Mini Break to Grand Staircase Escalante

Snow at Bryce

Since the collision three weeks ago, we've spent most of that time in St. George. Weekdays are generally quiet and the local trails relatively empty. Every weekend however, there are numerous events and the place fills up. Considering that there are over 35 large hotels in town, that's saying something. One Saturday morning we woke up to discover that the entire hotel was booked by the Montview Marching Band. They and 30 other high school bands were in town for the Regional Marching Band finals. The air was tense at breakfast on Saturday. Sad and quiet on Sunday. Aside from Marching Band competitions there have also been bicycle tours, senior athlete games, and a huge art and craft show. On top of all that there are thousands of Utahians that just to go St. George for the weekend. Since we like life on the quiet side we decided that for our fourth weekend we'd leave...and happened to discover another reason everyone goes to St. George.

Grosvenor Arch

Our destination was Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Our hotel was in Cannonville, UT. The Grand Staircase Inn and Country Store is the only business in the small town. Located 12 miles east of Bryce Canyon, 6 miles north of Kodachrome Basin State Park, and 36 miles west of Escalante it promised to be quiet as well as the perfect location for exploring one the most awesome National Monuments in the country. The weather called for cold nights with temperatures in the low 30s, and daytime temps in the 50s. Every day sunny and clear.

The drive from St. George to Cannonville is only two and half hours. We left on Friday and took the
scenic route through Zion. Saw some bighorn sheep and buffalo. Stopped at Bryce Canyon for a little walk along the rim. Only two hours out from St. George and some differences were already clear. The rim of Bryce Canyon is around 8000 ft above sea level. St. George is 2880. We were wearing shorts when we left St. George, there was snow and ice at Bryce. Also, strangely enough a lot of the hotels, stores, restaurants and gas stations on the way in were closed. There were people around but you could tell from the number of empty spaces in various parking lots that there were a lot less than would be there at peak season. We didn't mind, it was great having the place mostly to ourselves.

Slot Canyons!

After a walk around we headed east and down to Cannonville passing through the town of Tropic. It's a larger town than Cannonville and since it was the only one of the two with restaurants, it was where we'd planned to eat. That flaw in that plan became evident as we noticed all of the restaurants (4 in total) were closed for the season.

Arriving a few minutes later at the Inn, and checking in at the grocery store located beneath the rooms, the cashier confirmed our observations. He also informed us that the grocery store was closed on Sunday. With no restaurants, and only the kind of food stocked in a small town store it became depressing clear that this was not going to be a weekend of good eating. I thought back wistfully to the Hawaiian Poke that folks in St. George would be enjoying.

With peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as our main staple we did however enjoy some excellent hiking over the weekend. Friday afternoon we hiked through the Willis Creek slot canyons. A series of four slot canyons along a mile stretch of the creek, the hike was the perfect start to the weekend.

Calf Creek Falls together!

Saturday we drove east, stopping at the Escalante office of the Grand Staircase Monument. They have some great exhibits there on the local wildlife, and the soil. Yup. The soil. Cryptobiotic soil  is everywhere in the southwest. Composed of lichens, mosses, algae, microfungi, and bacteria that hold things together making the soil crust are like a woven mat. The woven mat then helps control erosion and support other life. Continuing east and dropping down to the Escalante River we stopped at the trail head for the Lower Calf Creek Falls trail.

The Lower Calf Creek Falls trail deserves a blog entry of its own. Coincidentally I have already written that and you can, and should read it! Both S.D. and I have already hiked it, but if you are in the area, it is too beautiful a hike to miss and doing it this time with the most wonderful man in the world made it that much better. We enjoyed our peanut butter and jelly luncheon in a sunny spot by the creek watching the trout swim and dive under the rocks. We saw a few other hikers on the trail, but not so many as you'd expect at such a wonderful place.

Driving home we stopped for gas at the one station that was open but where the 'pump was cold' and so took about 15 minutes to fill the tank.

Under Powell Point

Sunday, the day everything was closed, we packed up another round of PB &Js and drove east again. This time S.D. had suggested that instead of hiking along the bottom of a canyon that we climb up and go for the long views. We chose the "Below the Point" trail. It was an excellent choice, and surprisingly while we had the best views of any hike, we didn't see another soul the entire time.

