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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
271 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 02:29 AM
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The flickr links have more pictures, movies and details
Two of us decided to take a month off work and travel throughout the four corners region. C finished her shift at 1 am on March 27 and we were on the road by noon from vancouver. Getting tired, we stopped for a snooze in the car at the restop at the idaho oregon border at 2230...trying to be economical..I slept ontop the cookboxes and cooler and C in the front seat. BY 6 am we were off again, shopped around noon near Salt Lake City and arrived in Goblin Valley, Utah around 5 pm to sunny skies. Had we left one day later we probably wouldn't have made it through idaho or northern Utah due to severe blizzards. The state campsite was full but we found a nice campsite in a sheltered alcove, sharing with a family, just outside the park. Had we Looked further we would have found the even nicer free sites with pit toilets, picknick tables and sun shelters on the; Behind the Temple Road. Once the sun set it was a bit nippy and we went to bed. Both of us are night owls but we found ourselves sleeping by 2200 most nights and up by 6 am for most of the trip.
The next morning started beautiful..some clouds but the possibility of some rain later that day...sprinkles most likely..nothing to cause flooding. What the rangers didn't tell us was that 60 mph winds were expected.
First we paid to get into the state park to see the goblins for an hour or so before hiking some canyons., and planning to come back in the late afternoon. The goblins were fun to look at and climb atop
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anja1/sets/72157618947571326/
Next on the list was Crack canyon. The road there just fine for our crossover SUV..saw a van there as well. The Canyon has a few downclimbs so I packed some rope and biners ( despite being told.." no ropes" ) by my non climbing friend. You can find a nice description of the trail here http://climb-utah.com/SRS/crack.htm . There were three nice narrows and several fun little detours over, under or beside boulders. Only one spot was a bit trickier...just under 2 meters down...I slung my 7 m accessory cord around the chockstone and made some footloops. If you are a climber, the handline's not needed, but it was nice to have, at least for the way down. The not needed biners I had safely set to the side..up in a rock depression while fiddling with the rope, promptly forgetting I had put them there..finders keepers I suppose.
 crack canyon  looking for handholds Crack Window Arch  tricky downclimb  tallest narrows
The wind was picking up on our return trip, sand stinging our skin with gusts...tanning session ended :( We had lunch by the picknick area closest to Wild Horse Arch Trailhead, C had a nap...the winds were getting worse. Deciding that another hike was not an option we returned to our tentsite..finding the tent on its side, held in place by a guyline or two and a clothesbag. About a 1/3 of the poles were busted and luckily only a small tear by one of the pole grommets. The Visitor center had a tent repair kit which supplemented what I had and allowed us to look at weather and accomodation options. It was gusting at 60 mph outside and the sound inside resembled that of a jet engine going off nearby. My Flickr site has a sound track.
While Driving South towards Capitol Reef National, just past Hanksville, we entered an area of gray rock and all of a sudden we were in a complete whiteout..it felt like forever, but probably only lasted under a minute. Couldn't see past the Hood of the car and I could just see the white side line beside me. We were rolling along at 5 km/hr praying that no car would hit us.
 road to hanksville...couldn't resist adding sign
Gaining elevation, the sandstorm changed to a snowstorm. In Torrey we found us a nice motel and proceeded to fix the tent while snow was falling outside...a few centimeters stuck to the ground, and it was cold.
The next morning however brought sunshine and diminished wind and we enjoyed hiking in Capitol Reef. Hickman Bridge Trail, Capitol Gorge and various Roadside Viewpoints.
 chimney rock  Sunset point
 along hickman bridge trail  Hickman Bridge  capitol gorge capitol gorge /golden throne  water tanks  pioneer register
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anja1/sets/72157618891895655/
After spending the day at Capitol Reefs National Park, the wind picked up again as we drove to the town of Escalante. The road was very scenic and high up. Close to Boulder, the road is on top of narrow mesa...just wide enough for two lanes ! We had hoped to Camp at Calf Creek Rec site, but it was full and a bit damp. The hike up to the waterfalls would be gorgeous. In the end we found the best little hangout in Escalante...the Escalante Outfitters. A new development for us adventuresome tourists. They had these small cabins with beds , night stand and heater & lamp; porch & picknick table for cooking The bathroom was in a small building in the center of the property...two showers, two toilets with sinks..nice and warm. They are currently building gravel walkways, tentpads along the fence for wind protection, a campers kitchen, and a nice firepit area. Native plants and shrubs for the rest of the property. The store has wine and beer,
a small selection of climbing and camping equipment, maps, books for the area, nice quality outdoor clothing. Although we
didn't eat there, the food looked and smelled delicious and people said it was good . They also had computers and free internet access for guests.
