Hurricane & Cedar City

It's becoming more difficult to find activities for our days off because we crammed so much into previous trips that few 'new' destinations remain.

The weather forecast showed a 0% chance of precipitation in southern Utah for this entire week, a safe opportunity to hike The Narrows, a slot canyon in Zion NP created by the Virgin River.  Tuesday was our fifth hard work day in a row; we wanted to leave quickly to make our time off as long as possible.  We left for Zion about 2:00 and arrived with time to hike the short Canyon Overlook trail. 

On a map, the trail looks like just a squiggle along Pine Valley Creek's canyon but it held several nice surprises.  Along about a third of the route there are seeps providing enough moisture to support maidenhair fern, rockmat, penstemon and hummingbird trumpet as well as a bit of shade and some relief from the heat.  Then there's a boardwalk built atop steel beams driven into the face of a sheer vertical cliff.  And a final short scramble over slickrock to a sweeping down-canyon view.

View From Canyon Overlook

Jan on Canyon Overlook Boardwalk



Back the trail to the Jeep, through the tunnel, a stop at the Human History Museum--attractively presented history-lite, a check on trail conditions and forecast at the visitor center, then a quick dinner and finally the motel in Hurricane.  Whew!  Busy day.

The weather report said the temp in Zion would reach 101* on Wednesday afternoon so we decided to hike the Hidden Canyon trail early in the morning and tackle The Narrows and its cold water in the heat of the day.  We had to go 3/4 mile up (500' elevation gain) the Observation Point trail in order to reach the Hidden Canyon trailhead. 

View From Observation Point Lower Trail

The route across  slickrock quickly became so narrow and angled that chains had been installed to assist  crossing safely. Turning into a sandy space between soaring rock walls, we found a sign announcing the end of the maintained trail and warning that proceeding further required major scrambling.  This was the best part of the hike--the constricted canyon was cool with lovely hanging gardens (found a variety of rattlesnake plaintain in bloom!), challenging but fun scrambles and a beautiful little free-standing arch.  Beyond the arch the scrambling required more climbing expertise than we possess so we turned around and traveled the same route out and down.

Jan on the Hidden Canyon Trail

Hidden Canyon Trail

Jan Hiking the Cliffs



Jan at the Arch



A shuttle bus soon appeared and we got a brief rest while riding to the Temple of Sinawava, departure point for The Narrows hike.  Zion is a wonderful, beautiful, amazing place; unfortunately, millions of people--many of them from Europe--have discovered that.  The mile walk to the river (on a concrete sidewalk!) was clogged with those intending to hike the river as well as those who already had and those who had come to watch.   At the end of the sidewalk, you begin the hike by crossing a 'beach' of round, smooth river rocks and wade across the river.  From then on, you are in the river whose depth varies from mid-calf on sandbars to chest-high at the first bend. 

We found walking in the river more demanding than expected--the water is cold, the current swift, the footing uncertain.  In addition, the throngs of people increased the difficulty of moving upstream and made the 4-mile round-trip to Orderville Canyon seem more punishment than pleasure.  I immersed thigh-high and Fred waist-deep before we turned back.

In The Narrows

We 'hiked' the sidewalk to the shuttle stop, rode to the parking lot, found the Jeep and drove to Cedar City for our second night away.  Long, hot showers, clean clothes, a big Mexican dinner and a DQ treat for dessert--we were happy campers!  With our hiking agenda completed, we allowed ourselves a relatively late breakfast and an interesting visit to the Pioneer Heritage Museum.  Now all that remained was a quick trip to Walmart and the gas station.  Lucky for us, the route home is astoundingly scenic so it's hard to complain about returning to Tropic.

Escalante Escapade

It's already August; the end of our four-month contract is three weeks away.  Only three more get-away trips!

This week's excursion was a one-nighter to Escalante, the next town over (if you don't count tiny Cannonville and even smaller Henrieville), 38 miles east of Tropic.  The plan for Wednesday was to leave here early, drive 26 miles on Hole-in-the-Rock road to Dry Fork then hike Spooky and Peek-a-Boo slot canyons.  Since the weatherman predicted a 40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms we aimed to return to the parking lot by noon. 

