Storytime: I Almost Died

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- Hey you, my name is Anna AKA Glitter and Lasers and today I'm going to be telling you about a time where I almost died. Seriously, almost died. Probably one of the scariest moments in my life. Actually just about three weeks ago I went hiking in Utah. I was in Moab, which is like Southern Utah, and it's pretty difficult hiking. I know looking at me right now with the jewelry and the headband and the makeup you're like, this girl likes to hike? Yeah, no, I actually love it. I think I like hiking as a form of exercise so much because there's a destination, right? I like fitness where you could get somewhere. In the end, you get a prize and the prize in hiking is a beautiful view that you can't see unless you treck a couple miles into the great unknown. Now, if you've never been hiking in Moab or you've never heard of Moab before this video, it is insanely beautiful, like it is like another planet and every place you go has a slightly different aesthetic. As you can see it from some of this video, it's just, it's out of this world. It feels like you get this like special experience that no one else gets, but everybody could have it. You just have to hike in Moab. So where our story begins is I've been hiking in this beautiful out of this world terrain for about a week and I decided to move locations to a different part of Utah called St. George. Now St. George, there are several other national parks there that are equally as beautiful as Moab. So we decided to do this park called Snow Canyon. It's not a very difficult hike technically, except for the fact that St. George is like 107 degrees in July, no joke, 107 degrees and that's like the average. It could be higher than that. Now, if you get up really early before the sun is out and when you have like a little bit of shade, it like drops a lot. So like during the evening, because it is just like a vast open desert, the temperature drops to like 60, 70's. So it's super bizarre cause you're like, how is it boiling hot during the day and like, I need to wear a sweatshirt at night, but it is that way. That is the way St. George is. So I get up at 5:30 and I get ready and I pack up my bag. I put tons of water in it. I had like a bladder in the back, which is this like plastic thing that you put water in. And I had two liters in that, and then I had an additional liter of water and like a Hydroflask that was all ice so we could get cold water if we needed it for Data. I had Data's a little back pack thing, I have like a vest that goes on him that reduces his heat when hiking. It of like reflects the sun's rays and you can put water on and it keeps him cool. I had snacks, I have my tripod, I was ready to go, and we didn't really get to the trail or on the trail till like seven because I'm not the fastest mover in the morning, I'm just, I'm not. When we got to the trail at seven it was still really shady. And then this is what the trail looks like in the morning. You know, it actually had some overcast from the mountains that were like very far away, but somehow created like a little shade and it was nice. It was like 65, 70 degrees, I was like I can do this. So we set out on the trail and it was a four mile trail. And I was like, okay, if we're doing four miles, we'll be back by nine, it should be fine. It shouldn't be that hot, so we head off. So we get to the first point that could maybe be a turn off and it didn't look right because there was no marker there and there were no cairns. Cairns are these like little rocks that are like stacked on top of each other that are actually like information out in the wild of where a trail is. So you look for those as to like follow the trail, you follow those rocks statutes. So they're not just cute things that people stacked up for like whatever reason, which is what I thought they were before I started hiking more aggressively. I used to be like oh my gosh, look at that cute rock statue, and that's so cute somebody just made that. No, they're not there just for like fun. They're actually there to help you know where the trail is, so I didn't see any of those. So it was like okay, I guess that's not where the trail is. So I just kept walking. And then the ground became like thick sand, like the sand where your foot just sinks all the way down. And every step became just so hard like it was like thunck, thunck, and I'm already a big girl and it just felt like it's so much extra weight and so much extra energy and it was so slow. And I get about maybe a half a mile into the sand and it is really hard to walk in. If you've never walked in sand like this, just like thank the Lords cause it's not like beach sand. It's just like sucking your foot into the ground. And I pass a couple people that I had seen on the trail earlier that had also passed the same trailhead and also thought it wasn't right and they go, "Listen, we just walked another maybe like 10th of a mile up and this is the wrong way, like the trail just flat ends. I don't know where we are, but this is the wrong way." And I'm like, oh great, great. I just walked in the sand for no reason, okay. So I turned around, I get back. I get back to that turn off. That was in fact the right turn off, just not marked well, and I look at myself and I go, okay, so it's a mile up the trailhead before you get to the turnoff so I still have three miles of this hike left. Do I think I can do it? And I look at my watch and I go, well, it's been an hour. Okay if I do it I should be back by 9:30 and 10:00 is like the time that you need to be back by. Like, if you don't get back by 10, it gets dangerously, dangerously, dangerously hot, like surface of the sun, cooking egg onto virtually any surface hot. So I said, I think I can do it. I totally think I can do it, no big deal. So I go up and continue hiking and it's not bad. It's really, you know, there's some incline, you know, I'm climbing up, which those are hard, but there's no like scrambles and a scramble is like where it's like a big waterfall of rocks and you gotta like maneuver up it. There was none of that. It was just