Well, here is the first installment on my summer of backpacking in Utah and Colorado. Because when people asked me how my summer went, I find that 1 sentence or less is not going to cut it. This doesn't mean that this will be boring by any means, but it will detail a lot so I suggest reading it when you have the time. Unfortunately it's a mass mailing, but if you'll recall last summer's email it was quite funny and pretty interesting according to all the feedback that I got.
Here goes with the background info...
I was working at the mortgage company in a Denver office when I realized that I couldn't spend my summer inside. (Most of you know that the last 8 years my summers are spent outside.) So I got an email from my friend Avram (Trek America alumni) who was going to spend his summer in Utah and Colorado backpacking. Decision made.
I was having a fun time in Colorado but if you know me well, you know that I'm not good at staying in one place too long. I think that my record for the past 9 years or so has been 9 months in any one place.
We left the middle of June for Great Sands Nat'l Park. Our first night there it snowed. I'm not sure of the elevation there but it lies right next to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and it's at least 7000 or so. So when I woke up to a winter wonderland I was shocked, excited, and cold. Everything had a layer of snow/ice over it, even the sand dunes. For a brief moment, I thought about leaving the place since this is not how I had thought of my summer. But you never know how things are going to turn out so I threw away my expectations and picked up my backpack. We only went out for one night but it was beautiful out on the dunes. Rolling around in the sand, swimming down the hills, no one around. This is Avram's favorite place in North America, as he will readily tell you, and I can see why... it's a big adult sand box. I'd go back in a minute.
After spending a couple of nights with John and Cathy (Avram's friends near Durango) we headed into Utah. The main goal of the trip was to do canyon hiking. Utah is world famous for this, but let's remember how hot the desert gets in the summer. Many people thought that we were crazy to be there in the summer, but as long as water is nearby... no worries. We started with Grand Gulch. Many of the places we went were mentioned in a book or places that we had heard of but never had the chance to explore. This was our first and only hike where water was scarce. We made a note to never hike where there wasn't a stream flowing because...day two we had to go searching for water when we only had about 1/4-1/2 a liter left. I was thirsty and tired and about 12 miles from a road. All we could find were little potholes of rock filled with water and bugs and slime and floating nature items. Where were the damn springs that were supposed to be flowing? Our map was either a big lie or we passed all the springs mentioned. So we went looking for water. We did find a big stagnant pool nearby but I knew it would clog my water filter in about 2 minutes. We tried anyway and that's when I realized that shifting mud often surrounds these ponds. Be careful because you might do what I did and... I tried to go around it to get a good spot to filter and Avram was behind me and the ground was sinking and I ended up with slimy mud slog up to my knees. I smelled like a sewer. It's a good thing that I could laugh at it all and it's a good thing that I don't mind being dirty because Avram was laughing his head off at the situation. Not only could we not find water to drink but I had stirred up the slimy water that we did find and now I needed water to drink and to clean myself off with. Oh well.
We finally did find water and had to thank the tadpoles and flies and mosquitos for letting us borrow their home. We promised to give it back in a slightly different form later.
This hike was about 25 miles or so and had a lot of Indian ruins. (If you don't know much about Utah, this was were the Anasazi people lived about 800+ years ago. They built their house near the rock walls of the area.) Red rock is everywhere and even though we don't see any animals, we don't see many people either. About 11 on our day walking out.
By now, I'm starting to remember what it's like to carry stuff on my back and not talk about my job anymore. I'm remembering what it's like when there is nature everywhere and you have to listen instead of talking all the time.
We decide to go to another area that I had heard of called Dark Canyon Wilderness Area near Lake Powell. This is where we encounter our greatest foe of the summer-- the dreaded squirrel of the canyon. So many people must camp in the beautiful area we did that this squirrel outsmarted us every day. He somehow managed to get into our food all 4 days. The last time he did, I had stacked big rocks over the food that was inside my metal pots. I admitted defeat but Avram wanted revenge so he nailed the big porkie with a rock to the back.