The first section of Spooky was easy although crouching under a huge chock stone wedged 3' above the floor was an unsettling reminder of the hazards in slot canyons.  Just beyond the stone, the canyon became extremely narrow.  Feeling claustrophobic, I chose to wait at the entrance while Fred penetrated further.



10 seconds, not 127 hours

 We back-tracked and spotted the entrance to Peek-a-Boo, an opening about 12' up a rock wall.  At the base of the wall sat a large puddle surrounded by slippery, sticky mud which would make climbing to the opening dangerous.  Rather than risk injury, we decided to try the up-and-over route:  hike along the side of the canyon to the top, drop over the rim, hike down to the opening and exit with a jump across the puddle.  The poorly-marked trek to the top was hard, hot and unproductive--we couldn't see the bottom at the point where dropping into the slot was feasible and a bit farther along there was standing water of unknown depth.





Muddy Entrance to Peek-a-boo

 
Tired, hungry and concerned about the building clouds, we trudged back a route which seemed longer, hotter and steeper than when we traveled it a few hours earlier.  Nevertheless, we met our goal of being out of the canyon by noon, giving us time enough time to detour to Devil's Garden.  It's a delightful pocket of fanciful rock formations:  hoo-doos, arches, windows and spires carved from vividly colored rock which we found much more accessible and engaging than Goblin Valley.  We would have explored and played there longer but those dark storm clouds were drawing ever closer.



Exit from Dry Fork



Playing in the Devil's Garden





Driving through heavy rain on a dirt road crossed by numerous washes wasn't a happy prospect and we were relieved to hit the asphalt highway about 2 PM.  Just minutes before it began to rain really, really hard.  We'd been very lucky on all counts.

We checked into a motel, cleaned up, had an adequate dinner at the restaurant next door and walked to the grocery store to purchase yogurt and fruit for breakfast.   Along the way, we revised the plan for Thursday.  Instead of a 10-mile desert hike  to another slot canyon, we selected a 5-mile out-and-back along tthe Escalante River to Phipps' Arch. 

What a great hike!  It offered a bit of everything you cold wish for:  scrambling up slickrock,  splashing through the river, bush-whacking in tall weeds, slogging through sandy washes, route-finding with GPS and topo map, spotting an eagle, wildflowers, an unusual arch and great views.  The hike turned out to be 8 miles rather than 5 and 5 hours rather than 3.5--we enjoyed each step and every minute of it.  After a quick lunch in Escalante, it was time to return to Tropic with another batch of wonderful Utah experiences.



Fred above the Escalante



Jan enjoying the Esclante River



Jan enjoying the Escalante riverbank



Phipps' Arch



Jan under Phipps' Arch



Fred above Phipps' Wash

Expresso Getaway

Our last get-away was like an expresso--short but intense.  Since we've already visited the close-by attractions and our fun fund hasn't yet received our July paycheck, we opted for a one-night trip to Cedar City, about 80 miles west of Tropic.

Wednesday morning we drove to Navajo Lake and hopped on our mountain bikes.  We'd ridden the trail on the northern side of the lake two weeks ago but, without a map, couldn't find the trail on the southern shore.  This time, we were set with both map and trail description.  What a great trail--a fun ride with enough technical stuff to keep you challenged and enough dip-si-doos to keep you smiling, beautiful scenery, lovely wildflowers and perfect weather!  There was no way it could have been any better.

The volunteer at the visitor center had recommended a short hike to 'The Pinks' which started near where we parked the Jeep.  So, after riding we embarked on a hike--straight up!  The route took us to a cliff-top beneath a wall of pink hoo-doos whic looked down the Virgin River drainage and out to the peaks of Zion National Park.  Although it was a nice view, it wasn't much different from similar, more impressive ones we've see.   And we probably didn't need a strenuous hike after a 12-mile bike ride.

We drove  to Cedar City, checked in to our motel, made ourselves presentable and walked across the parking lot to Denny's, Fred's new favorite restaurant.  After dinner he returned to the room while I did a bit of shopping. 

