Post by zeke on Sept 29, 2021 8:57:15 GMT -8
September Road Trip
I left home on Sept 15th, for a 2 week journey West. My plans included camping with a large group of friends at Pickle Gulch, doing a little backpacking in Utah, and visiting friends along the route home. I drove 1120 miles on Day One, stopping about 50 miles East of Kansas City after 18 house of driving. The following day I arrived at my destination near Denver about 2:30 PM. I spent the night in Deborah’s home before heading up into the hills near Black Hawk, Co. for the large gathering of backpacker friends.
This Rendezvous of sorts has been going on for about 15 meetings, most of which were annual. This time, I invited two family members to join with me, and they seem to have a good time sitting around the fire and talking with the various others there. Sunday morning things broke up. I went back into town, showered, and stopped by the grocery store before heading out to meet up with rebeccad and her son Griff.
We drove on to the Colorado River National Monument for the night in their campground. I slept out under the stars and the full moon. I had to use my knit cap to cover my eyes so I could sleep. Monday morning we drove to Capital Reef, arriving just in time to grab a small fruit pie for our lunch. Rebecca and Griff had mixed berry while I enjoyed a cherry. What I really wanted was the peach, but was advised either of the other 2 choices were better. After lunch, it was a hike up to the Cassidy Arch. The trail isn’t very long, but it is steep and most of that is front loaded. From there, we headed over towards Escalante, Ut to drive a 4wd road as far as we dared before pulling off for dinner and a night under the stars.
Hole in the Rock road is a wide gravel road, but the washboard does a number on one’s spine. 20 miles of it before turning left onto Egypt Road, which is a much rougher road and has some ups and downs that tested just how far I wanted to go in my Prius. We pulled over for the night after 5 miles, about halfway back to our final destination. I fixed dinner for my trekking mates while they occupied themselves with setting up their tents, etc… After dinner, I set up my own tent and put on the rain fly, not because of any threat of bad weather, but to block the light from the full moon. The following morning we broke camp and drove the remaining distance to the trailhead. The only other car there was another Prius. We now had a parking lot of 3 Prius’ at the end of a rough 4wd road. Before we could finish grabbing our gear, a ranger showed up and spoke to us a little about the trail conditions. We filled out a permit at the signpost, and headed off downhill.
5 miles from our cars, our destination was the Golden Cathedral, which is perched just on the other side of the Escalante River. The downhill trek was mostly sand, with some slick rock thrown in for good measure. We had a choice of trails to get there and picked the most direct route, thinking we would take one of the others back uphill. We each carried 3 L of water for the trek, and reached our campsite shortly after lunch. We dropped our gear and grabbed our cameras for the 3/4 mile walk back to the end destination.
Our timing was almost perfect. Golden Cathedral was living up to it’s name in the afternoon autumnal light. We hung around for nearly 2 hours, enjoying the light play, the water bugs, and just relaxing beside the pool of water. This was the main draw and why I wanted to be in this area of the world. It was worth the price of admission. Back in camp, we filtered more water, cooked our dinners, and I slept out under the stars again. Cowboy camping, as it is known, is my preferred method of sleeping as long as the bugs cooperate. The next morning we began the trek back uphill to the cars.
I am slower in my advanced age, particularly so on any uphill stretch. First, there were the 5 river crossings, and the searching for the pathways through the debris from the recent flooding along the Escalante River. We decided to use the Fence Canyon trail but it wasn’t much different from our trek downhill. So much loose sand walking. I got to my car at lunchtime, but had to sit in the AC for a few minutes before I felt much like eating. It wasn’t all that hot, but I was glad it wasn’t July or August.
Rebecca knew exactly where she wanted to camp along Hole in the Rock road, for the next section of our adventure. We stopped in the early afternoon, and then Griff and I drove into “town” for ice and drinks. Rebecca used our absence to get chance to clean up a bit more. I shared my tequila and lemonade cocktails with Rebecca and Griff. She made us all dinner, and I retired to my pallet under the night sky afterwards.
Thursday, we headed off to hike inside Zebra slot canyon. It is only a 5 mile round trip from the gravel road, but we decided to add Tunnel canyon to the trek, adding another mile or so to the day hike. Zebra canyon begins with a deep pool of water, nearly reaching my armpits. The shorter hikers had even more trouble with its depths. Then, it was the closing in walls that had to be traversed by bracing your heels against one side and your toes of the same shoe on the other side. Beyond that, we had to put our arms and butts on opposite sides while trying to gain traction on the sandy walls so we could get further into the tight confines of the closing walls. Eventually, we reached the point where we had to turn back, retracing our steps and methods. In one of the pools, there was a small snake of unknown species. I didn’t think it was venomous, but we treated it with respect, keeping our distance as best we could. I really wanted to rescue it from the water, as it looked to be trying to climb up the walls, but found no purchase. My only option was to push it along the water until we were safely out in the dry river bed, but even that was not practical given the sort of path we had. I had to leave it to its own resources. Back in the land where I had wifi, I discovered it was a Desert Glossy snake. Harmless, but it wouldn’t have liked riding out in my pocket.