Monday morning we drove back to St. George. Back to open stores, restaurants, fast gas pumps, sixty-degree temperatures and lots of people. We now know that folks flock to St. George on weekends because not much outside of town is open, but we also know that makes the rest of southern Utah a great place for solitude and hiking...provided you have your own food and housing. The perfect place to be if you had an RV!

St. George Sojourn

Lee's Pass Trail

This Wednesday marks the third week since the Collision. During that time we've been living mostly at the St. George Inn and Suites, sorting out details with GEICO, travel trailer shopping and getting outdoors whenever we have a spare moment.

Somewhere in Snow Canyon

St. George is a pretty nice town. Considering that it's the winter destination for Utah, the climate for October and November is pretty mild. There are even palm trees outside the door of our hotel room. Further down the street, and two blocks west we discovered the Hawaiian Poke Bowl, a Poke restaurant run by a native Hawaiian. Poke is marinated fish served over rice and it is good! It's funny but we've eaten more fish the two weeks we've been in St. George, UT than we did the entire month we were on the Pacific Coast.

Taylor Creek Trail

 GEICO, our insurance company has also been pretty great. Although it seemed like forever to patient folks like S.D. and I, it only took one week for them to approve repairs to the truck and get it in the shop and two weeks for them to settle on the R-POD. During that two weeks we'd been busy researching our next travel trailer so that when they issued the check S.D. and I drove down to Las Vegas to pick it up and the next day drove up to Salt Lake City to put down the deposit on our new home, a Creekside 20FQ. It's a small travel trailer, but it has everything we'd ever want in a home...and it's easily trailerable. Now we're just waiting for the truck to get out of the shop so we can turn in the rental car, check out of the hotel, get our stuff out of storage, drive up to Salt Lake City, pick up the Trailer and head back outside.

Looking down into a slot canyon on the tail to
Observation Point

After six months of living mostly outdoors in wilderness it's been strange to be living inside, and in a town. Luckily it's a town that is surrounded by awesome hikes. Twelve miles west of town in Snow Canyon State Park,a canyon carved from the red and white Navajo sandstone. Trails run along lava flows, up petrified red dunes, and into slot canyons. Thirty miles west is Zion National Park, the park is a busy place but once we were a mile up and into the eight mile hike to Observation Point no less amazing. I last visted Zion in 2006, BD (before Dave) and have apparently been annoying him with its effusive praise ever since. A little bit into the hike S.D. understood, and agreed.

More Snow Canyon awesomeness

But more Zion surprises awaited us both. The North entrance of the Zion National Park leads to Kolob Canyon. Here we hike two other awesome trails. Taylor Creek and Lee's Pass. Taylor Creek is a lovely four mile hike along the creek between canyon walls so red that the light itself has a redish tinge. If that isn't amazing enough, the canyon ends at a huge cave/arch. Lee's Pass is a very long trail of which we only hiked about six miles. This trail also follows a creek but is very different from the Taylor Creek Trail. The creek bed is much wider, the canyon walls neither close nor as steep. But still amazingly beautiful. I never tire of the variations and intricacies of the various microclimates around here.

Word has it that the truck will be out of the shop 'this week'. Hopefully next week we'll be off and exploring new places in Eastern Utah.

When in Rome. SD and I go Mountain Biking

On the last day of our hiking vacation, SD and decided to try something different.

Summer in Park City, is mostly known for mountain biking and beer drinking. SD and I had already enjoyed a number of fine Utah microbrews but we had not gone mountain biking. In fact, I'd only gone twice before in my life (the second time ripping my hamstring) and SD had never gone. And so, being in Park City, we signed up for a two hour mountain bike lesson/ride with a guide from White Pine Touring.

The Guide was great. Very patient in explaining the differences between road and mountain biking. She didn't laugh too hard when she caught me drafting her on a single track. And she took us on a great spin through Cemetery Hill. At the beginning of the tour, she also spent time showing us how to turn and descend. Which is surprisingly different from turning and descending on a road bike. I did okay. S.D., who approached the lesson a bit more ambitiously than I,  took two 'diggers'. But he got up from both and seemed to enjoy the rest of the ride. It was only as we were driving to Salt Lake City that he began to wince in pain. On the plane he was grimly silent. It was only after returning home that he informed me that he thought he'd cracked a rib.

Good thing we went mountain biking on the last day!