After a morning stock-up at Walmart, we drove north to Parowan and took Route 143 to Yankee Meadows in Dixie National Forest.  We had sketchy descriptions for two trails there and picked Noah's Ark over Vermillion Castle via the eeny-meeney-miny-moe method.
The trail was 1.3 miles long and gained 1100' in elevation.  In other words, we climbed almost 100' every 1/10 mile.  Our quads, stressed by the previous day's exertion, let us know they were not happy!   The trail was steep with long drop-offs in many places and crossed talus slides in several places, making the descent more difficult than the ascent.  At the top, we had no trouble spotting Vermillion Castle but weren't sure which rocky outcrop was Noah's Ark.  On the return trip, a group heading up asked us if the view was worth the effort.  We advised them to stop at an well below the summit which provided virtually the same view.

The visitor center volunteer had suggested that we stop at Hidden Haven and walk to its two waterfalls.  This turned out to be a pleasant stroll (with no elevation change) through a lush, North Carolina-esque woods bisected by a shallow creek.  The first water fall was small and pretty;  the second was higher and cascaded into a small pool surrounded by vines, shrubs and a few yellow monkeyflowers.  A refreshing and relaxing final event in a short, busy trip.

The return route to Tropic went through Cedar Breaks NM, a beautiful place we'd visited two weeks ago--and a great spot for a quick picnic.  We found a table among tall pines on the edge of a wildflower-filled meadow to enjoy the lovely view and cool temperature.  Then it was back in the Jeep and 'home' to the RV with another work week starting in the morning.

Three Day Get-Away

For an unknown reason, we have an extra day off this week.  We left Tropic after completing work on Tuesday and drove about 280 miles to Moab.  We hadn't expected to reach Moab in our travels because it's too far away for a two-day weekend but it's do-able with three days.

We set out for Arches National Park before 7 AM on Wednesday in order to get one of the limited parking spaces at Devil's Garden trailhead and to get in as much of our hiking as possible while it was still relatively cool.  Despite the early start, the trail was already crowded.  The first arch we saw was Landscape, the world's longest span at over 300' in length.  The 'primitive' trail beyond the arch is said to contain more arches than any other route in the park.  However, it  was unmarked and people have wandered in all directions creating social trails.  We followed one of these for about half an hour until it ended at a steep drop-off.  We attempted the loop in the opposite direction but the sand, heat and lack of arches led us to abandon that trail.

Our next objective was Delicate Arch, another extremely popular site.  Every space in the lot was occupied but a car backed out right in front of us and we scored a slot.  The longest section of the trail was uphill across slickrock and it was now mid-day--in other words, it was very, very hot.  And, like Devil's Garden, very crowded.  Our effort was rewarded with stunning views of Utah's iconic arch (it's the one on their license plates).   We drove to several overlooks and photographed some of Arches' arches, fins columns, spires and turrets.

After a nice dinner and a brief stroll around downtown, we settled in for a bit of TV.   The news led off with a report of people stranded by flooding at Delicate Arch--where we'd been only hours before!  Evidently, heavy rain had fallen to the north or east and rushed down the wash separating the parking area from the road.

Early Morning on Park Avenue,
Arches National Park

Landscape Arch

Tunnel Arch (on right) with smaller arch (left)



Double Arch
(note Fred at lower left for scale)

Can you hear the lion's roar?



Delicate Arch


Most people hear 'Moab' and think 'mountain biking' so we couldn't spend time there without trying the famous and difficult Slickrock Trail.   Even at 6:45 AM Thursday morning , we could feel the rock radiating heat.  Swooping up and down over rather steeply-sloped rock requires nerve, practice and physical conditioning.  Lacking all three, I found even the practice track too demanding. 

We returned to the motel, cleaned up, packed up and headed up to Canyonlands National Park.  Canyonlands and Arches are less than forty miles apart but completely different--Arches is all about stuff jutting out of the earth whereas Canyonlands is all about gaping abysses in the earth.  Canyonlands encompasses a vast area divided into three districts because one can't move from one to another within the park's boundaries.  Island in the Sky district, the region closest to Moab, looms between the Colorado and Green Rivers, which merge farther south in the park. 

Our hike on the Lathrop Trail meandered across the flat, dry, grassy top of the Colorado Plateau to the rim of the Colorado River's gorge.   We scrambled downward from ledge to ledge, getting impressive long-range views from a different angle after each descent.

