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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
 Posted - 29 April 2007 : 09:40:31
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I recently went on a 2 week adventure, backpacking for 4 days in Salt Creek Canyon(Canyonlands National Park), then day hiking in the Grand Canyon, Snow Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
I'll make out full TRs when I get the time and all my photos organized and resized.
In the meantime, here's a little 'preview'
Dusty |
now back in Ontario |
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lost canoe
crazy about OAC
Canada
252 Posts |
Posted - 29 April 2007 : 15:24:52
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| Nice pics Dusty Boots. Enjoyed them. The picture with your shoes over the edge remindes me of the Wyle E. Coyote shots of him falling off the cliff. Hope you didn't try that!! |
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Barbara
crazy about OAC
Canada
375 Posts |
Posted - 29 April 2007 : 18:34:04
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Wow.
The scenery, the photography, the feet dangling...
what can I say?
WOW!
Barbara
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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2007 : 10:02:25
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Thanks guys.
As I stated, the trip was over 2 weeks and those pics relate that. I will do probably 4 Trip Reports in all, when time permits. Here's the 1st 'instalment'.
About 4 months ago, a couple of friends (Jason Klass, Ben2World) and I decided that we should go on a desert backpack trip. We had settled on a trip in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in the '4 corners' region of Southern Utah.
I had suggested a hike into Chesler Park. Jason Suggested we should drive his Jeep into Hell's Kitchen, loaded down with water and use that campsite as a 'base camp' seeing as we would have plenty of water stored at his Jeep. Nearly all of the hikes in Canyonlands require you to haul all of your water in with you, as there are extremely few reliable water sources there. We had agreed on the area and even the hikes/overnighters we would do. All that needed to be done was to make our reservation with the NPS. I was doing a little more research into our planned hike when it became apparent that we needed to traverse Elephant Hill to get to Hells Kitchen. Further research indicated this 'hill' to be one of Utah's most technical 4-wheel drive roads.! This sent up a red flag to me and I contacted Jason and inquired to how much 4-wheeling he has done. He replied that he had done some, most of it back road driving, in Colorado. I asked what mods he had done to his Jeep and the reply was that it was a brand new, bone stock Jeep. More Red Flags. I sent him the link I had discovered and asked him if he was comfortable with trying it. He paused and said not likely, especially after a 7 1/2 hour drive from Denver. Whew, I had visions that were straight off of Americas most stupid stunts video show.
I came up with the suggestion to do a 5 day, 30 mile(48k) trip along Salt Creek Canyon, which is the only hike/route in Canyonlands that has a fairly reliable water source. No packing an extra 20-30lbs of water, just a filter.
We all agreed on that route, reservations were made and we agreed to meet at the Visitors Centre on Monday, April 16, @ 11:30am.
Seeing as this trip required a car shuttle I decided I would drive down, taking 2 weeks of vacation time to do the planned trip and do some other hikes/sightseeing in some of the other National Parks in Southern Utah. . Ben would fly to Denver from Pasadena and accompany Jason.
I left the Okanagan on the Friday, around 11:30 and was just north of Moab, Saturday afternoon.
I had decided to sleep in my van and saw a nice spot of BLM land, just outside of Arches National Park, where the scenery starts to get interesting.
Before long, the sun started to set, so I readied my van for a good nights sleep and enjoyed the warm hues of the surrounding area come to life.
I awoke early, excited and drove into Moab to check it out and explore the area a bit, seeing as I had an extra day to kill.
Moab is a real 'Hub of Activity' with all kinds of outdoor pursuits catered to. Rafting, canoeing, Mountain biking, 4-wheeling, ATVing, hiking, backpacking are all here, as are all the 'guiding Outfitters'. The big annual Jeep Jamboree' had just wrapped up, but plenty of trailered Jeeps were evident. Whatever your 'outdoor passion' is, Moab can give you a 'fix'.
I decided to check out the Canyonlands Overlook, north of where we would be hiking and was greeted by this little fellow,
and more stunning landscapes.
and on the way back out, the La Sal mountains, behind Moab, dominate the area.
