The Cockscomb and Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

We move only about 40 miles west along Highway 12 to a new campsite near Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah.  To the north, the Pink Cliffs dominate the skyline marking the most beautiful, in my opinion, national park in the state - Bryce Canyon.  We have been to Bryce a couple of times in the past, so we will focus on some hikes and sites down the Cottonwood Canyon Road.  It is a lot colder here at night because we are in a basin (as the state park name implies) and all of the cold air is funneled into this valley.  Bryce is over 9,000 and usually has snow by this time of year (it's been a warmer than usual fall this year), and the ridges surrounding us are also quite high.  It dips below freezing every night, but we are cozy inside with lots of blankets and our propane heater.  Grady has taken to sleeping under the covers with me; he doesn't emerge until just before sunrise.

Looking north up The Cockscomb

The 46-mile Cottonwood Canyon Road follows a geological feature called the "Cockscomb" and is encompassed in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  These strange rocks form a serrated ridge from north to south for many miles, rising about 70 to 100 feet on about a 45 degree angle.  The rock colour is mostly a golden brown.  To the west of the road, another ridge angles up along a fault line very similar to that in the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park.  Some of these rocks are at almost 90 degrees and are white, red, pink, purple and yellow representing different minerals, mostly iron oxide and manganese.  Park rangers call this area candyland because many spires are white with pink or red striping.  The canyon is stunning and we find it hard to drive and watch the scenery.  Cottonwood Creek runs alongside the dirt road (just regraded last week, thank goodness and it is a very good surface with very little washboard right now) providing a water haven for many birds and animals, not to mention the huge cottonwood trees for which this canyon is named.  It must be beautiful here when the leaves are changing colour; now the trees are naked.

Marilyn standing under an alcove in
Cottonwood Canyon Narrows

 

Along the drive, we stop at the Cottonwood Canyon Narrows and hike its 1.5 miles.  We start in the north where the canyon walls are only about 200 feet high, but at the southern end the walls have grown to almost 500 feet and are very impressive.  This canyon doesn't have the colours of others, nor extreme narrows as in slot canyons, but it is a pretty hike and we meet another couple from Flagstaff, Arizona with whom we share our slot canyon experiences.  Further south, we climb a 4x4 road to the top of the Cockscomb, and let me tell you, this is a frightening adventure indeed.  The road (remember, nothing is paved out here!) is very steep and winds up the hills at unbelievable grades.  (A typical highway grade through a mountain pass is usually 6% although we've seen 9%.  I don't doubt some of the grades on this little road are 15%!)  We stop along a narrow ridge half-way up to get some photos and Brad decides he wants to drive to the top.  I can't imagine where a road has been built looking up the cliffs, but up we go around some hairpin turns with steep dropoffs and boulders jutting up in our path.  I realize that I am gripping the door handle so tightly that my knuckles are white and every muscle in my arm is tense.  At a couple of turns I actually close my eyes just willing the drive to be over.  It's hard to put your life in someone else's hands.  Brad is having fun!  At the top and on the backside of this ridge (so no great view afterall!) there is a gate so we decide to turn around.  (The gate is probably to keep cattle on the other side and to prevent them from leaping over the cliff.)  Now we have to make the terrifying journey down, although it's actually better than going up for some reason (maybe because I don't worry about slipping backwards even though we're in four-wheel drive), and we survive although I am stress-eating peanuts all the way.  But it IS an amazing view of the Cockscomb.

We make a quick visit to Grosvenor Arch, a pretty, photogenic double arch.  Surprisingly, here there is a paved trail from the parking lot to the arch which is only a few hundred yards.

Grosvenor Arch at sunset

Marilyn in the Willis Creek Narrows

In the Willis Creek Narrows, a hike on the Skutumpah Road, we find water running in the creek, which is unusual in this dry climate.  Because we are actually hiking in the wash, we have to cross the creek numerous times along this 2 mile journey.  In a couple of spots, we throw rocks into the creek to make a stepping-stone bridge because it is fairly deep, and there is ice along the sides and where the water isn't flowing as quickly.  Cheers to hiking boots which keep our feet warm and dry.  These canyon walls also lack the colour of others, but the texture of the rock is interesting with ripples going in several different directions.  A group of cowboys on horses pass us as we eat lunch in the sun (canyons are cold because the rocks hold the low temperature and they're mostly always in the shade) - such a typical west scene.  As we hike back, we realize that the water level of the creek is several inches lower as the rocks we threw in are now almost entirely exposed.  We theorize that the creek source might freeze overnight, then melt in the morning sun releasing a heavier flow until midday.

Marilyn crossing our "rocky" bridge on the way in (deeper water)

Vehicle wedged in the Bull Valley Gorge - road is on top!

Two miles past Willis Creek, we find another canyon with a trail along the top edge of it.  This is Bull Valley Gorge and it is very deep and narrow.  The road crosses this gorge (a span of 15-20 feet) but not with a bridge - it looks like the construction crew just threw a bunch of big stuff into the gorge until it all wedged tight and then they put gravel and dirt on top.  We can see not only huge boulders, but a truck!!! wedged into the gorge about 30-40 feet under the roadway.  A truck!  We don't know if the truck fell in by accident of if it was tossed in on purpose but what a story it would be either way.  We walk only a short way along the trail as it's getting late in the afternoon and we don't know how far this trail is or if it descends into the gorge; we will save it for another day.

