Four-Mile Hike

Stewart Falls, Utah

I'm squeezing in some blog time to report that I'm hanging in there. I could be doing better but have been very active. Today our neighbors invited us to join their family to go into American Fork Canyon-Provo Canyon and hike two miles to Stewart Falls. It was amazingly beautiful. Danny, my daughter, and I held hands and walked behind the falling water next to the wall of the mountain (bottom part of falls in photo -- not me in pic). Invigorating. Nothing like a shower of melting snow in the morning to wake you up. We hiked back soaking wet, which was great because of the growing heat from the mountains.

We could see Sundance Ski Resort from where we were. It's owned by Robert Redford. As we were walking, we realized we were on the trail with the Sundance Kid himself. He was with two other adults and a toddler. I was too busy admiring their child-carrier back-pack style with a canopy to notice Mr. Redford. We kept passing each other. We would stop to rest, they would pass. They would rest, we would pass. At one point I walked right by him on the narrow trail and said, "Excuse us, please." "Sure!" he said. Anyway, hikers were polite and respectful. No one bothered him.

I haven't been perfect on the challenge, but I haven't given up. Life is busy and challenging in and of itself. I didn't drink as much water today, otherwise I would have been in the stinging nettle bushes often to relieve myself. Besides, I wouldn't want the Sundance to see my moon-dance in the shrubbery.

Enjoying the falls but not falling.