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March 19, 2017: Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada to near Yellow Mountain along Cottonwood Canyon Road, Utah.
Drove through great open country along 56 to Cedar City, then Hiway 14 to Long Valley Junction, up 89 and then down 12 through beautiful Red Canyon, and finally south along the unpaved but also beautiful Cottonwood Canyon Road.
Did the first hike from my Hiking book (Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region): #48, Cottonwood Canyon Narrows. Short and beautiful, high-walled, easy walking, nobody else but two ladies and their dog. They told me about continuing south on the road to a campsite near Yellow Mountain, where I now am camping, along with Eric from Quebec, who in the past 1 1/2 years has hitchhiked through every country in Central and South America, including Venezuela. And seems no worse the wear. It helps that he is 25 years old. Tomorrow will attempt Yellow Mountain, and then, if Eric hasn’t gotten a ride yet, will deliver him to Hiway 89.
Grosvenor Arch
Rock formations visible from highway 700 just west of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
March 20, 2017: near Yellow Mountain along Cottonwood Canyon Road , Utah, to near Escalante, Utah.
Got up real early (after a great night’s sleep -10 hours!), then hoofed it to the top of Yellow Mountain, lovely multi-colored rock along the way. By the time I returned, Eric was gone - must have found a ride. I drove on down the Cottonwood Canyon Road a little further, then hiked up the Paria River, the southern end of the Yellow Mountain hike (#49, Yellow Rock / The Box of the Paria River). Then drove ne to Escalante, parked near the town, and tried sleeping in the car, with the passenger seat down all the way, the air mattress on the bottom, and two bags of clothes for a headrest. Very comfortable, and another 10 hours (!) Did I mention how great my new sleeping bag is?
March 21, 2017: Near Escalante, Utah to trailhead of the southern end of The Box, Utah.
Hiked #45, Upper Escalante River. Gorgeous river valley, lots of fordings required (very wet shoes & socks). About 2 mies in, a lovely indian petroglyph that had been seriously (and carefully) defaced with black paint. The Park Service had removed the paint, but you could still see where the defacing had occurred. Idiots.
Then drove to the north end of The Box, but too much snow, so retraced to the southern end and hiked in a few hours (#46, The Box).
Camping near the trailhead, a guy arrived (Nick Roman) who was an incredible hiker: did the triple crown, and the CDT in just three months (!), with many plus-40 days. Clearly the fastest I’ve ever heard of.
March 22, 2017: Trailhead at the southern end of The Box, Utah, to campsite at Lower Calf Creek Falls, Utah.
Started the day with a quick hike (#33, Upper Calf Creek Falls) with Nick Roman, then drove with him along the incredibly beautiful UT 12 to the trailhead of #32, Boulder Mail Trail to Death Hollow. Nick went on ahead, as he was planning to cover the entire trail in order to meet up with some buddies. I hiked in only an hour or two: pretty boring, and returned early.
But then I hit #34, Lower Calf Creek Falls, which turned out to be one of the best: just the right length (about 3-4 hours round trip), with stunning rock faces, some with vertical black and orange stripes, a wonderful (though somewhat distant) pictograph of three figures, Fremont-style, and, at the end, a gorgeous waterfall with beautiful colors near its lower end.
It started to rain a bit on the way back, so I had a chance to try out my new ultralight Outdoor Research rain jacket - so far so good - and decided to book a campsite for the night ($7.50, 1/2 price thanks to my Senior card). Not raining now, but overcast. We’ll see…
2017 Utah Road Trip Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail.MOVGoogle Sites
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