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+---
+title: Chocolate Waterfalls
+---
+
+Just after my 20th birthday, in the summer of 1973, I decided to take
+a course at BYU about desert survival. I spent about 30 days in the
+deserts of Southern Utah learning how to live like a desert rat. On one
+hot and sultry day, my group was walking through a dusty little canyon
+when the skies started to grow very dark and ominous looking. The wind
+started to pick up and began to blow sand and dust into our faces. Our
+leaders told us that a thunderstorm was coming our way and that it would
+be a good idea to try to find some shelter. We found a little overhang
+of rock that afforded us just enough room to stand underneath it as the
+thunderstorm arrived. It was a nice spot to watch the show that nature
+was about to perform for us.
+
+The sky continued to darken as the thunder cell approached. Then the
+rain began to fall. First, there were only a few big fat raindrops that
+smacked into the rocks and dust, making little plopping noises. Then,
+suddenly, the bottom dropped out of the clouds as they dumped their
+heavy load of water right on top of us. I was astonished to see our
+little canyon come alive with the motion of rushing water. It seemed
+like the canyon walls almost instantly erupted with a hundred
+waterfalls. These waterfalls were not the beautiful crystal clear
+waterfalls you see in the pictures on postcards. These were dark muddy
+brown waterfalls. They looked like gushing streams of chocolate milk
+falling from every crack and crevice in the canyon walls.
+
+The lightning was as good as any fireworks show I have ever seen. Huge
+branching forks of light stabbed the ground with a mighty cracking
+noise. The sudden crack was followed immediately by a bellowing boom
+that temporarily drowned out all the noise of rushing water.
+
+The gurgling little stream in the creek bed soon became a boiling,
+rushing soup of muddy water mixed with all sorts of desert debris. It
+was deep enough to soak our hiking boots, but we had no fear of being
+swept away by the current. Fortunately, our little overhang kept the
+rest of our clothing fairly dry as the thunder cell did its best to
+impress us with its prowess. Almost, but not quite as quickly as it
+arrived, the thunder cell moved on and the show was over. Within 20
+minutes, the skies began to clear and the sun came out again. Everything
+returned to normal except for one thing. The water in the creek was
+still 6 to 8 inches deep and covered most of the creek bed in the floor
+of the canyon. As we picked up our gear and resumed our march, we had to
+slosh through the muddy water instead of walk on nice dry sand as
+before.
+
+As we marched on, it slowly began to dawn on me that the creek was our
+only source of drinking water in the desert. With some measure of alarm,
+I realized that my water canteen was nearly empty. I began to imagine
+the worst. I imagined that the muddy brown goop that we were presently
+walking in was probably contaminated by all sorts of disgusting toxic
+stuff like drowned jack rabbits, dead scorpions and coyote poo. I
+couldn't bear the thought of drinking such a foul brew. I uttered a
+silent prayer in my heart. Please let me find some other source of
+drinking water before my canteen runs dry. That night I went to sleep
+with a fervent hope that a new day would bring a miracle. My canteen was
+now empty.
+
+I slept fitfully on a little shelf of rock under another overhang in the
+canyon. It was about 20 feet above the level of the canyon floor. When I
+awoke the next morning, I peered over the edge of the shelf to check out
+the water. My heart sank when I saw that the water still looked like
+dark chocolate milk.
+
+Expecting to die of some terrible disease, I slowly picked my way down
+to the water's edge with my canteen. Maybe I could find a quiet little
+pool where the water wasn't quite so nasty looking. To my utter
+amazement and delight, I found a tiny little spring of water bubbling up
+out of the ground just a few feet from the edge of the creek. As I
+filled my canteen, my heart filled with gratitude. The water was cool
+and clear and tasted refreshingly like the mineral water you can get in
+an expensive restaurant. To this day, I have never looked at a glass of
+water quite the same and I certainly will never again take such a simple
+blessing for granted.