually have to interact. But I really wanted to get away from work, and the thought of the desert was more than a little attractive after all the rain we've had. So I bought my airplane ticket and off I went.

I knew almost nothing about what was going to happen. I didn't really know where were staying. I had never met nor read much about the organizers, and certainly had no details about the other guests. I did have a cell phone number, an email address, an emailed shuttle ticket from Las Vegas airport to St. George Utah, and a promise that once I got to St. George, I would not need to do a thing for the rest of the week.

It was fabulous. The organizer, Shanti Hodges, had just bought a house in Utah, and her in-laws who live in Alaska had bought another house a couple of doors down. She and her husband were just starting a business of retreats and guiding, using their two new houses which would be Airbnbs between retreats and during trips. Between Shonti and Mirna, it was the perfect complete get-away from my current life.

Mirna is a writer, a professional ultra-runner, and a motivational speaker. Shonti is a writer with twenty years in the outdoor industry, the founder and head of a large non-profit hiking group, and compulsive community-builder. The other women on the retreat included a health care professional, a tech industry marketer, and a school counselor turned yoga instructor and closet organizer. Joining us for additional activities were a yoga instructor who is learning to code, a professional photographer, a nurse who is a major instagram hero, and a foot masseuse/reflexologist. We hiked, we ate, we hiked, we did yoga, we hiked, we had foot massages, we hiked, we sat around and talked, we ran, and we hiked. We took pictures. Lots of pictures. We checked in on our kids. With women coming and going and bonding, there was chatter, and jokes, and tears. We posted on social media, we had clinics in how to jazz up your instagram stories, we went out of cell coverage and took more pictures to share later. There was even silence, sometimes, as we soaked in the natural spirituality prompted by the desert landscapes.

More to come.