Dog Lake Loop - There's a lot of Geology Going On

Seems a dog's age since we did this hike in May, here it is July and I haven't written it up. Which isn't to say it wasn't a great hike, it was! So here goes.

While I still haven't gotten my head around all the geological stuff going on in the Wasatch Range. This hike up to and around Dog Lake, took us through most of it and as it rolled through all the major mico-climates in the Wasatch Range.


Leaving the Mill D trailhead off Big Cottonwood Canyon we hiked North up a narrow, stream-carved valley with hundreds of wildflowers just beginning to bloom. Looking to the East we often caught glimpses of various veins, outcroppings and fault-lifts of the Wasatch Ridge where we'd just been climbing through snowdrifts the day before.

Dog Lake was a nice spot, beside what could only a glacial drumlin, from the summit of which you could look south and see the terminal moraines from the glacier that carved the valley we were about to descend.

Leaving the lake to the West we passed through a wide glacial valley of budding aspens,  through a stream carved break in the moraine, and a dark fir forest, back down to the valley floor.

It was a fitting hike on which to end this Utah vacation.

The Trapper, or the Park City Dark and Stormy, or the ???

While on vacation SD and I occasionally take a break from the hiking (or biking) and scout out the towns and the local hangouts.
After only two days we found that the rooftop deck of No Name Saloon on Main Street in downtown Park City was a great place to hang out,  eat a Bison Burger and invent a new drink. Below on the street the tourist stroll by and the locals ride their bikes up and down the street, repair them, talk about them, etc.  The meter maid strolls by taking photos of offending cars (but never ticketing them), the Historic Park City Free Bus drives by every 4 minutes.

On our second night at the No Name, the waiter, Trapper, informed us that there was a new heifenwieser on tap, a "summer, lemony thing". He brought it, and added a lemon saying he “wasn't sure if it needed it, or what it needed.” After taking a sip, I wasn't sure what it needed either. If you wanted a lemonade beer, then it didn't need anything. But if you wanted a drink, it was lacking...something. A shot of SD's beer helped but not enough. What it needed was a shot of dark rum. Trapper was skeptical but game and so a new drink was born. It tastes a bit like a Dark and Stormy but crisper, cleaner, not so foggy. The perfect drink for those New England summer days on the water, that are bright and clear and not stormy. What it should really be called however, remains unclear.

Crest Walking with Heidi

After an entire day of walking above treeline, we were ready for more! While we had been hiking yesterday Guardsmans Pass and the road over the mountains to Big Cottonwood Canyon had opened. Winter snowfall had been below normal and the road cleared a month ahead of the usual time and opened up access to even more great ridge walks. Scanning the maps and books we set our sights on the Wasatch Crest Trail.

Everything we read mentioned this trail as great for technical mountain bikers and for the views. We hadn't seen a single mountain biker all day yesterday, and with snow still on the peaks we doubted we would see any today. But the sky was clear and with the prospect for more awesome views we arrived at the trailhead at STHT (Standard Trailhead Time - 8:00am).

Less than a mile up the trail we hit the crest, and the view was stunning! A few more feet further, down the North side of the peak and we hit the snow, and the walking was postholing. Through the trees we could see clear ground, but getting to it was laborious, and painful. Stepping out, then down into thigh-deep snow is bad enough, doing it in shorts is painful. The truth is, snow hurts! Every one of those itty bitty little ice particles just slices into your skin.

But anyway, we got through that section and were soon back to smooth walking and gorgeous views, and a whole other batch of wildflowers. The Wasatch Crest runs at about 10,000 ft., 2000 ft higher then yesterday's hike. Looking South-east we could even look down on yesterday's trail. After roughly 7 miles, as we were back on the North side of another peak we came to another very deep, very steep snow section and decided it would be a good time to turn around for the day.

I'm not much of an out-and-back hiker perferring to hike loops whenever possible, but as SD reminded me, and is correct about, the views walking back are completely different, and just as gorgeous.  Or should I say awesome?

I've never been to the Alps, but as a kid, and with my kids I watched "Heidi" a lot. Much of the time on the Wasatch Ridge, hiking along among the peaks, the snow, and the fields of wildflowers I kept feeling like I'd run into Heidi, Clara, and Uncle Alm.

Ridge Walking - the Indulgence of Park City Hiking

 The night after the Lambs Canyon hike I began to wonder if I was crazy? Was I too much of a long-suffering New Englander to appreciate a really nice Ridge Walk when it was right outside my car door as they are in Park City?

