ultralite backpacking in Grand Gulch

Matt and I took our new gear on a backpacking trip last week to Grand Gulch in southern Utah. Grand Gulch is really only accessible to backpackers, and has some of the most concentrated areas of Indian ruins in the nation. I'm proud to say that I was so distracted by it all that I didn't puke once! It was a little freaky as we hiked down into the canyon the first day, because it was snowing, and climbing into the depths of the earth with your home on your back in the snow made me feel very vulnerable and without shelter. The first night, the temperatures dropped below freezing and our water froze. Let's just say it wasn't the most comfortable sleeping experience; the following nights were not as cold. All in all it was beautiful, exhilarating, and I would definitely do it again. To top it off, my total pack weight was less than 20 lbs!


Hiking in, on a cold morning:

















Hand pictographs, just my size:


















Matt looks a little miffed (notice the $1 price tag on the brim of his DI hat - he refused to remove it):




















Me in Perfect Kiva (I think there is a slight belly visible in this pic):

















Me scrambling out of the canyon with my pack:

fessing up: Cletus

I think I'm at a point now where I should fess up. I'm pregnant, over 13 weeks to be exact, which means I'm now in the second trimester. I've been a little lax on my blogging lately because I've been gagging randomly and persistently. Cletus the Fetus is quite the persistent parasite. Don't be alarmed at my sarcasm; Matt and I are truly excited about this new development. I've been a bad patient so far and haven't really gone in for real prenatal care yet. What's the point when I can do my own ultrasound (to make sure it really is a baby) and listen to the heartbeat whenever I'm in clinic? (The above figurine of mother and fetus was given to me as a goodluck talisman by a wizened midwife in my practice at the beginning of the pregnancy--thank you, Claudia).

tunes

I got tagged the other day by my friend Ellen to reveal a what comes up on my Ipod shuffle list. Now because I share an Ipod with Matt--who is a notorious music consumer--I don't think our shuffle list would be an accurate portrayal of my listening. So instead I'll post a list of songs on a three-part mix that Matt and I made for my birthday celebration. I warn you, it is a little lengthy: (song--band, album)

1) All My Friends--LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
2) Allright / Not Quite--Apples In Stereo, The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone
3) Apartment Story--The National, Boxer
4) Black Like Me--Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
5) Branches--Midlake, The Trials Of Van Occupanther
6) C'mere--Interpol, Antics
7) Care Of Cell 44--The Zombies, Odessey & Oracle
8) Country Caravan--Blitzen Trapper, Wild Mountain Nation
9) A Dangerous Woman Up to a Point--Destroyer, Destroyer's Rubies
10) Decent Days And Nights--The Futureheads, The Futureheads
11) Don't You Evah--Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
12) Everything You Need--Adem, Homesongs
13) Hold Back The Rain--Duran Duran, Rio
14) Imitosis--Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha
15) Impossible--Shout Out Louds, Our Ill Wills
16) It Covers The Hillsides--Midlake, The Trials Of Van Occupanther
17) Jackie, Dressed in Cobras--The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
18) Jonathon Fisk--Spoon, Kill The Moonlight
19) K--The Clientele, Strange Geometry
20) Keep the Car Running--Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
21) Last Nite--The Strokes, Is This It
22) Liezah--The Coral, Magic & Medicine
23) Matter V. Space--Beulah
24) Mirror In the Bathroom--The Beat, I Just Can't Stop It
25) Missed The Boat--Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
26) Mixed Bizness--Beck, Midnite Vultures
27) Next Exit--Interpol, Antics
28) Night & Day--Frank Sinatra, All The Best
29) The Party's Crashing Us--Of Montreal, The Sunlandic Twins
30) A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger--Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
31) Shake It Up--The Cars, Shake It Up
32) Since K Got Over Me--The Clientele, Strange Geometry
33) Sons & Daughters--The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
34) Track 01--Caribou, The Milk of Human Kindness
35) Boys Don't Cry--The Cure, Boys Don't Cry
36) Train in Vain (Stand by Me)--The Clash, London Calling
37) Walking With Thee--Clinic, Walking With Thee
38) We've Got A File On You--Blur, Think Tank
39) Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret--The Beat, I Just Can't Stop It
40) A Winter's Sky--The Pipettes, We Are The Pipettes
41) Worst Trip--Dr. Dog, We All Belong
42) You're Not Supposed To--Field Music, Write Your Own History
43) You Are Dreaming--Shout Out Louds, Our Ill Wills
44) Young Bride--Midlake, The Trials Of Van Occupanther
45) Young Folks--Peter Bjorn & John, Writer's Block
46) 15 Step--Radiohead, In Rainbows
47) 505--Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare

Whew! So there you go. Now that teaches you never to tag me again :)