I figured I'd cruise down to SR 211 and up the Beef Basin Rd, to check out the access road to our Trail Head at Cathedral Butte. The Rangers said that it is a 2-wheel drive road, but you know how things can change over a period of time in the winter months. My van does not have a lot of ground clearance at the front, so I thought it wise to make sure beforehand, that it would be able to make it up there for the vehicle shuttle. On the way into the Park, along SR 211, the scenery does not disappoint.
Just before the turnoff for Beef Basin Rd, you come to site known as Newspaper Rock, which is a large panel of rock, containing at least a hundred examples of 'Rock Art', left behind by the old Fremont and Pueblo cultures. Fascinating!
I am soon on Beef Basin Rd, heading up towards Cathedral Butte and right off the bat, you have to ford Indian River, but luckily, it's flow rate is low and easily done, slowly. It's a 27 mile drive up to the Trail Head and most of it goes alright, although there are a couple of rougher spots that require crossing the runoff channels at an angle, so as not to scrape/bang the air dam on the bottom of my rad. After a while, my destination comes into view, with a look down into the start of our planned trip area. WOW !
After seeing that, I'm really stoked about the start of tomorrow's adventure and hope that the fine weather continues to hold. I've been told that these dirt/clay roads are murder to navigate after a rain. I make my way down and find another nice camping area on BLM land, just outside the Park boundary and settle in for the night.
By 8:00, I'm at the Park Gate, paying my entry fee($10 for 7 days) and thought that I would do a little 'poking around' before our planned meeting time of 11:30
I head over to check out the Cave Springs Trail, not far from the Visitors Centre and discover a delightful 1 mile long trail that takes you to an original 'Cowboy Camp' that is set into an alcove. There is also another alcove that was used by the 'early ones', as the roof is all smoked stained and contains a small pictograph panel. The trail continues on, winding it's way under a overhang of rock, before winding it's way up on top, giving a delightful view of the immediate area.
From on top of the rock outcropping(Mushrooms), I can see The Rangers residence area and am impressed with the 'low visual impact' of both them and the Visitors Centre. They blend into the natural landscape quite well.
I decide to head on over to the Visitors Centre and change into my hiking clothes, check out their displays and fill up my 2LSource bladder, 1L liquitainer and wait for the guys to show up ......... and wait ......... and wait. The weather today has been a mix of sun and 'heavy' clouds, with a few sprinkles of rain, thrown in.
They finally show up at 2:45, Jason mumbling something about road construction delays and a drive further than anticipated from Moab. We head into the Backcountry Permits office and get our permits and I get a Ursack for my food at no charge(deposit required). The guys are busy readying themselves as one back country Ranger is giving me a few last minute 'tips', for our selected hike. Our planned itinerary is a 5 day hike with camps at SC 1, SC3, SC4 and a night of 'wild camping', outside of the designated campsite area, known as 'At-Large Backpacking Zone'.
We finally get it all together and load up our packs in Jason's Jeep and head over to the gated access road to PeekaBoo Spring(reserveable Backcountry campsite, available to the Jeep Crowd) to leave my vehicle there and then start up to the trail head in Jason's vehicle.
As we load into Jason's Jeep, there is a very large, dark, ominous looking 'thunder cell' looming overhead and it starts to 'open up' on the way over to Beef Basin Rd. Not good!
About 1/3rd of the way up, the Jeep starts sliding around and Jason locks her in 4-wheel High and we continue on, with no let up in the rain. After another 5 miles or so, the jeep is sliding along the road, fairly uncontrollably, at a 45* angle. Forward progress is very slow and difficult. Although the road doesn't 'look' very muddy, it is deceivingly very slick, with a red clay/mud that fills the tires tread and then pulls a layer of clay/mud from the road as you drive and sticks to the tires, making them look like doughnuts! We slide to a stop by the entrance of a cow pasture and I suggest we call it a day as any more forward progress unlikely and we hadn't reached the 'hard/dangerous' section of the road yet. We all agree and pull off and start to set up camp among the evidence of a good sleet storm, still on the ground, although the rain has abated.