kind of walking up an incline and there were some rocks on the road and I still had that nice little shade so I felt great. I get all the way to the top of this walk I was doing which was called the Turtle Wall, partially because the rocks are shaped like a big turtle and partially because a lot of turtles go there. So it's I guess just like maybe they're coming to pray to their turtle God, I don't know but there's a lot of turtle stuff on this hike. So I didn't see any turtles, which was a little disappointing considering I almost died on this hike. So I walk up to the top, I'm looking over. I'm like oh, this is so beautiful, I'm so glad I did this. So glad that I, you know, decided to do the trail. I can see all of St. George, look at me. I looked over to the side. I got to tell you this was the funniest thing ever. So there's a school in St. George called Dixie College and somebody thought it was a great idea to paint a giant white D on the side of the mountain. So when you're up there looking at this beautiful view, you look over and it's just like a big D and you're like, somebody didn't think that through. And so I'm chuckling to myself cause I hadn't even noticed that it was there before. And I'm proud cause I walked all the way up and I'm like, now I just need to go back and it won't be that bad, I can do it. So I start walking back, I stop and I take these beautiful pictures cause I've taken my shirt off cause it's starting to get hot and I don't care. And also like if I'm going to hike in the sun, I might as well get like a little tan. Don't worry I had sunscreen on. And I'm, you know, taking these beautiful pictures. I find these like old I guess posts of like some ranch that might've been here before or I don't know, someone put them there for my photo. I don't know why they're there, but I'm taking pictures against them and Data and I are doing pretty well. He starts to get a little hot so I pour some water on him and I notice that our water is getting a little low and I'm like it's okay, like we only have a mile left and if I don't have any water I should be fine for that mile, like I'm okay. So we get to this next area and everything is not marked again and there are no indications of where to go. So I look left, I look right and I'm like, okay. I mean, what do you do in this situation? I don't know what you do. So I looked and I just went with which one looks like most worn down because at this point, I am still, I'm about a mile from anything, right, any sign of civilization. And that's the weirdest part about a lot of these trails out in Utah is like, you literally don't see any houses or cars or people or anything once you get on the trail. So there's no like, oh there is civilization. I just got to go over to civi-- There's like no civilization queue. So I'm like, I can't see, you know, any place that I'm walking to, I just know I need somewhere. You know, I'm going to pop over a little, you know, a little mountain or something then I'm going to see where I need to go. So I go where the path is most worn and that takes me down a whole bunch of rocks which I had to climb down. I get down there, I walk, I walk I walk. I get about half a mile and I'm like man, none of this looks familiar. Like I should have hit the trail that takes me back to my car, what is going on? And so right then I actually pull out my phone and up until this point I had not had GPS. I just was like, literally no signal. Another fun part of these trails is you just lose your signal. So I pull my phone out, I look at it and the signal pops up and I'm like thank goodness. And I'm like okay, how far am I? And I'm expecting to have one of those moments, you know, when you're like tired and you're like oh my gosh, how far am I? And you like pull it up and you realize okay, I've got half a mile, like stop complaining. That's what I expected to happen. But then I opened it up and I looked and I'm like, I've walked an entire mile off course and I have to walk that mile back and then walk the mile back to my car. And I literally started to cry. Like I just started to cry and then I stopped myself and I went you can't cry, you need to save that water cause I didn't have enough water. So I just pull out my backpack and I look at my supplies. I gotta see like, can I make this? And I drink a little water and I'm like okay, I've just got to save the water. And I looked down at Data and I noticed that his pack needs to be refreshed, which means the water has all evaporated out and now he's starting to overheat. So I take out the last of the ice water and I pour it over Data back into that like special backpack, and I can link that down below if any of you guys are hiking enthusiasts, it's really great. Just to make sure, like in my mind I was thinking I can make it, but if this dog dies, I don't think I will emotionally be able to handle it. So protect Data was all I'm thinking is protect the pup. So I pour the ice water on him. I've got a little bit left and that's it. So we go back up, I climb back up the rock scramble thing. I get back up to the trail. I get all the way back to the trail head. Now because I had another detour it's now at the point of high heat and Data's pack needs refreshed again. So I pour the last of the water on him and I say to myself, I can make it, I can make it the mile back. I can figure out a way to do it, I will make it. So we walk and it's hard, it is really hard. And every step is so much more effort and to go I think it was three fourths of a mile, took me 45 minutes because it just took everything I had to keep walking because the heat was so bad. I was so dehydrated and a quarter mile from the car I start to shake, like visibly tremor. Like my body is shivering. The heat now was at like 107 degrees because we had stayed so long on this trail because of all the detours and the little shade that we had when we came in that made the walk in so wonderful was gone and I was in full sun and all there were were these little shrubs everywhere. So my body's shaking. I look down at my watch because that's the first place I always check because as a plus sized person, when I