Growing up in Utah there are some experiences that most people don’t have, one of which is hiking in southern Utah. Unless you have actually been hiking down in the Zion slot canyons, or walking along the great red rocks hunting for Moeraki Marbles, you have no idea what it’s like. Let me try to explain what it is to be a southern Utah hiker.
For one, there is hardly anyone living near the slot canyons. Sure there are hikers going in and out frequently, but it would be a killer place to actually live. The heat is intense. It’s not a humid heat like in most Caribbean places, but heat from the sun heats the red rocks and can overcome the hiker in heat waves and sweat. There is a reason the slot canyons are named as they are, and that is because they actually look like cuts or slots in the middle of a great big rock. If one was looking at the slot canyon from a bird’s eye view, it would look something like a waterless river flowing through a huge empty rock. My dad (a frequent hiker) always told me the two most important things about hiking in southern Utah were: First, NEVER go off by yourself. Most trails aren’t marked and it is easy to get lost. Second, ALWAYS have enough water. If someone is caught in the middle of the red rock desert without water, they would most likely die of dehydration in about a day, and if you’re lucky, two.
(Me rock climbing in Zion)
Keeping all this in mind, imagine what it would be like to be hiking alone, with one water bottle, in the off hiking season, in the southern Utah slot canyons….Most people would never take the risk, but one man did. Aron Ralston went hiking by himself and found himself “stuck between a rock and a hard place” literally.
Everyone in Utah grew up hearing about this man. He was, as I previously said, hiking alone when he got into a narrow gap in the canyon. What basically happened is that it was a tight squeeze; there was a rock, and a man. While the man was trying to get over the rock and through the gap, the boulder moved and rolled onto his arm, trapping him. Running low on water, and his arm dying under the weight of a huge boulder, there was nothing that Aron Ralston could do. He waited for other hikers to pass, so they could go get help, but no one came. At this point in someone’s life, most people would just give up, and say that they were done, but not him. He had with him a Swiss-Army-knife, and with that he cut off the dying trapped arm. Someone has to have a lot of motivation to live in order to cut off their own arm. But now, he lives on. He managed to hike the rest of the way out of the canyon with only one arm. His story is legend, and now a movie.
127 Hours is the story based on this event in Aron Ralstons’ life. James Franco plays Ralston, and does a fantastic job. This film moves everyone, but especially those that know this story, and have been to the same place where Aron Ralston was stuck.
I would like to remind you all to be safe hikers and explorers. I would also like to recommend to everyone to check out the movie 127 hours.
Enjoy
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