 Escalante outfitters
The first night we stayed in a cabin due to winds. The second night promised to be calmer, and we camped there to test out our tent. The owners had a cabin for us should the tent fall apart.:)..it didn't !
Cabins $ 45, tent $ 16
After checking in with the rangers at the Visitor Center we drove down Hole in the Rock Road to Spookey and Peekaboo Gulch Trailhead. We'd be there for the best light. The trail is well marked with cairns ! Here's a good link for directions http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/utah/esca/
Best to go up Spookey and down Peekaboo. The entrance to peekaboo is easier to downclimb than up. There may also be a pool of water right at the exit of peekaboo.
We did the shorter, most visited part starting with Spookey. Spookey is a beautifully tight twisted slot...sometimes quite dark and other times with the most amazing colors filtering through..we didn't bring our tripod..oops..pictures are best without a flash.
     chockstone 
The chockstone exit from Spookey is no big problem...one boulder, one move and you're out A 7 m handline is good enough if someone needs a bit of security or something to pull on.
Peekaboo is somewhat trickier near the Arches as there are deeper dried out potholes. Definately easier to head downhill rather than up. Some potholes had rocks people had thrown in to step on, but, people move these rocks from pothole to pothole...you might just find yourself at the wrong end. We just helped each other up and over the slick round rims. Wouldn't want to be alone there.
 playing   sqeeze small arch    exit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anja1/sets/72157618975489516/
The crossover to peekaboo from spookey was easily visible and marked with cairns, but one could get lost there if inattentive or the track in the sand heading out of Spookey wash is not visible, and you have no map or good sense of direction.
Next time I'll bring a tripod and continue up Spookey beyond the first big wash ( where we crossed over to Peekaboo) to the second and third Spookey narrows and then cross over and come down Peekaboo... a much longer day.
The sky to the west looked a bit dark with rain to the west once we were back at the car, so we decided to drive back and stopped at Devils Garden for a peek at the rock formations there. Has a nice picknick area with BBQ's. We were warned that the road would become slick with rain. Well, it never did rain down by us. The precipitation mostly falls on the higher land to the west.
 Metate Arch 
April 1st saw us exploring Kodachrome Basin with it's Spires/ Sand Geysers. Again, it was windy and a bit on the cool side. One day is plenty to hike most of the trails in this park. we were a bit early in the season as the concession wasn't even open yet.
 Grisvenor Arch  Kodachrome basin Spires  biggest sand geyser along grand parade trail  ballerina slipper sand geyser along panorama trail  hoodoos along panorama trail
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anja1/sets/72157618914464663/
We stayed that night in another motel at Bryce Canyon and partook in the famous buffet at Bryce canyon lodge.
( pics to come once selected)
We had gorgeous weather for Bryce Canyon and hiked a loop comprising Wall Street, Peekaboo and Queens Garden. The trails still had some snow and mud. Afterwards we drove to Page, Arizona.
So far we had been fortunate to have good hiking weather during the day, and it was only in the later afternoons and evenings that the weather looked threatening. Snowstorms were raging through the midwest and northern Utah. We seemed to be just a day ahead before bad weather would hit the areas we had just been to.
Page Arizona....we'd be there for a few days. Had hoped to stay at the Wahweep Campground ( has free access to the gorgeous pool and hot tub at the resort). The Wahweep Campground only had a few sparse trees, the free site at Lone Rock had none. With 40 mph winds and cold temperatures in the forecast we found ourselves a nice motel in page.