In New Hampshire I always lust after the Ridge Walks, those rare, all too short, and hard earned hikes that one is rewarded with after puffing miles uphill, and that are followed by miles of thudding down.

Two nights ago we had driven to an 8000ft high pass and been surrounded by trails that followed the ridges in every direction, and I had scorned them as being too easy, too wide; "bike trails" not meant for hiking, and we'd opted instead to hike the Lambs Canyon Trail, a hike where while the views and fauna were different, the hiking pattern was familiar. Start in a valley, hike up to a ridge, hike down. - but now, the indulgent idea of starting On The Ridge was growing on me.

And so, having decided to indulge, we parked at the pass with the plan to hike toward a peak at the end of a ridge extending south. There wasn't a single step where the views weren't amazing.  Snow covered mountains up and to the right, long glistening lakes to the left.  The ground was covered with alpine wildflowers, and snow! Occasionally we'd descend into an Alpine grove, but for the majority of the twelve miles, we hiked along gloriously clear ridge paths.  Hiking in Park City was turning out to be pretty spectacular.
 

Lambs Canyon - Return of the Naturevert

Naturevert : noun

: 0ne who turns inward toward nature a : one whom concentrates on or rejuvenates from nature 

Origin of: nature- + -vert (to turn)

After a week of hotels and cities I was feeling sluggish, and with the dim hiking prospects, a bit discouraged. Luckily we identified at least one trail that might work for us. In Hiking The Wasatch John Veranth details lots of great hikes in the Wasatch Mountains. Most, however, are on what is known as The Front, while Park City is on The Back. The Lambs Canyon Trailhead was on the Back, only 15 miles away. 

We arrived at the parking lot early and soon were hiking along a stream in a narrow, river canyon alongside early spring wildflowers. Clematis, columbine, and mountain rue bloomed along the trail the first mile until we began climbing into the pine zone, occasionally crossing snowbanks, the topping out in an Aspen grove, on a semi-desert ridge with views south over the Wasatch Range.

S.D. was less than impressed by the mini-history lecture on Mormon settlement patterns in the canyons, but he eagerly hiked ahead when a passing couple mentioned they had just seen a moose. Somehow we missed the moose but saw even more of the wildflowers and birds that thrived on the ridge.

A little sore, but totally rejuvenated we finished the hike in about 6 hours and realized I had really needed this immersion in the nature of the place; the trails, woods, valleys, canyons and peaks of the place. While I've never been to Northern Utah before, it felt great to be back!

Silver Moose Ranch

In the classic Bernstein Bears childrens story The Bears' Picnic Papa Bear sets out to take the family on a picnic only to discover that each place that looks like a perfect spot is, in fact, very much not the perfect picnic spot. Scenic meadows are stampeded by cows, bees tend to not want bears picnicking by their hives, beautiful overlooks actually overlooks a highway, etc.

When searching online for the perfect place to stay for vacation one assembles the list of perfect criteria, and hoping that Papa Bear's curse does not hold true for this selection, pushes the submit button.  These days the criteria is pretty exacting, so pushing that button and driving up to the place you are going to spend the next 6 days of your 'perfect' vacation are always a bit anxious.

According to the website and the Trip Advisor reviews, the Silver Moose Ranch would be not disappoint.  Large, sunny rooms, in a quiet, natural location but only a few minutes’ walk to Park City's downtown restaurants and shops. The perfect picnic spot for a B & B.

Situated down a side road, on 13 acres of Aspen and meadow, is what can only be described as a really cool 5+ bedroom house blending Mediterranean, ski resort, and mission-style influences. The Silver Moose exceeds all criteria. It is a great place to start and end every vacation day. From the massive central stone fireplaces to the open, granite-countered kitchen crowned by a gorgeous iron-work chandelier to the king-sized beds in the rooms, every detail is perfect.

And then there was the unexpected bonus ( somehow I skimmed over that on the website). The breakfasts and snacks! All homemade, all sooo very good. Eggs, coffee cake, crème Brule French toast, snickerdoodles, biscotti, and more.

Brian and Tamara, the hosts were great too! Friendly, and knowledgeable about the area, they've collected all the menus and information about what's going on in the area from specials at the local restaurants to the low-down on the pair of geese that you might encounter walking up the driveway.