We get everything set up, dinners cooked, get a campfire going as we are outside the park's boundary and discuss Plan B and C as we will be a day behind of our planned leisurely itinerary. If we do succeed in making it to the trail Head tomorrow, we will have to bypass our scheduled stay at SC 1 and hike through to the campsite at SC3, a total of almost 10 miles(18k) - no 'biggie' - we hope. We spend the rest of the evening chasing away cattle that are getting too close to our tents and adding wood to the fire, before the skies open up again. We all scramble into our tents and I'm hoping that my quick seam sealing job I gave my new Double Rainbow 4 days earlier, is done properly. The winds pick up and the rain comes down harder.
After 1/2 an hour, I have my headlamp turned on, checking for leaks and all is well, so I lay back down and am soon off to dreamland.
The next morning dawns cold,(elevation 6,700') but sunny, with my thermometer showing 28*F(-2.2C), ice resulting from the night's rain, covering Jason's Jeep, as well as both Jason's and Ben's fly's. Both have BA Seedhouse SL 2 tents, with Ben opting for a pair of custom Carbon Fibre poles to shave an extra 6ozs of weight. Ben's packweight for the 5 days is just under 20lbs, Jason near the 24lb mark and mine is 28lbs, but that is with 3L of water. We eat a hurried breakfast, wondering which 'option' we will be taking today. Will we be able to continue on to the Trail Head, or will we have to resort to Plan B/C? I go out and check the road around 9:00 and it seems dry enough, but we won't know until we get underway. We spend what seems ages, drying off our tents and packing up, but are soon piled into the Jeep, with all our gear. We head out onto the road and find it to be in fairly good condition and we head on towards the trail Head, at Cathedral Butte(7,050').
We get to the 'dangerous' part of the road and the guys gasp a bit, as the road is very narrow and has an immediate drop off on the left of 1500', with a crumbling shoulder. To complicate matters, a large rock about 2/3rds the size of an apartment fridge has fallen overnight and is blocking progress. We all get out and lean into it and flip the boulder over enough to get by it, but this still brings the Jeep very close to the drop off side of the road. We give it an extra flip over and all is well. When we get to the Trail Head, the guys marvel at the spectacle of the canyon laid out before us and anticipation is running high. We are soon out of the Jeep, shoulder our packs and are off, descending to the canyon floor, loosing over 1,000 vertical feet in less than 1 mile.
The trail is a little confusing at times, but a few rock cairns are placed at intervals that help guide us.
Before long, we have descended to the canyon floor and we take a breather in a 'wash' to get out 'bearings', have a little breather and check out the view back to where we left from the Trail Head.
All of a sudden, Ben says "look over there!" and we are all in time to see a full grown Mountain Lion run along a ledge about 90 - 100' away to our right, at eye level. We all reach for our cameras, but the big cat is too fast and disappears around the corner of the rock outcropping. Then all of a sudden, there is another one running off, from the same spot, heading in the same direction. DRAT!! .... too slow with the cameras again. It's the 1st time I've ever witnessed a mating pair before. WOW!
The big cats were on this ledge in the foreground
I could tell by there extremely timid nature exhibited, that they were not going to pose any problem for us, so we headed on, into our new wonderland.
We move along the wash and come to the park Boundary Sign and soon find Salt Creek and start following a path that runs along the creek's western side and through a grassy area. I'm amazed at all the vegetation here, in the bottom of the canyon. In a short while I see a swampy area, looming ahead of us and the foot path we've been following becomes a maze of 'herd paths'. I recall that the Ranger told me that when we reach this point, to stay to the east side of the creek and head close to the canyon wall. I relate this to the other two and we decide to check out on the other side of the creek, but no obvious foot path is detected. I said I'll bushwhack and pick up the trail, but Ben wants nothing to do with that. He's determined that "there has to be a trail!!" He decides, that he and Jason will stick to the west side of the creek. I know from a previous hike with Ben, that he is extremely nervous and 'out of his element' when traveling 'off trail'. I tell them that I'll yell if/when I pick up the trail. I know that the path on the other side of the creek will 'dead end' at a big bend, that I could spot(big bluff) I soon follow what appears to be a game path through the thick growth of 'Tamarisk' (an invasive species that puts slide alders to shame.) Ben is yelling over that he thinks I should come back to his side of the creek and I reiterate what the Ranger had told me and that I was sticking over on the east side. Then I find a more promising path and I yell over to them that I found it. They head over and have to face the abusive tamarisk. We regroup and I find the trail and we soon come upon an alcove , with some very old pictographs. We decide to take a break and Ben attends checking out some 'scrapes' he picked up, while bushwhacking.
