I really don't know where to begin. Our world has been turned upside down by a microscopic protein that is deadly. There is the anxiety in the back of my mind every time I get allergies or start to feel worn down thinking "Is this it?" I had a terrible respiratory illness pretty much most of January. I did not feel 100% again until early February. Fevers, cough that hurt, hard to breathe, and I'll spare you what was coming out of my lungs. Lucky for everyone I was home for 71 days isolated because of my Jeep repair. On hindsight I think I have had the virus. I am currently trying to seek out a serology test to see if that was it. Scientists are now thinking this virus may have been here in the US earlier than they thought by how this has spread. It would be nice to know if I have the antibodies and do they protect me. I have never felt so sick and so beat down by an illness in my life. But that seems so long ago now. Now as with other pandemics in history you just have to wait it out.
So we have settled into a life of family and work at home. Both my kids are home, no daycare or school, so as my wife does her duties for her job, I have to pick up the slack and watch our youngest. We all passed our 14 day quarantine period and have no symptoms. Our only trips out of our home are for essential supplies. We do our groceries via pick up and only go in a store if we need items they do not allow for pick up like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. We have to disinfect our groceries and wash our produce every time we bring it home. We have eaten at home more than we ever have. Been doing some cooking and baking with great results! I started my garden for they year including a new 20x4 bed increasing our grow capacity by 2x. My starts are coming along. 9 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, corn, tuscan cantaloupes, green onions, jalapeño and habanero peppers, yellow, orange, and red bell peppers, cinderella pumpkins, and I'll have lettuce, basil, and cilantro in my new shady bed on the south side I dug. Rhubarb is up and will be ready in a couple of weeks. Garlic is growing in nicely and the chives are going off right now.
I've been itching to go camping but wanted to be responsible so I camped at home on Friday night last week. I set up my tent with bag and pad, and pulled out my camp chair and had a nice fire. It was good to be outside and the night was crystal clear. I actually stayed out there pretty late turning in around 2 AM. I slept pretty good and I missed my sleeping bag! Morning came with threatening clouds so I packed it all up and headed in for a scrub. I've had fires in the fall out in my yard, but never camped out there so I guess I get to click that off the bucket list. Who knows how long all of this goes on, but we have been staying home to try to flatten the curve for our overworked and under supplied healthcare workers trying to save lives nation wide everyday. If you know someone who is on the front lines of this send them a message and just let them know you are thinking about them. They deserve to know we care.
Another week of at home got me itching to get out and do some hiking. It is allowed by Salt Lake County order that we can hike the trails in the mountains. Friday evening I made my way up Bells Canyon. The hike in was pretty nice, cool temps and some great strato coouds giving some beautiful light. I made pretty good time up to the lake. I noticed I was a bit out of shape at the start, but seemed to get more stamina the longer I was on my feet. By the time I got to the lake, I felt loose and strong again. I made my way up to the Wasatch fault, then started to head up to where I connect with my secret trail. A deer walked right up to me. Probably a little more than the social distance we are supposed to be keeping. We had a nice conversation, I took a picture as I was leaving, and we went our seperate ways. I continued to climb just enjoying the mountain air and the wide open spaces. Our homes are special, but spend too much time anywhere and you begin to get cabin fever. I made it to the Waterhouse, then moved into the forest to head up to the bridge. The last time in February I was on this trail it was all snow, it certainly has melted out now! Things are greening up and it was such a nice hike through this area. As I got closer to the bridge there were a few people up there, so I waited till they moved on before making my way up to my spot above the bridge.
After some time just enjoying where I was at I decided to finish off the loop. I actually had the whole trail to myself all the way out back down to the lake. Which was pretty nice because I love hiking solo. The light in the evening was getting really good and the sun and the strato clouds was painting some wonderful colors in the sky. But as all good things do I eventually descended to the Jeep for my ride back to my home. A really nice night on trail, and after more than three weeks at home, it was nice to get out in nature for a minute. Very therapeutic. Who knows what this year will bring with a pandemic raging in our country. I know when its time, I will be solo backpacking this summer and not to the busy spots. We are still allowed to recreate in the National Forest here so I will get out when I can and when the crowds are not inundating them. People think this is a vacation. It really isn't The reality of all of this once the dust settles will tell a different tale. I wish I had some sage advice for this moment, I just don't. So please follow your local directive, the CDC guidelines, and stay safe!