Once back out of Zebra, we found the path over to Tunnel canyon. Along our way, we crossed a field of Moqui Marbles, which are iron concretions. Some are embedded in the walls of slot canyons, some are just lying about in vast numbers on top of the rock. Nonetheless, they provided fodder for thought. Tunnel canyon was short, but pleasant to walk through. Not as deep, not as narrow as Zebra, but cool and very fun getting to. Once back at the cars, we drove into town for a burger and milkshake for lunches, then drove down the road a small ways until our paths diverged. Waving goodbye, Rebecca and Griff drove North with Seattle as their destination, while I drove South with Phoenix and Tucson in my sights. I stopped for the night in Flagstaff at a cheap hotel and had pizza for dinner. I’m comfortable sharing motels with the sorts of people one finds at cheaper places. This clientele looked to be of the ex-con and hooker variety. Neither sort pestered me, and they were quiet after 10 PM. I got a good night sleep, and the shower I so badly needed.
Friday I met up with my niece and her fellow for lunch. We visited for over 2 hours while I learned something of their lives, and they heard stories of my recent adventures. From there, I drove to Tucson for dinner with Matt and Andrea in their home. We caught up on recent times, and went for a nice desert walk on Saturday morning. I was able to see my first desert tortoise, even if it was a juvenile. Saturday night was dinner at a local restaurant, and more visiting. I left there Sunday morning after breakfast.
I had one more stop along my road home, and it was only 2 hours from Tucson. Stacey is a friend I met while she lived in Louisiana, but now she lives near Safford, Az. We went for a drive, then a walk in the desert, where it began to rain hard enough to drive us off the desert roads and back onto pavement. We toured a few small towns and ate dinner in a Mexican restaurant. Our choices up in that area all seemed to be Mexican, and this one was good.
Monday morning I awoke wide eyed at 3:30 AM, so I changed the clock in the car to CDT, making it 5:30 AM. Began my drive home, finally stopping in the Mississippi Welcome Center just over the state line from Louisiana. 1200 miles in 20 hours. I was going to stop at a La rest area near Lafayette, but it was closed so my next option was Mississippi. Went to sleep at 1:30, arising at 6:30 for the last leg of my journey. I arrived safely home at 5 PM, and after showering I shared my tales with my wife.
Colorado
Cassidy Arch
Golden Cathedral
Zebra slot canyon
Tunnel slot canyon
I left home on Sept 15th, for a 2 week journey West. My plans included camping with a large group of friends at Pickle Gulch, doing a little backpacking in Utah, and visiting friends along the route home. I drove 1120 miles on Day One, stopping about 50 miles East of Kansas City after 18 house of driving. The following day I arrived at my destination near Denver about 2:30 PM. I spent the night in Deborah’s home before heading up into the hills near Black Hawk, Co. for the large gathering of backpacker friends.
This Rendezvous of sorts has been going on for about 15 meetings, most of which were annual. This time, I invited two family members to join with me, and they seem to have a good time sitting around the fire and talking with the various others there. Sunday morning things broke up. I went back into town, showered, and stopped by the grocery store before heading out to meet up with rebeccad and her son Griff.
We drove on to the Colorado River National Monument for the night in their campground. I slept out under the stars and the full moon. I had to use my knit cap to cover my eyes so I could sleep. Monday morning we drove to Capital Reef, arriving just in time to grab a small fruit pie for our lunch. Rebecca and Griff had mixed berry while I enjoyed a cherry. What I really wanted was the peach, but was advised either of the other 2 choices were better. After lunch, it was a hike up to the Cassidy Arch. The trail isn’t very long, but it is steep and most of that is front loaded. From there, we headed over towards Escalante, Ut to drive a 4wd road as far as we dared before pulling off for dinner and a night under the stars.
Hole in the Rock road is a wide gravel road, but the washboard does a number on one’s spine. 20 miles of it before turning left onto Egypt Road, which is a much rougher road and has some ups and downs that tested just how far I wanted to go in my Prius. We pulled over for the night after 5 miles, about halfway back to our final destination. I fixed dinner for my trekking mates while they occupied themselves with setting up their tents, etc… After dinner, I set up my own tent and put on the rain fly, not because of any threat of bad weather, but to block the light from the full moon. The following morning we broke camp and drove the remaining distance to the trailhead. The only other car there was another Prius. We now had a parking lot of 3 Prius’ at the end of a rough 4wd road. Before we could finish grabbing our gear, a ranger showed up and spoke to us a little about the trail conditions. We filled out a permit at the signpost, and headed off downhill.
5 miles from our cars, our destination was the Golden Cathedral, which is perched just on the other side of the Escalante River. The downhill trek was mostly sand, with some slick rock thrown in for good measure. We had a choice of trails to get there and picked the most direct route, thinking we would take one of the others back uphill. We each carried 3 L of water for the trek, and reached our campsite shortly after lunch. We dropped our gear and grabbed our cameras for the 3/4 mile walk back to the end destination.