We head off and before long, we come to a beautiful little 'water fall', a real oasis, where we refill our bladders.
Then shortly after that, Kirk's Cabin, a remnant from this pioneer rancher, comes into view. There was evidence of his working the area, with old fence lines still visible. We checked out the old cabin, which was still in relatively fair shape, considering it was abandoned at the turn of the 1900s. It also had a great view of an arch, which was named after him.
We continue on and soon pass the path that leads to our planned 1st night campsite that we would have stayed at, had we been on schedule. Shortly after that, we spotted some old Anasazi ruins, high up in an alcove. These things are pretty tough to spot, as they blend in very well, to their surrounding, being made of the same kind of red rock. I am sure that we passed by some, without even knowing they were there.
The Tamarisk has pretty well eased off now, with just the occasional bunching and we enjoy some open views of the wider, vast canyon ahead of us.
We soon come to a junction with a trail that leads off into a small box canyon. The other two are wanting to stay on the main trail and do not feel like exploring. I get a 'sixth sense' (like I often do) that something special is down there. I decide to check it out and tell the others that I will soon catch them up. They plod slowly on, as I hasten forward along this beckoning path. It's not until I'm 50' away that I notice it. A group of 3 Anasazi granaries. They are so well camouflaged, that it would be easy to miss them. These ones are special, as you can walk among them, inspecting them closely, but I chose to disturb nothing. I have a very high sense of 'reverence for sites such as these, and do not wish to anger the spirits.
I sometimes have this unusual ability to pick up on these 'spiritual power spots' when alone, or on the rare occasion with someone else. The only other person that I personally know that can, is my wife. I could detect a sense of 'happiness, contentment' and of children playing and laughing, in this immediate area. I imagine that the 'old ones' used this area for many years and that it was well established. I detected remnants of last seasons squash/pumpkin vines around the granaries as well. Perhaps one of their 'legacies'?
I am aware that some time has passed and hurry to catch up to my pals, who are patiently waiting for me, as they are slowly walking along the trail. The canyon walls are starting to close in and I spot another, interesting arch.
and pass by a dark cave-like openening that has a stream of light at the other end, an obvious opening that leads to perhaps a different canyon.(?)
There are other alcoves, high on the canyon wall, some which hold other kivas/granaries
The trail leads over to a cave which is about 20' above the canyon floor and we discover that this is the ruin named 'All American Man'. So named because of the colours on the pictograph(Red, White and Blue) contained on the one wall and the cave also houses at couple more ruins.
We continue on our way, all of us marvelling at the unusual sights and rock formations. Ben points out one that resembles a camel. Before long, the path leads over to Ben's camel and disappears in a kind of cave opening, with no apparent trail out that I could see. I say aloud "this could be interesting' We head on inand soon I am heading upward when I come to a small(7') gap which we have to jump across. I hoot in joy, as I love stuff like this. The others are behind me a little ways and are wondering what I'm so excited about. I leap across the opening and get ready to watch the others and how they handle it. Jason stops and assess the width and soon makes it across. Ben, on the other hand, can't believe what he is seeing and says that "there must be another way around". Jason coaches and encourages him and soon all 3 of us are across and still headed up inside this large 'cleft'
When we exit at the top, it is like stepping into another canyon, with stunning sights, another ruin, another small waterfall and our campsite, SC 3, for the night.
The campsite was well chosen. It sat back in a small 'off-shoot' canyon, protected from the bulk of the wind, close to water and had a bit of shade in the form of a scrub Oak tree.
We pitched our tents, went and filtered water, and rinsed out some of our clothes , made dinner and just generally lazed about, waiting for the 'big show'. My hiking partners are from large urban centres. Jason from Denver and Ben, hailing from Pasadena(LA) and as such, were unprepared for the display of stars that would make themselves so prevalent, as the night wore on. Both Ben and Jason saw their 1st satellite, orbiting the earth, visible in the night-time sky, overhead. A few 'spirits' were consumed to please the 'Gods' 
Mileage for the 1st day was over 10 miles(16+k) which seemed longer with the bushwhacking through the darn Tamarisk.