Jan at the Grand View overlook,

Canyonlands National Park



We visited several viewpoints and ate a quick picinic before driving about sixty miles to Green River.  We'd stayed at the RV park there on the trip west  'way back in April and thought it seemed like a nice little town.  Turns out it's a crappy little town with a nice RV park.  But all we needed was a place to sleep, shower and eat; GR provided those at a minimal level. 

We decided to make the return trip on SR 24 and 12 instead of I-70 since that route is both more direct and more scenic.  Also, we could stop at Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley State Park en route.  Little Wild Horse is a slot canyon with some extremely narrow passages, places not wide enough to put my foot down flat between the walls.  The  slot was a lot of fun to explore even though we had to forego entering the final section due to mud and standing water.



Fred in Little Wild Horse Canyon



Narrow Passage in Little Wild Horse

Standing water blocks the way through Little Wild Horse Canyon

Goblin Valley must be one of the most bizarre spots on Earth!  At the bottom of a large roughly circular basin, dark reddish-purplish-brown Entrada sandstone has eroded into weird, smooth formations that seem sculptural rather than natural.  There are no trails--you just wander where your fancy takes you among these strange shapes.  Just try not to exclaim, "Look at that one!  It looks like a........."  We were entranced for about 20 minutes before the 100* heat drew our attention away from the goblins and toward the Jeep and its air conditioner. 







Goblin Valley








The drive back to Tropic was beautiful, hot and uneventful.  The last hurrah of our vacation was a stop in Escalante for a late lunch/early dinner.   We arrived home about 4:00, worn out from cramming a week's worth of sights and activities into three days.



View from Route 12 crossing Boulder Mountain



'Break'-ing Away

We've had one of our best get-aways ever--and traveled less than 100 miles from Tropic.  The destination was Cedar Mountain, home to Cedar Breaks National Monument and a portion of Dixie National Forest.

We left Tropic at 1:00 Tuesday and mountain-biked around Navajo Lake,  a long, narrow, azure gem nestled among emerald evergreens.  The trail from the parking lot at the western end of the lake follows the rolling shoreline through the forest and then out into a lava field.  The main difficulty the trail presented was to not look at the lovely wildflowers and breath-taking scenery.
Having lost the trail description (my specialty), we couldn't find the trail on the south side of the lake so we rode the gravel road back to the parking lot.

We wanted to see Cascade Falls, created by water that seeps through the limestone beneath Navajo Lake then gushes from a small opening in the vertical cliff and tumbles several hundred feet down the mountainside.  Although it's only a mile round-trip, dark clouds, crashes of thunder and advancing sheets of rain persuaded us to return to the Jeep and get off the mountain.

On the way to our hotel, we stopped by the Renaissance Faire in a Cedar City park.  The theme wasn't very well implemented or enforced.  The connection between 'Renaissance' and 'pirates,'  'camels,' 'Mexican baskets' and 'cheap Chinese crap' was indiscernable. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see so many overweight women in too little clothing and too much make-up, men in tights and vendors of swords, chain mail, balloon animals, etc.

Tired, dirty and hungry,  our dinner destination was selected on proximity--there was a Denny's across the street from our motel.   Dinner was adequate, dessert was ooey-gooey and good! 

Wednesday morning we set out for Cedar Breaks National Monument early enough to participate in the naturalist-led wildflower hike.   While waiting for the hike to begin, we talked with a work-camper couple volunteering at CBNM for the summer.  They used to live in Highlands, NC, about 35 miles from our house!  They love CB's vistas, low visitiation numbers and its cool temps but don't have internet access at their site and have to take their RV to Cedar City to refill the propane tanks frequently.  (The high for Wed. was 53* and overnight temps still dip below freezing.)

The hike, conducted by a retired Park Sevrvice ranger, provided interesting information but fewer than hoped for wildflowers.  After an hour with the group we opted to hike the Ramparts Trail on our own.  In a two mile out-and-back, we saw wonderful wildflowers, a momma marmot and her baby, a photogenic chipmunk (who posed for pictures), stunning vistas and 1700 year-old bristlecone trees.  Although narrow in several places and steep for short stretches, the route would have been easy but for the elevation:  10, 300 feet!