The Silver Moose Ranch was the perfect Park City place for us.

Park City Hiking?

May is off-season in Park City. Most of the snow has melted so the skiers are gone, but there's still enough in the higher elevations that the mountain bikers have not yet arrived which is fine by us. When making plans for this trip we'd assumed it would be a good time and a good place to do five days of hiking. After stopping at the third 'outdoor' store with only mountain bike trail maps we began to wonder.

SD persisted and we stopped at the fourth shop, White Pine Touring and finally found a good topo map with clearly marked trails up in the mountains. Unluckily, most of those were on the other side of Guardsman Pass, the road through which was closed for the winter. “Yeah”, one of the bike guys explained, “they don't open that til June, maybe July. But you can hike the bike trails.”

Being, well, who we are, we drove up to Guardsman's Pass, and sure enough it was closed even thought there wasn't all that much snow. There did however appear to be trails off the parking lot just below the summit. While probably bike trails, they were empty not only of snow but also of bikes and people and we weren't sure they'd make good hiking trails running as they did all over the ridges and ski slopes. The views from the ridge however were spectacular.

Inspired by the scenary, but slightly discouraged by the hiking prospects, we headed back down to Park City to check into the Inn.

Triple threat?

Last night at Gracie's bar, while sipping a local Full Suspension IPA and watching the bike commuters stream by, a fellow librarian stopped by to talk about this great book store he'd found two blocks to the East.  Could Salt Lake City be a triple threat on the BBB scale?

The beer is awesome. A rich, smooth, full selection and coincidentally, low alchohol, so I have tried a more than usual number of different brews. The bikes are everywhere. There are roughly 10 bike shops in town and the city supports an extensive network or trails and bike lanes.  I picked up a map at the visitor center which not only shows a large number of bike only routes, but also lists all the rules of the road and the general theory behind it all.

The bookstores? Those too are prolific. Although most appear to specialize in used, collectable books the selection is more varied, yet complete than in stores that sell new books.

On the BBB scale, Salt Lake City rates a perfect 555. But is it all that good, or are there limits to the BBB scale? Something there is that doesn't love this town. Which isn't to say I would ever pass up a chance to visit, drink a beer and take a ride!

Keep it simple

Yesterday morning I walked up through Temple Square to Capital Hill and back through Creek Canyon and Creek Park.

The founding of Mormonism may be a bit puzzling, but their naming schemes certainly aren't. Things here are pretty much along the lines of calling it as you see it. Want a name for a city beside a Salty Lake? Hmmm lets call it Salt Lake City. What should we name the square in which our temple sits? How about Temple Square! A park in the Canyon that has a creek? You guessed it. City Creek Canyon Park.

It certainly makes it easy to tell which is the bigger canyon Big Cottonwood. Or Little Cottonwood? I'll bet you can even guess what type of tree grows there.

 I am however, a little confused by City Creek Center. It is in the Center of the city and there is a Creek running through it. (BTW -its the same creek that runs through the canyon) but what is it really? Hint:'Shopping' or 'stores ' or should be in the name.

I also wonder why they focused on the lake when naming the place. Walking around the area what you really notice are the mountains. Everywhere you go, there they are both to  the East and to the West, big, beautiful snow covered mountains. If it were my town, and I needed to stay with the naming scheme, I'd have called it Big Mountain Valley or maybe Awesomeville!

Salt Lake City Prequel

I'm off in a few hours for Utah. Three days of conferencing in Salt Lake City and then a vacation week in Park City. I've been doing my usual prep work, scouting out good hiking trails, brew pubs, and books.

I easily accumulated a list of good breweries (although recommendations are always appreciated), and hiking in the Wasatch Mountains sounds fantastic, but there is a notable lack of good, related reading material, unless you count mysteries and polygamist biographies. Having read Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith , which is both, I'm all set as far as that genre goes.

There are a few "history " books, which don't read well, but do have some information. The Lady In The Ore Bucket: A History of Settlement and Industry in the Tri-Canyon Area of the Wasatch Mountains begins with settlement of the city and continues on through the lumber and mining eras.

The thing that surprises me about the early years isn't so much the casual use of the word 'wives ', I got used to that on my last visit, no, it's the land ownership system. Basically, the Church and or Brigham Young owned the land and everyone else either leased it from them or...I don't know...got some by marrying some of his children? Luckily multiple wives beget multiple children and land ownership became more and more common as the years rolled on. But still it seems a strange feudal / socialist system and one that is often overlooked. Makes me wonder....