The morning dawned cool but clear again. I saw 33 degrees on my thermometer and was very pleased with the performance of my new gear(Pack/Sleeping Bag/Inflatable Pad/TarpTent) We ate a leisurely breakfast, as today, we would only hike 3 1/3 miles(6k) to our next campsite, SC 4.
Although low in mileage, the hike was high in scenery!
SC 4 was located on a small 'bench' above the creek and was quite narrow at this spot. It was set among some big Cottonwoods and against the canyon wall, providing a dramatic 'backdrop'.
Again, we rinsed out some clothing, filtered more water, Jason was doing some sewing, repairing a broken sternum strap and were discussing whether or not if we should go on a small day hike up a side canyon, when all hell started to break loose!
I heard a noise like a locomotive bearing down on us, when we were hit by a big gust of wind, then another. I looked up over the canyon walls and the sky was a muddy red colour. Sand Storm!! The gust were becoming more frequent now and there were dead branches falling from the large Cottonwoods(Widow Makers) I had been using the stock pegs that Henry ships with his tents(blue, round Eastons) in the sandy soil, with rocks on top of them. I was inside my tent, wondering how much abuse this single pole structure could endure, when a large gust hit and it pulled all the pegs out of the ground and the tent was falling down all around me. Good thing I was in the tent, or it would have been a kite. Ben was close by and he gave me a hand, steadying the tent as I switched to my MSR Ground Hog stakes and put to big rocks on the tents main vestibule guyout lines. It was fine after that, although I kept a close eye on it. Shortly after that, I heard Ben and Jason discussing how Ben's tent was doing against the wind. Gusts were flattening his poles and it would then spring back into shape. Oddly enough, Jason's tent which was pitched up against the canyon wall, was hardly being buffeted ! I went over to the creek to filter some more water for dinner and passed Ben's tent on the way. A big gust came roaring down the canyon, hitting Ben's tent just as I was beside it. The rear end of the tent, which was facing the direction of the wind, flattened out, regained it's shape, flattened out again , when I heard a sickening Snap Not good. I looked his tent over and discovered that one of his front Carbon Fibre poles snapped at the joint. I called out for Ben and he could tell by my tone of voice that something serious had happened. He ended up dismantling his shelter and moved it closer to ours. We set about to repair the broken pole. Jason had a V shaped peg for one corner of his vestibule. I gave him one of the Eastons that I had and we used the V shaped peg as a splint, placing it over the damaged pole section and wrapping it with duct tape. It worked perfect. We then set about cooking dinner, which was a bit of a chore with the raging wind trying to extinguish our alcohol stoves. Sand was getting into everything, our teeth, tents and our food. I cracked a joke that a 6 year old would enjoy playing with all the sand driven into my TarpTent. I covered the end mesh panels as best I could with my pack and other items, but the sand blew in under the 2 'vestibules. We talked of what we would do the following day. We had planned on 'wild camping' once we were outside of the 'designated campsite zone' We also discussed hiking the rest of the 13 miles straight out as we all had long drives ahead of us. They had a 7hr drive back to Denver and I had about the same to go see Jerry in Saint George. Jerry had a hike planned for early Saturday morning into the Grand canyon, for the both of us. If we were to proceed as planned and wild camp on Thursday and Hike out sometime Friday, we had the long drive, plus a 3 hour car shuttle to contend with. We agreed that we would hike out the roughly 10 miles to Peekaboo Springs and assess our situation then. If we were doing well and everyone felt up to it, we'd hike the remaining 3 1/2 miles out to the gate, where my van was parked. If not, we would wild camp somewhere close to the gate, so we could get out early in the morning. I remembered that I had to return the Ursack bag back to the Visitors Centre. We agreed on a rise and shine time of 6:00.
We went to bed as the gusts were starting to die down, with me saying " we should listen out for each other. If someone calls out, come running" Despite the conditions, I soon drifted off to sleep.
6:00 came and we were up and off by 7:15. We were making good time along the winding canyon floor, that had many creek crossings. It also didn't disappoint in the scenery department either. We break for some shade, rest and discuss how we are all holding up.
