Day 36 - Escalante Rainy Mesa Hike

The forecast for the day was all day rain-- a highly unusual and not great condition for this desert environment. We hiked up to the top of the Mesa (top of canyon wall) while practicing our slick rock waking technique. We put on our rain gear, read our maps and hiked up to the Mesa top where Andrew and Alan instructed us on magic of compass reading and route finding.

Two basic skills were needed-- 1 how to find a bearing or direction on a map by matching your intended bearing with true north on the map (align side of compass between two points on map then turn compass until true north lines on compass are aligned with true north lines on map) and then 2 how use that bearing in the field using magnetic north (by putting the red compass needle in its red box or red in shed) in order see where in the field terrain you are heading. The other key was once you had that heading to read the terrain to avoid dropoff cliffs or walk on easier terrain like slick rock not sand. The bearing gave you an approximate target but you had to read the terrain to take the straightest but most efficient path. As a group, we navigated to a high point along the horizon at one bearing, stopped for a snack, and then navigated on another bearing to our exit area down to the river. The clouds looked threatening and serous the entire day but we luckily didn't get poured on much during the hike.

Expert canyon hiker Alan Dixon led us safely down the red Kayenta rock to the The Gulch creek where we were met with a muddy, silty water. Low on water, we filled up our bottles in hope that the silt would settle to the bottom. We had a lesson on tarp setups and a group cuddle under a tarp during a short rain pour. Looking at the forecast for up to a half inch of rain, we decided to hike up to a ridge area to avoid flash flood dangers. The campsite vista was beautiful but the thin layer of sand on top hard rock made anchoring tarps very hard-- we had to wrap the tarp lines around our stakes and place big rock over them. My tarp has eight lines making this process tedius, but the vista still made me jump for joy.

With camp setup, we made a hearty Polenta dinner and ate under an overhang as the rain fell. Needing a boost, we then made a campfire, exchanged stories and bonded a bit as a group before retiring under our maybe secure tarps for the forecasted night of rain and wind.

Comments

Day 51 - Canyonlands Needles Pt 3

A deep connection to the nature surrounding you comes from the solitude of solo travel, but sometimes it is nice to have a companion! I ran into David, a retired telecom exec from Canada a few days ago on the Syncline Loop trail at Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Then I ran into him again halfway through my Chesler Park hike two days ago, then again later in the hike, finishing the last two miles together. David hiked his favorite trail, the Peekaboo trail yesterday, and said I could join him, but my heart was set on confluence trail, so we hiked separately. We did share a campsite though and exchanged travel stories. David was 55 and had retired at 50 from a high-level international job with Nortel and was now traveling full-time. We instantly bonded over our solo travel style. He outclassed me by leagues. He had trekked one month in Nepal, then another month in India, then some months in Asia. He had hiked and skied and adventured all over the western U.S. and Canada....

Day 40 Escalante Hole-in-the-Rock Road

I woke up late following a lovely slumber in a REAL bed-- such a luxury. I stayed in bed reading my maps and guidebooks, trying to put a plan together for the next months travels. I decided I would spend two more weeks in Utah and add on two weeks in western Colorado instead of spending all four weeks in Utah-- I was starting to tire of the desert and Colorado seemed like a good mix of backcountry beauty and civilization proper. The last must do in Escalante was Coyote Gulch, so I read and reread the route description in my guidebook and went to the visitor center to get my permit. I was going to do a loop down Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River and then up Crack-in-the-Wall overland back to my car. Permit in hand, I lingered by the Outfitters wifi emailing and blogging and then drove out Hole-in-the-rock road forty miles to my trailhead. The road was dirt but well graded in most parts. A high-clearance vehicle was recommended for the last five miles but my Dodg...

Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Road Trip Daily

Search This Blog