Aside from the squirrel, we hiked down a really steep rock hill into a beautiful canyon. We camped along the stream and just explored from camp. One day we walked down to Lake Powell which was really a river at the point that we met up with it and took out our $2 inflatable rafts. We floated around and laughed so hard since there was a real rafting boat nearby. We couldn't really do much in our rafts but the current was strong enough to take us quite a ways. I fought my way back to the swampy trail that took us back to camp. Dark Canyon isn't a narrow canyon but it has lots of places to explore. And if you're looking for spots to swim and do cliff/rock jumping, there are a lot of spots like that.
That was the end of the first two weeks of the trip. Betsy, my college roommate, was getting married so I headed back to Denver for that. Beautiful wedding. I had a great time seeing everybody over the weekend but I was ready to go back to Utah.
I'll continue... Susie
So, I left off with Denver...
When I picked Avram up in Telluride we stayed in civilization (i.e. we showered) for a day or so and then headed back to Utah. Thus began July. I had a total of 6 showers in July. You would think that I would start to mind my stink, but I didn't. I believe Avram had a hard time hiking behind me at times but he was no rosebud either.
July... We went to a spot west of Lake Powell for a week to go backpacking--the Paria Canyon. A friend of ours said that we must be communing with the gods. Well, I don't know about that but the gods were watching out for me. We walked in and this was the narrowest canyon that we had been in up until this point. At night, we could only see a narrow section of sky. And each day that it rained on us (nearly every day) was almost like a short shower to wake us up. At one point we had to push our way through a narrow passage as the wind resisted our entrance. So we followed along the bottom of the canyon and started seeing more and more pockets of water. A good thing. However, this also meant some muddy hiking. Some spots were suspect. You didn't know how stable the ground was. It was just a matter of time, we decided, until one of us sunk and fell.
I hope that most of you knew that person was not me. I was shaky a time or two but managed to stay on my feet with my shoes attached. Avram had the unfortunate bad luck. He got stuck, realized it too late and ended up on his hands and knees. Did I help him? No, I got out my camera between laughs and photographed the occasion. This is not heartless, I hope you realize, but rather a necessity. I couldn't barely do anything while I was laughing so hard. It took all my strength just to snap the photo. And it's a good thing that Avram didn't sink any more since I made him keep his hands and knees in the mud pose. Susie 1, Avram 0.
If you're not very familiar with canyons, it's important to camp up high in case there is a flash flood. The walls are narrow in many spots and you need to be high so that if the water gets funneled through, you are out of the way. Because this particular canyon extends about 40 miles or so north, you not only need to be concerned about the weather in your immediate area but also the weather up there. Our last day we saw some water about 6-8 inches high coming our way when the walls were only about 4 feet apart. This may not sound like much but this is how some flash floods start so... you'd think we might run and get the hell out of the way. No, I wanted to see it. It was fascinating the way it wove its way down the canyon and the sound of it echoing off the walls. Avram had the sense to start moving so I followed... reluctantly. Avram 1, Susie 1. We did get the see it spill out later near the confluence so my curiosity was satiated then. We found out later at the ranger's station that we did the right thing, the potential for problems was big. And besides, we had a big and exciting day just 14 hours before.
Sometimes at night, Avram and I would go on a walk to check out new places and walk off dinner. This particular night we wanted to see the Buckskin Canyon that we were supposed to hike out the next day. It was going to be a 12 mile hike and there might be some scambling up rocks, and things to check out. Well, we didn't get far before we saw that there were a lot of fun places to rock climb. Natural hand holds everywhere. Then, we came upon a spot where a large boulder blocked the canyon. You had to climb around it. We found a rock to climb up and once at the top, you had to climb down another route. I couldn't see Avram when I got on top and when I went to climb down another rock... oops. Somehow I slipped, maybe I lost my hand hold. Anyway, I whacked head on a big log or a rock. I didn't see the culprit so it's hard to say. I ended up upside down with my head stuck in a hole. You may be thinking "Gasp, shit that sounds scary" but no... I was thinking "How did this happen and how do I get out of this?" Avram found me and thankfully didn't reach for his camera. He actually helped me out. Avram 2, Susie 1. I guess I was bleeding pretty badly since Avram looked pretty serious. Not even laughing. Blood was dripping everywhere but I must have made a good sponge since most of it stuck to me. I kind of felt like I was in a horror movie without all the make up and cameras. It turns out that I didn't need any stitches though the next day, which made me happy. I can still claim to be stitch-free after all these years. It left me with a pretty good scab and now a nice scar. Ask and I'll show you.