Grand Staircase Escalante

It's December and you know what that means. Time to plan a spring hiking trip out West!  This year we're thinking it'd be nice to do more exploring of Grand Staircase Escalante in Utah.  I've poked around the perimeter a few years back and loved it. Hiking the Buckskin Gulch slot canyon and Calf Creek Falls made for two days of my life I'll never forget.  Now it's time to backpack into the heart of it and have some more.

But before any trip comes the second best part - the planning. I'm thinking a good map is essential for this remote area, something like Escalante Canyons - Trails Illustrated Map # 710 should do. And then there is the book. The Book has to not only recommend good backpacking possibilities but also give a bit of history to the area.
Hiking from Here to WOW: WOW Guides Utah Canyon Country : 90 Trails to the Wonder of Wilderness seems to fit the bill.

Let the planning begin!

Zen Pagan Day

I woke up this morning feeling a bit mello. This being my last day I wanted to savor it and decided that the best way to do that was to take the 40 miles back to Zion at a leisurely pace, stopping for breakfast, take in the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and then leisurely hike up along the Virgin River just until I found a quiet spot to relax and maybe read. I wasn't sure there was an easily accessible quiet spot on the Virgin River given the noticeable daily rise in tourism, but it would have to do.

Breakfast at "Grandmother Tina's" was excellent and I warmed up to Kanab while eavesdropping, and being included in on, on the conversation at Steve's table. These were obviously a group of locals who met there every morning. They were friendly, kind, retired but active people who enjoyed everything the area had to offer. Yesterday Steve hiked down into Snake Canyon.

After breakfast I headed Northwest stopping for a stroll along the dunes at the State Park. Even the sand here deserves mention. It's so fine its more like liquid than like our heavy, ponderous-by-comparison-granite sand. And the further you dig down with your toes the cooler it gets. What really struck me was how wonderful a place this would be to do some yoga, especially at sunset. Any takers?

Then it was off to Zion. The drive was bittersweet, so beautiful but also the last time I'd see all this beauty for awhile. After passing through the Zion tunnel, driving down two of the hair pin turns and crossing a small bridge I pulled off the side of the road to take a picture. Noticing how nice the little brook looked that went under the bridge I grabbed my backpack, locked Brutus and headed down for a closer look. One thing I've learned about this area, from reading the "Paria River" book, short experience, and listening to Steve this morning was that every river or stream leads up a canyon and every and any canyon can be wonderful. So I headed up the stream bed. Rounded a few corners, a few boulders, climbed up a few sliprock walls, and .... came to what was the exact spot I'd wanted to be. There at the head of the little canyon was a waterfall cascading into a clear pool...(that's it in the picture). I waded in the pool, enjoyed the quiet, watched the butterflies (big yellow ones), thanked the forces that had led me here, then took out my book and read.

Sandstone, Sliprock and Slot Canyons

Today's adventure started out at the Miracle Outfitters/Bookstore/Coffee shop with a smooth French Roast, a book entitled "Hiking and Exploring the Paria River," and a chat with the clerk. A young woman originally from Wyoming, Jane moved to Kanab for 2 reasons - she likes the warm weather, and there is so much to do in the area. It was she who recommended the book. She also filled me in on Latex Larry. Yesterday I neglected to describe the town of Kanab, where I'm staying. If I had to describe said town in one sentence I'd say, "Kanab is the kind of small town located on a busy highway that has to park a police car with dummy at the beginning of town just to get travelers to slow down." And that Police Cruiser is parked right outside my hotel door, and it's occupant - according to Jane is named Latex Larry.

It was the book however that pointed me in the direction of Buckskin Gulch. After driving 40 miles to the BLM office I obtained the official map with directions and proceeded to the Wirepass Trailhead. The next 4 hours were spent exploring part of the longest slot canyon in Utah "and all the world". To reach the canyon I hiked along a wash through sliprock country, areas were the sandstone had been twisted and turned into amazing shapes and textures revealing banding patterns that are beautiful. Then while temperatures rose into the upper 70's I slipped into the slot canyons. Sometimes the canyon must have been over 100ft deep, 3 ft wide and 20 degrees cooler than outside.

