Day 44 - Goblin Valley

Goblin Valley has a cool name.

My choice this morning, was 1-drive forty miles on a dirt road to hike the Upper Muley Twist Canyon at Capitol Reef or 2-drive north to Goblin Valley State Park, a maybe list site. My guidebook said Upper Muley Twist was forgettable but did mention another great hike to a double arch and narrows-- but they were too far south-- so Goblin Valley it is! Who can resist a place with that name.

The drive was lovely through this butte and canyon desert. I seemed to pass only RVs-- testament to the middle of nowhere nature of southeast Utah.

I immediately went to the valley of Goblins and was a bit underwhelmed at first. Originally called Mushroom Valley, this tidal basin of old has thousands of spires with head-like shaped. I walked down to the small valley and climbed up to alcove to write some blog posts in the shade of the morning. The view looking back across the park was sensational.

After an hour, the valley filled with people, mostly families, so I hiked to another more remote section and started climbing up and over the Goblins. Now that was fun. Using the ten second timer on my camera, I arrainged and captured my favorite selfie of the trip-- me in motion as I ran toward the camera center after climbing quickly up the rock face in the bottom of the photo.

After an hour more of climbing, I decided to push on. A brochure in the ranger station mentioned a famous slot canyon called Little White Horse close-by but with a very threatening sky above-- I thought it foolish to head to a slot canyon. So I drove on to Arches. Sky darkening-- bad for narrow slot hiking.

Comments

Day 41 - Escalante Coyote Gulch

This one or two night Coyote Gulch hike was an easy test of my newly learned navigation skills. Anxious to get started I awoke at 545 just as the sun was rising. I followed an obvious landmark, a tall thin spire called Chimney Rock, northwest to Hurricane Wash (a drainage running into Coyote Gulch). After a couple of hours of walking up over and around slick rock, I entered the famous Coyote Gulch. The walls around me raised up, darkened and th water flow increased--like nature hinting at the scenic beauty ahead. The normally crowded Coyote Gulch was fairly empty on this early Thursday morning, giving the canyon a very peaceful and quiet feeling-- fragile almost. Down steam, I ran into the famous Jacob Hamilton Arch and then thirty minutes further-- the Coyote Natural Birdge. Both were beautiful due to their see through the wall character, but both would be overshadowed in my memory by the Stevens Arch tomorrow. Pics. By 1pm, I had hiked for six hours...

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon. The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion. Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4. The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...

Day 57 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Ever since I decided to go west for my big trip, I had dreamed of high mountain lakes with snowy peaks arching in every direction, with chilly air making every moment crisp, and with clear skies bringing all into perfect focus-- pure bliss. Today was the first of many great mountain lake days to come. Hiking here was far easier here than in the San Juans because the snow was packed down on the trail, but I brought my mini crampons for the downhill. I made it safely past a narrow ridge with narly black peaks across the gorge (pic 1), then up to Mills Lake (pic 2) then Jewel Lake then the Loch (pic 3) then down before the afternoon rain started falling. I hiked around some lower, more accessible lakes but the sky was now overcast and pictures no good. I drove up the open portion of the Ridge road amid a very light dusting of snow before heading back to camp for dinner and bedtime. I did manage to capture some fine Elk grazing in a meadows on the return trip and a g...

Road Trip Daily

Search This Blog