That last episode makes the 3 snakes that we saw in the canyon not seem very exciting but we didn't see too much wildlife so I liked seeing them. All told, I believe that we saw 2 people in the Paria Canyon. It was nice to just wander around down there and explore different side canyons. Springs dripped out of the walls and the stars were beautiful. We even found a place to camp under a wall hang that made us feel like Anasazi.
Even though we didn't have a TV, we were pretty good about entertaining ourselves. Avram enjoyed the echoes of the canyon walls and decided to test them out... often... sometimes too often. We had mud fight day where we just hauled off and slung mud at each other. I got Avram in the ear (Slime that remained for over 6 weeks) and he got me in the eye. If you remember the nasty, slimy, bug-infested water that I mentioned in the last email, you will know the quality of the mud that was flying at each of us. Don't worry, we washed off after the last mudball was slung.
And at one stream crossing Avram decided to test how deep the stream got. Well, I think I photographed it when it reached his chin. He was carrying his day pack above his head. And then there was the time that the canyon acted as a wind funnel again and whipped loose sand all around us. It was like needles against your legs.
What did we eat? Pasta. Lots of it. Mostly tortellini. In fact, we got it down to a science and started adding fresh vegetables. And lots of oatmeal. I have never pooped so much in my life and I am so happy to have solid poops again. I don't think that I want to eat bagels with peanut butter for a while as that was a staple that I soon grew tired of.
This email is getting long so I'll write more later. Susie
I believe that I left off with my head dripping blood and a flash flood, which looked more like a flash stream coming our way...
I forgot to mention how we went to visit some friends who run a cowboy camp for Trek America. They weren't there at their camp along the river so we sat down and made our selves at home till they returned. However someone on the river was calling to us. We responded and when they realized that we weren't the 56 and 72 year olds that owned the place, they came up to see who we were. (Just a little bit of background for you... Mexican Hat is a town of ...oh, maybe 70 people or so. Maybe not that many. And these people who came up to visit us were the equivalent of royalty in the town. They owned the San Juan Inn, the only bar in miles, a hotel and a gift shop. I can only say that I wish I was wearing my Sunday best.) So were meet these nice people who end up feeding us and inviting us to be a part of their informal rafting trip on the river. We decide that this is the perfect opportunity to get out our $2 rafts and put them to good use again. Unfortunately, I soon figured out that there was a leak in mine so that I had to hold onto a rope from the raft through some class 3 rapids. It was a lot of fun.
So after the Paria Canyon trip, I went to take the most expensive shower of my life thus far at the hospital in Kanab. The nurse was trying to clean my head and trying to rub away all the dirt and dried blood. This was similar to the feeling you get when you are about 14 or 15 and your date for a movie incessantly rubs the same spot on your arm. Quickly it became annoying, and then painful. I offered the idea of the shower. She gladly got me a towel and some soap. The reason why I was so dirty and sand collected in piles on the Emergency room bed was because Avram and I hiked 12 miles to get to a point where we could catch a ride into town. By the time we got to the hospital, it was around 6 pm. Thus, no shower.
Well, luckily my head is hard. Mom was right all these years... I am hard-headed. So I didn't need any stitches because it was just an abrasion, a scrape. Yipee. Still stitch-free.