After that I headed back to Kanab, which also happens to have one of the best Mexican Restaurants I've ever had the pleasure to dine at. Then it was back to the Bob Bon Inn for some R & R, and a chance to finish reading "Hiking and Exploring the Paria River," which is also full of local history.

Swiftly flow the days

Like most days so far a lot has happened between sunrise and sunset.

Sunrise was observed at Bryce Canyon amoungst an international group of fellow sun worshippers. When I reached the point at 7:14 there was already a couple there from Italy. We were soon joined by a Japanese couple a group of Germans and I believe two Frenchmen. How amazing is it to know that people come from all the world to see this country. We were all equally impressed with what we saw. I've uploaded a series of photos to the album.

After sunrise I headed East toward Escalante and the Grand Staircase National Monument. The next time someone challenges you to name something good Bill Clinton did you may now, irregardless of your political affiliation, grandly state that he set aside this vast, varied and unique tract of land in Southern Utah for the enjoyment of future generations. The 60 mile drive to today's hiking destination climbed to an elevation of 8000ft and traversed Ponderosa Pine forest, desolate desert, amazing sliprock and red canyon country.

After turning several bends along rt 12 and exclaiming, "Oh my god" after each one I reached the trailhead for Lower Calf Creek Falls. As the guidebooks says "this trail follows the year round creek through a spectacular canyon to a 126ft waterfall." During the 6 mile hike I also saw picturographs, and trout and got a small taste of a summer day in the desert. I think they must be extremely HOT. Most of the trail was sand and I walked most of it in barefeet. In the morning the sand felt cool by afternoon I about burnt my feet to match the rest of my quickly sunburning body. And the Falls, as you can see for yourself, were just - well- just like a miracle.

After the hike I retraced the route West past Bryce and South past Mt Carmel arriving in tonight's town, Kanab, at 5pm. The exact time everything closed down. This being a very religious area, most of the establishments are also closed tomorrow. After some cruising up and down the strip however I did locate an Outfitter/Bookstore/Coffee shop (Another Miracle!) which is open tomorrow. Now that I had the important details taken care of I checked into the BobBon Inn, sat down on my second story balcony and watched the sunset over the red canyon walls to the West.

PS "Desert Solitaire" is a classic.

Reading the Rocks

At 1:30 I sat down in the shade of a magnificent Ponderosa Pine. Having just completed the 6 mile Queen's Garden/Peekaboo Canyon Loop of Bryce Canyon. I needed a little break. It was at just this moment that a hiker came up behind me asking for the time. When I told him he told me that at 2:00 a Park Ranger/Geologist was giving a talk at Sunset Point on the Geology of the Canyon. He'd "love to chat, but..." had to get to the talk...which was .6 miles and 1000ft above where we were. Out loud I wished him luck, under my breath I cursed his very existence.

The geology of Bryce Canyon and for that matter all of Arizona and Utah fascinates me. It is certainly unlike anything Dr. Hiscock covered in Geology 101 and although I'd read a few websites here and there the pieces just didn't make sense. Now here I was tired and hot but only .6 miles, 30 minutes and 1000ft from a real live person who was going to explain it all.

Have I mentioned I was tired? I'd woken up before sunrise in Springdale, eaten another of the Mean Bean's excellent Breakfast Burritos and driven East on RT 9 (stopping to take the obligatory photo of Checkerboard Mesa) and 89 arriving at the Canyon rim (elev. 8300) at 10:00. It's just like in the pictures, only now it was real. The colors of the hoodoos are so bright, their shapes so fantastic and without a seconds hesitation I started down, then up, then around. The hike was about 6 miles through fantastic landscapes of deserts, snowy valleys, ponderosa pine forests, hoodoos, spires, window walls, etc. All of which I took numerous pictures and now...I would have to climb up out of the Canyon at warp speed.

Did I mention that it was hot? But I did it! The Ranger's talk lasted about 45 minutes during which I finished off the water in my camelback and learned that the area all round here was at one point a giant inland lake surrounded by mountains of different chemical compositions and what unique combination of minerals allows the hoodoos to exist, or rather not erode. If you're lucky - some day I'll tell you too. I also learned why Zion is Zion, what's up, or down with the Grand Canyon and ... I'll tell you later. Needless to say the uphill sprint was worth it.