Our timing was almost perfect. Golden Cathedral was living up to it’s name in the afternoon autumnal light. We hung around for nearly 2 hours, enjoying the light play, the water bugs, and just relaxing beside the pool of water. This was the main draw and why I wanted to be in this area of the world. It was worth the price of admission. Back in camp, we filtered more water, cooked our dinners, and I slept out under the stars again. Cowboy camping, as it is known, is my preferred method of sleeping as long as the bugs cooperate. The next morning we began the trek back uphill to the cars.
I am slower in my advanced age, particularly so on any uphill stretch. First, there were the 5 river crossings, and the searching for the pathways through the debris from the recent flooding along the Escalante River. We decided to use the Fence Canyon trail but it wasn’t much different from our trek downhill. So much loose sand walking. I got to my car at lunchtime, but had to sit in the AC for a few minutes before I felt much like eating. It wasn’t all that hot, but I was glad it wasn’t July or August.
Rebecca knew exactly where she wanted to camp along Hole in the Rock road, for the next section of our adventure. We stopped in the early afternoon, and then Griff and I drove into “town” for ice and drinks. Rebecca used our absence to get chance to clean up a bit more. I shared my tequila and lemonade cocktails with Rebecca and Griff. She made us all dinner, and I retired to my pallet under the night sky afterwards.
Thursday, we headed off to hike inside Zebra slot canyon. It is only a 5 mile round trip from the gravel road, but we decided to add Tunnel canyon to the trek, adding another mile or so to the day hike. Zebra canyon begins with a deep pool of water, nearly reaching my armpits. The shorter hikers had even more trouble with its depths. Then, it was the closing in walls that had to be traversed by bracing your heels against one side and your toes of the same shoe on the other side. Beyond that, we had to put our arms and butts on opposite sides while trying to gain traction on the sandy walls so we could get further into the tight confines of the closing walls. Eventually, we reached the point where we had to turn back, retracing our steps and methods. In one of the pools, there was a small snake of unknown species. I didn’t think it was venomous, but we treated it with respect, keeping our distance as best we could. I really wanted to rescue it from the water, as it looked to be trying to climb up the walls, but found no purchase. My only option was to push it along the water until we were safely out in the dry river bed, but even that was not practical given the sort of path we had. I had to leave it to its own resources. Back in the land where I had wifi, I discovered it was a Desert Glossy snake. Harmless, but it wouldn’t have liked riding out in my pocket.
Once back out of Zebra, we found the path over to Tunnel canyon. Along our way, we crossed a field of Moqui Marbles, which are iron concretions. Some are embedded in the walls of slot canyons, some are just lying about in vast numbers on top of the rock. Nonetheless, they provided fodder for thought. Tunnel canyon was short, but pleasant to walk through. Not as deep, not as narrow as Zebra, but cool and very fun getting to. Once back at the cars, we drove into town for a burger and milkshake for lunches, then drove down the road a small ways until our paths diverged. Waving goodbye, Rebecca and Griff drove North with Seattle as their destination, while I drove South with Phoenix and Tucson in my sights. I stopped for the night in Flagstaff at a cheap hotel and had pizza for dinner. I’m comfortable sharing motels with the sorts of people one finds at cheaper places. This clientele looked to be of the ex-con and hooker variety. Neither sort pestered me, and they were quiet after 10 PM. I got a good night sleep, and the shower I so badly needed.
Friday I met up with my niece and her fellow for lunch. We visited for over 2 hours while I learned something of their lives, and they heard stories of my recent adventures. From there, I drove to Tucson for dinner with Matt and Andrea in their home. We caught up on recent times, and went for a nice desert walk on Saturday morning. I was able to see my first desert tortoise, even if it was a juvenile. Saturday night was dinner at a local restaurant, and more visiting. I left there Sunday morning after breakfast.
I had one more stop along my road home, and it was only 2 hours from Tucson. Stacey is a friend I met while she lived in Louisiana, but now she lives near Safford, Az. We went for a drive, then a walk in the desert, where it began to rain hard enough to drive us off the desert roads and back onto pavement. We toured a few small towns and ate dinner in a Mexican restaurant. Our choices up in that area all seemed to be Mexican, and this one was good.
Monday morning I awoke wide eyed at 3:30 AM, so I changed the clock in the car to CDT, making it 5:30 AM. Began my drive home, finally stopping in the Mississippi Welcome Center just over the state line from Louisiana. 1200 miles in 20 hours. I was going to stop at a La rest area near Lafayette, but it was closed so my next option was Mississippi. Went to sleep at 1:30, arising at 6:30 for the last leg of my journey. I arrived safely home at 5 PM, and after showering I shared my tales with my wife.
Colorado
Cassidy Arch
Golden Cathedral
Zebra slot canyon
Tunnel slot canyon