exercise if anything ever feels off the first thing I check is my heart rate because that is like the most likely thing it is. I like to push myself, sometimes I push a little too hard. So I check my heart rate. My heart rate is soaring and then my body just starts to go cold. So it started with the shakes and I didn't even feel cold. But then as my heart rate went up, my temperature just started to drop and I started to really feel just out of it. I guess I just, my body started to give out, that's the easiest way to say it. And I started to panic and my anxiety on top of all of the physical things that were going on did not make the situation better. And it's weird. I was holding Data like in front of me. I had my backpack over him to keep him cool. He, by the way, totally fine cause his pack is, you know, loaded with water and he's living his best life. And I start to freak out and I don't know what to do. So I see this small bush with like a tiny bit of shade underneath it. I literally get into fetal position and lie under this bush. And I just breathe in, hold for four, breathe out, hold for four, and I just do that. I remember lying there under this bush, you know, trying to keep myself cool, trying to calm myself down and thinking I'm gonna die in Utah a quarter mile from the end of this stupid trail. And I just, I even thought like, do I let Data go? Do I let him just run away in hopes that someone gets him and takes care of him? Will I die here? Like I literally felt like that. Like if you've never been severely dehydrated, it is terrifying. And the scariest thing about being dehydrated in somewhere like St. George is it is dry air. It's not humid so you don't even know what's happening. Like it just hits you. I'm terrified because I've never felt so alone because I've never needed somebody as much as I felt I needed someone in that situation and I didn't have anyone to help me. I said I'm going to have to save myself. I'm going to have to save myself and I don't really have a choice, I have to do it. So I got up and I said to myself, I'm just going to do my deep breaths. You know, the one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, and just 10 steps at a time. And it's so funny, I don't know why the "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" came into my head, but she said you can do anything for 10 seconds and it turns out you can. And so I just literally counted one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 as I crawled my way back to the car. There were points where I was hunched over trying to keep myself from vomiting because when you're that dehydrated, you begin to oddly want to vomit and have diarrhea, which is just fun, it's such a fun way to go. So everything was starting to really just break apart and I just kept walking and I remember getting to the end of the trail where the pavement started and now I'm like 10 feet from my car. And I remember looking at my car and going, I don't know if I can make it, it's just so far away. It's just so far away. Meanwhile, Data's beside me like perfectly fine. And I'm like, I don't know if I can make it. And I stood there and I just went step again to 10 steps, one, and I just counted my way. And when I got to the car, I just fell against it. And I opened the back seat and I didn't, I had like one little thing of water, which I gave to Data, and this is so sad. I had a 12 pack of Diet Mountain Dew because that is what I drank to wake me up in the morning. And so I just chugged three of them, just hot Diet Mountain Dew in the back of my car because at that point anything, anything that was liquid, I needed it so badly that I was going to pass out. And I remember sitting in the car after drinking way too much hot Diet Mountain Dew. And the fact that I drank that Diet Mountain Dew like it was the best drink I've ever had in my entire life. Like I was so grateful and happy for this hot Diet Mountain Dew and when I think about it now, it's so disgusting. It's so gross, but in that moment it saved my life. So I got back in the car, I drove back to the hotel with like the last of my energy. I stumbled upstairs to my room. I drank every thing of water that was in that hotel room. And then the joyous aftermath of dehydration really kicked in and I started vomiting and having situations downstairs. And that went on for a couple of days, like it was bad. I called a friend who knows about, you know, heat exhaustion and how to treat it and luckily was able to get everything under control, but it was very, very scary. And what I learned from all of this is that I am really damn capable and I may not be the fastest person and I may not be the fittest person or the most in shape person or the most predictable person to rely on, but I'm pretty dang proud of myself and what I'm able to do when I really have to do it. And it also gave me an immense amount of motivation to be in a situation where physically that wouldn't be an issue again. At the end of the day, I saved myself, and that is my metaphor for life right now. That was my big epiphany on this entire hiking trip was that nobody's going to save me. I have to save myself and it's going to be hard and it's gonna suck and I'm going to look back on it and I'm going to be like, I did that. I did that. And it wasn't fun and it sucked. But on the other side, was it worth it? Hell yeah. So thank you guys for watching, I hope you enjoyed the story time. It's a little bit different for me, but I didn't feel like a hiking synopsis video would be very fun. I feel like this is probably the most important part of my trip and the trip that makes the most sense for me to share with you, so I am. I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. I'll check you later and peace.
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Channel: Glitterandlazers
Views: 69,771
Rating: 4.8314528 out of 5
Keywords: story time, i almost died, storytime scary, almost died, almost died storytime
Id: oz0JKnoefog
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Length: 19min 55sec (1195 seconds)
Published: Thu Aug 27 2020
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