Now I'm bunking down at Ruby's Inn. (They've got a Western Theme thing going on) Turning in early. Didn't sleep all too well last night - kept having dreams of falling off cliffs and then when I did fall asleep dreamed that I jumped off them and was flying over the Canyon. Tomorrow I'm not sure what I'm doing except I know by nighttime I'll be in Kanab, Utah, about 70 miles South of here.

Observation Point

Distance: 8 miles round trip
Duration: 5 hours
Challenge: Difficult
Elevation Change: 2150 ft.
Temperature variation: 45 - 80 degrees

After uploading everything last night I got into a conversation with a German hiker who was also using the internet. He was hiking the Narrows today - so I told him all about that. He'd hiked to Observation Point, and told me all about that. I mentioned that I was thinking of attempting Angel's Landing. He showed me a picture he'd taken - of Angel's Landing looking down from Observation Point...and the rest is history.

This morning at 9:00 after an excellent breakfast burrito I pulled into the Weeping Rock parking lot and started climbing. To whomever built all those switchbacks I promise my eternal gratitude. The views were beautiful. wonderful. The climbing enjoyable.

Once again the first people I met were European. The Americans would come later. Guess the Europeans just get up earlier?

Half way up the visable mountain (you know how mountains have that habit of being much higher than the peak you can see), the trail turned a corner and entered a slot canyon. Cool.For awhile it went along a stream bed, then through a narrow section of shear Red Rock walls. Up close those walls are even more beautiful. The veining is so intricate, the colors vivid. Out of the canyon, the temperature started rising as the sun started sliding down the walls. Spring is obviously something that comes here in pockets. Every once in a while I'd see a plant flower that in other areas were still dormant. I love wildflowers and these were as sweet as any I've ever seen.

After hiking 2 miles I stopped for a rest under a Ponderosa Pine that sat off the trail. (Gerald - you're right those Honey Stinger Bars are excellent - could use a tad more chocolate - but really very good) Then started hiking another series of switchbacks. I too am thankful to the people who made these possible...but couldn't they have made them 5, maybe 6 feet wide? Maybe added an edge in some places where it went along shear 1000 ft drop? Okay. It was in this section that I had a panic attack. The fear of heights is a hard one to get over. I actually turned around. Walked down about 20 steps. Hugged the wall. Waited for my breathing to return to normal. Turned back around and never once taking my eyes from the path in front of me walked the remaining switchback section to the Ponderosa Pine Forest of the High Desert which leads to Observation Point.

The Point itself? The picture says it all.

Tomorrow I head for Bryce Canyon.

Reading the River

Well those of you who bet on my going up the River have won. What it really came down to was me knowing that as long as I didn't go it would be the main thing on my mind. So after updating the blog this morning I went to Zion Canyon Outfitters, put on a 2 pairs of neoprene booties, one pair of canyoneering boots, and some really large dry suit pants.

I then drove (in those) to the end of the Zion Scenic Drive, hiked the 1 mile paved walkway, entered the River and started off on what is unarguable one of the best hikes I've ever done. Hiking between towering canyon walls is awesome. Hiking IN a river is a new skill all together. As the water rushes down you have to figure out where the water is running deepest and fastest. Often I thought of Mark Twain and his riverboat piloting days. The water was always deepest on the outer bends of the Mississippi, and so I walked the inner curves of the Virgin River. The hiking stick, or sounding pole as I soon came to know it was invaluable. Mark five, Mark three, Mark Twain. Actually it was more like knee depth, hip depth, ankle depth.

Wall Street, the area where the canyon narrows to about 20 ft wide with no shoulders was a powerful experience. Between the force of the water and the height of the straight narrow walls it was almost overwhelming. By the time I reached the end of that section I'd been hiking about 2.5 hours and honestly, my knees were starting to shake.

Walking down stream was a whole new experience and at first I didn't like it at all. After awhile however I got the hang of it and enjoyed that too. So much I took a detour into a side canyon which had a gentle flow and some small waterfalls. It wasn't until after that and I got back to the Virgin River that I began to see other hikers. The first 9, in groups of 3, 2, 2, and 2, were all European. That was a bit disappointing. But soon the Americans started showing up. I guess most tend to sleep later? By the time I got within a mile of the paved walk the river was full of young adult types trying the River in Tevas. Their legs were the red of a well done lobster and I was glad to have the dry suit.

Tomorrow I'll attempt Angels Landing which when you think about it, is basically walking on air.