In the afternoon we drove to several overlooks and wandered along the Alpine Pond trail.  It's a pretty walk though woods, across a small meadow and along a very small pond but none of these settings contained wildflowers that we hadn't seen earlier in the day.   Worn out by the elevation and the cold, we went down the mountain to Cedar City and motel #2.  After cleaning up, we ventured out on the town--found a very good Mexican restaurant, a bladder for Fred's CamelBak and a tee shirt in the exact shade I needed to match my skirt!

First on the agenda for Thursday morning was stocking up at Walmart, then up Cedar Mountain again.  With no thunderstorms in the forecast, it was safe to go to Cascade Falls.  The hike was enjoyable and the falls were impressive but nigh impossible to photograph well or accurately.  

Mammoth Cave was the last stop before returning to Stone Canyon.  This is a lava tube about 10' below ground level.  Entry is via a pit partially filled with large chunks of lava which make it possible to scramble down fairly easily.  In one direction, the floor is very smooth but the ceiling becomes lower and lower every few feet.  A person who wanted to explore further than we did has to be willing to crawl then belly-wriggle.  In the other direction, the floor is littered with large, rough lava chunks that would be difficult to cross especially in the dark.  Interesting and enough spelunking for our tastes!

With that, our fun came to an end; yesterday was back to work.  Some time ago and for some reason we can't recall, we volunteered to help with the Bryce Canyon Half-Marathon, held the 3rd Saturday in July.  Our assignment was to cut up fruit beginning at 6 AM in the little town 5 miles east of Tropic.  After enough oranges and bananas had been prepared we picked up the results sheets from the timekeepers and posted them on large bulletin boards.  We were finished by 9, in time to start our cleaning duties.  Only three more work days 'til our next getaway!




Navajo Loop Trail through Lava Fields

 

Jan on Navajo Loop Trail

Approaching Storm at Cascade Falls

Trail to Cascade Falls

One of Entrances to Mammoth Cave



Jan Enjoying Mammoth Cave

View of Zion From Cascade Falls

Momma Marmot



Cute, huh?



Obligatory Tree Picture
[1700 year-old Bristlecone Pine]




Fred on the Ramparts Trail,
Cedar Breaks National Monument



Ruby, the Brave Little Jeep

 


Stay-cation

Those six days on duty while the owners attended their family reunion earned us a third day off this week:   Wednesday, Thursday and Friday--the days our friends John and Dorothy and their friends Vernon and Mary were here to hike in Bryce and other favorite destinations.

Fred selected trails for the group which showcased the variety of the features and topography and climate of this area.  Everyone claimed to enjoy the hikes in Bryce Canyon and Willis Creek slot canyon (especially afterwards!) and we enjoyed their company.  

Our Group in Willis Creek Slot Canyon

Jan, Dorothy and John at Queens Garden,
Bryce Canyon National Park

Unfortunately, Vernon aggravated a previous ankle injury; he and Mary decided to drive to Zion on Friday instead of joining us for a hike at Kodachrome State Park.  After doing the Shakespeare Arch loop, John and Dorothy wanted to see Mossy Cave and the waterfall, as per Dixie's recommendation.  (The waterfall was more robust and hence, more attractive, than when we'd seen it two months ago when merely a trickle of water passed over it.) 

Jan, Dorothy and John on Slickrock Section of Shakespear Arch Trail,
Kodachrome Basin State Park

After the hike, we said good-bye to them in the parking lot even though we both headed west--they were bound for Zion and we for the Indian store.  Five minutes after leaving Mossy Cave, we were up on the plateau watching the clouds grow ominiously darker and more threatening by the second.  Suddenly, sheets of rain rocked the Jeep, tremendous lightning bolts split the sky and thunder exploded above us.   Then it began to hail and visibility disintegrated to zero.  We were lucky enough to be near and able to discern a parking area.  For the next 20 minutes we witnessed one of Mother Nature's most awe-inspiring spectacles--lightning flashed all around us, thunder crashed overhead, rain came waves and hail covered the ground.

It seemed the storm was moving away so I asked Fred to drive me to the little building housing the pit toilets.  No sooner had I entered the ladies room than it lit up and shook as if a bomb had detonated.   Fred saw lightning strike a small pine tree about 100' away.   A  fireball appeared at its base and branches flew off the tree into the air.  Very scary!! 

We postponed the jaunt to the Indian store and came home to learn that Tropic had gotten a light shower but none of the drama we'd experienced only a few miles away.