Before long, I had a feeling we were getting close to Peekaboo Springs, It is a large 'fin' of rock with an opening in it and if you hike up and through it, you save 1/2 mile of winding trail. It soon came into sight and I headed up for it, followed by the other 2. There is a large pictograph panel there as well. We were unprepared for seeing a pit toilet and 2 picnic tables on the other side as well. We checked out the pictographs, took some photos and decided to have lunch at the table
We noticed there was a pick-up truck in a sandy parking lot and a couple walking around, heading in our general direction. I cracked a joke that if we were nice to those people, maybe they would give us a ride back out to the gate in the back of their truck. They heard me and when we were seated at the table, they walked by and said it wasn't their truck and that in fact, figured it to have been there for a while, as there were no tracks around it. These people told us that they had hike in 5 miles, from Squaw Flats CG. We had a quick lunch and decided that we were still fresh and should hike out today, making for a shorter day tomorrow. We soon headed out along the sandy road, for about 100m, before it crossed the creek and then promptly disappeared. Ben got all nervous again, insisting that there must be a road. " It shows it on the map, so it must be here!" I thought it a little suspicious at 1st as well, but I've seen films on 4-wheeling, where they use the stream/creekbed as part of the road/trail. I tell this to Ben but it does little to quell his fears. I told him to trust me, I have over 17 years experience backpacking and have a good sense of direction. He has no other choice at this point as well. We hike another 1/2 mile before we run into the road again, as it short cuts a bend in the creek and then disappears again. By now, Ben is starting to accept the fact that what I told may be actual fact. We get tired of trying to hop across the creek so many times, without getting our hiking shoes wetmuddy, that we just start wading up the creek, mindful that there are patches of quicksand here. Jason finally realizes that we should take off our shoes and wear our Crocs but I don't care at this point. Jason stops to make the change and we don't have to make any more creek crossings! 
All of a sudden, we see evidence of the Park cutting out all the Tamarisk and slash burning piles of it. They are serious in getting rid of this pesky bush. In an attempt to find a possible short cut, I suggest we go around a large 'stand' of it, staying close to the now lowering canyon walls and possibly saving a 1/4 mile of 'creek travel'. It soon proved useless, as the Tamarisk grew tight to the canyon wall and proved to be too dense to get through. Jason said we should head back to the creek, as we'd make faster and easier progress. I agreed and when I went to turn around, I was 'hung up' and couldn't move. I was about to yell out, when I put it in 'Bull Low' and powered my way out, snapping branches off and feeling it tug pretty good at my back pack. I was a little concerned that I might have lost something off my pack, but I wasn't going back to find out as I was glad to be free from the stuff. Shortly after, we saw where the road veered away from the creek and headed up that, when we ran into the Ranger who had given me the advice earlier. He told us the gate was nearby, just beyond the big outcropping of rock. He also congratulated us. When asked about the truck we saw back at Peekaboo, he told us that the truck had been stranded back there since fall, when some flash flooding had occurred and the owner had been unable to get it out since!.
We took our pics at the end of the hike, drove back to the Visitors Centre to drop off the Ursack and made our way back up to Cathedral Butte to retrieve Jason's Jeep and take one last look at our starting point.
We decided to spend the night on some BLM land, close to Newspaper Rock.
We had another fire and recounted some of our experiences on the hike, turned in and left early the next morn. They, for Denver and I for a meeting with the Rented Mule, but that's another story!
Dusty
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now back in Ontario |
Edited by - Dusty Boots on 03 May 2007 10:11:07 |
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canuckcamper
a post-count junkie
Canada
1045 Posts |
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Dusty Boots
addicted to OAC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2007 : 09:51:00
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That's exactly what I thought, - Wow!
Although I live in a province with lots of 'wows', I've never hiked in/through an area that had so many Wows  My head was constantly swivelling around looking at the gorgeous sights.
The other Trip Reports I'll be doing(when time permits) won't be as long as this one as they were only either a day hike, or a max of 2 days spent in one area, but the scenery is still - Wowsers!
Dusty |
now back in Ontario |
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Laurie Ann
forum admin
Canada
7095 Posts |
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BackPacking/Hiking in Southern Utah - April 14 -26
