A Rough, Wilting Day

At Utah’s Ghost Canyon.

Today was humbling. It was dangerous, frightening, and dizzying. I knew we were in for it when we stepped outside this morning. Samwise and Emily were panting before we even hopped into Clarence.

At the trailhead, the air was oppressive; the clouds of bugs were even thicker. I donned my head net and coated my body with bug spray. We barely broke the mile mark, and that mile nearly broke me. I stumbled back into the parking lot.

Back home, I filled Samwise and Emily’s bowls and crawled back into bed. My head was swimming, and I felt like I would pass out.