The Page Boy Motel is great ! We paid $ 42 with tax, free breakfast ( waffles, pastries, coffee, juice, nice bread, fruit cups, cream cheese), They have a pool, central BBQ area, and best of all small patio sets for ground level rooms which we put in front of our patio door and used for cooking. The manager there is also a climber :)
We Visited Antelope Canyon, Pariah Rimrocks & Movie Set, South and North Coyote Buttes, Lees Ferry
Pariah Rimrock/ toadstool - just a short distance from the higway near the Pariah River Contact Station.
  
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anja1/sets/72157619064438032/
Antelope Canyon - see description next post
 upper light beams  upper      all lower/corkscrew
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anja1/sets/72157618981053339/
to be continued......
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Edited by - lofty on 06/03/2009 2:07 PM
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
271 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 03:23 AM
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Arrived at the Upper Antelope Canyon Parking Lot at noon. Some darker skies to the north and some wind, but still sunny blue skies overhead. We were told it was going to be windy in the canyon but no rain. So we paid our $ 6 to park there and $ 25 for the tour. and waited 45 minutes for the next tour. After a fast and windy ride to the Canyon entrance, our driver told us that we might not want to enter and cetrainly not expose our cameras to the sand. as it was dusty in there and Sand pouring down from the canyon rim...HUH !!! all of us said...they just took our money and now we are being told we shouldn't enter and if we do go in not take pictures ???? There was no quarantee for getting our money back. A guide has to come with you through the canyon ....well..I was determined to have a look sand or no sand, and after just being taken by unscrupoulous vendors I made sure our guide came with me for the hour I had to spend in there...falling sand and wind I didn't care. Forget tripods or leaving the camera out for any length of time everything got cover in sand pouring down from above. Nobody got their money back, but I managed to get permission to come back for free a few days later...had them sign my receipts just in case. While I was trying to get a refund, the sky darkened ever more, the wind picked up and I saw rain on the horizon to the north...hmm...weren't there deaths a while back in the Antelope as a flash flood hit ? Mind you, it was cold that day and the rain I saw wasn't a downpour..but still....Anyways, they were still taking money from tourist at the gate at that point and I saw trucks from town with tourist arriving. Well...I made sure the people in the three cars at the gate didn't hand over any money, and thereafter I heard the gate lady close up the booth, and I had my permission to come back. I was determined to stay there and warn people as conditions had deteriorated
even worse than when we had gone in...dark skies, increased wind and some rain on the horizon. Still, the trucks from town kept arriving...couldn't do anything about those.
We never went back to the Upper Canyon despite Monday being a perfect day for time reasons as we went to the lower Antelope Canyon accross the road that day and needed to drive on in the afternoon, As well, did manage to get some decent pictures in the Upper antelope . Also $ 6 for parking and $ 22 for Lower Antelope Canyon entrance. Can do both in one day so only one parking fee is neede.
The lower canyon was nice..longer, brighter, tighter, less crowded and we had a photo pass so could stay as long as we wanted. There are tours every hour as well...just drive to the parking and sign up. We met the guide in the canyon with his group...the guide was playing nice music on a guitar..might have been navajo songs...very acoustic in there.
Yes, it's a tourist trap...a very scenic one though, and if you are not into exploring canyons by yourself worth a visit. I think it would have been cheaper to go with an outfitter from town...no parking fee for the upper canyon. For the lower you have to drive there yourself. You can walk from one parking area to the other in a few minutes.
Go there mid day for best light and must bring a tripod. Do not take flash pictures...they will be washed out !
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1701 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 11:59 AM
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| Awsome! Bookmarked for my fall trip research, thanks! |
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ALBANY, OR
USA
588 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 1:53 PM
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| Love the shots in Antelope Canyon, gotta add that to my to see list. |
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Surrey, BC
Canada
1036 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2009 : 08:26 AM
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Very nice area and very detailed report. Wish I could be there. Somehow, the word "work" becomes an issue.
I like the part about demanding the guy signing the receipt so you could get back there on a return visit. Hehe. That was good.
I'll make sure that I'll go and see those places when I visit Utah and Jerry. Jerry, are you reading this??
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Edited by - larryl on 06/18/2009 08:27 AM |
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Utah /4 corners hiking road trip