Now, we had another partner join the group for several days before exploring on his own-- John Scanlon. After being out backpacking for a while, we decided to explore some areas just for the day. We went and walked through the wave--- an area of rock formations with brillant colors. Because of wind erosion, there are lines of waves through the rock. It's a very delicate area that they don't want destroyed so only 14 people are allowed to go there a day. I thought the wave area looked like a big surf backdrop so I got a great picture of me surfing a rock.
Next, we headed for Zion National Park. This was a spot that I had traveled to many times before with Trek America but it was one of my favorite spots and there were more areas to explore that we wanted to check out, especially a hike called the Narrows. We did 2 day hikes before heading out to do the Narrows. It was raining and overcast which are not good signs for hiking in narrow canyons so we opted to do a hike to Overlook Pt. and got an incredible view of the whole valley. Next, we heard about a hike called the Subway. This was a hike that required a rope, or so everyone kept telling us, and it was my favorite hike in the park. We swam through cold pools of water in a narrow canyon that had a couple of natural rock water slides. It seemed like nature's water park to me. At the end of the really fun parts, John and Avram spotted a big rattlesnake. Since I was the last one in line, they wouldn't let me see and kept telling me to back up so I can't tell you how big it was or any details about it. John decided that he needed to move on since his trip wasn't concentrated in 2 states, but rather the western U.S. and even down to Baja.
Next was the narrows hike. 12 miles through a narrow canyon that has the Virgin River flowing through it. Unlike the previous canyon hikes that we did, this hike would be mostly hiking in the water which would range from your ankles to your waist. Many people used a walking stick for balance. Avram decided to use his stick as an imaginary canoe paddle. (Anything for amusement) It was beautiful but we weren't used to so many people. I bet that we saw 30 people before we got about 2 miles from the end. Avram's favorite part of this wasn't the hike itself. I think he enjoyed one of the goodies that the ranger gave us when he gave us the permit to hike. We received one complimentary pooping bag, i.e. the Reststop 2. This goes along with the philosophy of everything that you carry in, you have to carry out. They don't want floaters in the river or in the ground that might get washed away with the rain, so they want you to carry your own feces. Fair enough, this hike gets a lot of traffic and there aren't any port-a-potties. But this isn't just an ordinary bag. There are enzymes inside that start breaking down your waste as soon as they come in contact. And of course they zip lock and have inner bags so that there's no leaking. Pretty nifty.
Time to escape from the crowds...We headed east towards The Grand Staircase/Escalante (the area that Bill Clinton preserved) and went for 4 nights down into a place called Coyote Gulch. I wanted to start us out right and since Avram was so kind as to sink into the mud first in the Paria Canyon, I decided that it was my turn to sink first. I did such a good job of sinking in the mud/quicksand that I ended up getting all the way up to my crotch. Only one leg was occupied but Avram enjoyed it a lot. It took me a minute to realize that I couldn't get out by myself. As soon as I would dig away the mud to lift my leg out, it would fill back in. Avram put aside his desire to collect this memory on photograph and helped me out. Avram 3, Susie 1.
My favorite campsite was where we put the tent on this rock overhang that stuck about 10 feet over the stream bed. There was a waterfall nearby our camp so Avram headed off for a shower and found that the waterfall also acted as a great bidee with great cleansing capacity if you just sat down on a rock in front of it. After another day of mud fights, we explored up into Stephens canyon. We found some really sinkable mud here and I found out that Tevas don't perform so well under the weighty pressure of mud up to your thighs. My strap broke. Avram enjoyed playing cobbler/wilderness guru and fixed it in no time. And remember the Reststop 2? The high-tech pooping bag? Well, I saved mine. I decided to use it on this hike since we would be hiking in and out the same way. I used it on day 1 of the hike and wanted to see what would happen if it was left out in the sun until day 4. (The bag was silver) This was my little science experiment. I wish science in school had been this fun. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of opening up the bag to check it on day 4 and it REAKED. Those enzymes sure do stink. Last time I make that mistake.
to be continued...
Susie
Click here for Susie's second three installments.
Back to www.oocities.org/avramfox ; Avram's home page.