Chapter 1

Day 1-19

Destinations:
- Canton, CT
- Fort Collins, CO
- Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, CO
- Denver, CO
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
- Moab, UT
- Arches Nat'l Park, UT
- Canyonlands Nat'l Park, UT
- Monument Valley Nat'l Park, AZ
- Grand Canyon Nat'l Park, AZ
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Hurricane, UT
- Zion Nat'l Park, UT
- Pacifica, CA

It is so good to be out on the road! We have had quite the interesting first couple of weeks on the Expedition. We started out June 4th from Canton, CT to Fort Collins, CO where we stayed with Scott Shahverdian for a couple of nights. A lot of beautifully made guacamole was accompanied by a few day hikes right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. We have been very keen on making large meals while we can, knowing that on our backpacking trips we are limited to what we can bring and make. During our Colorado tour we swung down to Morrison, CO to Red Rocks Amphitheatre to see Umphrey's McGee, Dr. Dog, and Delta Spirit. The show was absolutely mind-blowing and went on for 6+ hours, something that none of us were expecting. We then made the journey to Moab, UT for Arches and Canyonlands. During our stay in Moab we got our first few tests of what the rest of the summer has in store for us. Extreme heat (100+ everyday) and few water sources made backpacking quite the challenge, however while we had our obstacles to overcome we certainly had our high points as well. Sleeping under Delicate Arch with the Milky Way Galaxy illuminating the sandstone was utterly jaw-dropping. That was until the mice came and attacked a backpack and some camera equipment. From Moab we headed through Monument Valley en route to the Grand Canyon. While there we took the Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim down into the canyon. We hiked 16 miles straight down and then back up in approximately 7 hours, and while the experience was incredibly worthwhile, it was easily one of the most exhausting hikes any of us have ever done. Signs were posted everywhere not to do the hike in one day's time, however being the ambitious youthful people we are, we decided to take on the challenge and I think it'll be something we all remember for quite some time. From there we headed down to Flag to stay with an old high school buddy John Cipoletta. Some rest time was certainly needed before we headed to Zion. In Zion we took an overnight trip through the Narrows. Most of the trail we were waist deep in the river which came as a bit of a surprise but nothing we weren't all looking forward too after day after day of 100+ weather. Zion is truly unearthly. Once we got out of the Narrows we hitched 30 miles, with 3 separate rides in 2 hours to get back to the Subie. It is incredible how nice and generous some people can be out here, something you definitely wouldn't see back home. The next day we reorganized the car a bit and headed up Angels Landing. Again, just another mind blowing experience along the way as the hike is extremely exposed and not for the faint of heart. From Zion we made an earlier than planned visit to Pacifica, CA to visit Chris Camporeale and Diane Wellman. Currently we are waiting on some car repairs and taking a much needed day of rest before we continue on the rest of the California tour. We are steadily improving on how we are handling organization of our own belongings, the group's belongings, car management, overall planning, etc. It is certainly still a work in process but 19 days in we are certainly gaining a lot of know how on what we're doing with such an extreme trip. It's been a crazy start thus far with plenty of highs and lows, but we look forward to staying current as much as possible over the next couple of weeks.

- The Mother X Crew

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