Yellow Rock and The Box hike we decide to access from the south end of Cottonwood Canyon Road, so we decide to move to Kanab which is almost on the Arizona border.  Hopefully, it will be warmer there too.

(... the next day...) Uh-oh - how quickly plans change.  Our drive to Kanab takes us through Bryce Canyon National Park (a definite favourite), and we can't resist its charms and beauty.  We stop here for a couple of days first.

Hole in the Rock Road, Escalante, Utah

Escalante [es-cah-lahn’-tay] is Spanish for climbing and provides a very appropriate name for Utah's gem the "Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument".  This vast area of almost 2 million square miles begins along the Utah-Arizona border in southern Utah and climbs steadily but slowly "up the staircase" to the Aquarius Plateau north of the town of Escalante.  Much of the landscape is slickrock (rolling hills of sandstone), grassy plains and sand.  We are camped very near the Straight Cliffs which run north to south and are almost a perfectly straight line of white and green striped rock and vegetation providing an interesting background to our (free) campsite.

Hole in the Rock Road was engineered by the Mormon settlers who traveled from Cedar City in Utah's southwest to establish the settlement of Bluff in southeast Utah.  (See my Blog titled "No Bluffing".)  It is now a fairly decent dirt and gravel road with lots of good ol' washboard, but certainly passable (we just plug in the iPod and turn up the volume so we don't hear the groaning of the truck!).  The road ends at Hole in the Rock on what is now Lake Powell; but of course, Lake Powell (a reservoir dammed by the Glen Canyon Dam and used to generate hydro electric power) didn't exist in the 1880s when the Mormons made the trek and their route was blasted down into the valley that is now underwater.  The journey from Highway 12 just outside of the town of Escalante is about 50 bumpy miles; we drive only half of this distance to a day hiking area.

While camped in this vicinity we explore Calf Creek Falls, Hell's Backbone Road including Posey Lake, Devil's Garden, Peek-a-boo and Spooky Slots, and Zebra and Tunnel Slots.

Lower Calf Creek Falls

Calf Creek flows in a canyon along the west side of scenic Highway 12 below what is known as "The Hogback", a thin razorback ridge falling steeply on both sides of the roadway providing amazing views east and west.  Calf Creek is one of very few creeks in Utah that has water perennially.  We hike to the Lower Falls, a 6-mile round trip inside the canyon.  The hike itself is okay but not as beautiful as many Utah canyons.  But the falls are magical.  The trail ends at a sandy "beach" where pines provide shade and a deep blue-green pool invites swimmers in the hot summer (but not today).  The water falls 126 feet over sandstone in three stages.  The top section falls into a pool which then turns right (when looking up) and falls onto a ledge where the water then cascades over the smooth rock at the bottom where green moss and algae are growing.  The thunder is enormous and even from across the pool (probably 100 feet) we are feeling the water spray and wind which the falls is creating.  It is a cherished reward for the long hike and we have lunch here despite the coolness.

Rock face on Hell's Backbone Road near Escalante

Hell's Backbone Road turns west from Highway 12 only a few miles south of the town of Boulder.  Unfortunately, this dirt road and scenic byway is very disappointing, winding for miles up and down through pine forest (pretty, but nothing spectacular) until we reach Hell's Backbone Bridge where the bridge spans a thin section of rock between two deep canyons - Box-Death Hollow Wilderness Area to the west and Sand Creek to the east.  The existing bridge was rebuilt in 2006 for the second time since 1933 when an original wooden bridge was constructed.  The canyons here show jagged rock cliffs coloured yellow, pink and white dotted with evergreen trees and shrubs.  Amazingly, we can stand on the very edge of these cliffs and look straight down to the bottom of the canyon hundreds of feet below - no guard rails are used anywhere!  I am getting much more accustomed to peering over these precipices although it makes Brad nervous, even though he does it too just to get that perfect photo.  We take a very short side trip north to Posey Lake which is in the Dixie National Forest.  This "lake" is no more than a big pond but popular with local fishermen in the summer because it is stocked with fish.  Right now, it is half-covered with ice thanks to the freezing temperatures at night!  We eat lunch in the picnic area watching the local Coot population (black ducks) feed, fight and preen, and enjoying the solitude - we are alone except for a park ranger who chats with us for 10 minutes.  The road continues its loop and ends in the town of Escalante.  At this end of the road, the rock walls are deep gold, yellow, pink, orange and red; much more scenic to us than the forested area.

At Devil's Garden, we wander amongst strange hoodoos and arches formed in the soft orange sandstone.  There is a heavy concentration of these formations within a small geographic area.

Marilyn beside hoodoos at Devil's Garden

Marilyn climbing into Peek-a-boo Slot Canyon

 From Hole in the Rock Road, we explore four slot canyons during two single-day hikes.  The furthest in are Peek-a-boo and Spooky, causing us to drive 26 miles down the bumpy road and another 2 miles on a 4x4 road.  Peek-a-boo Slot is a real challenge!  We must climb up a 12-foot vertical wall in order to get up into this "hanging" canyon.  Finger and toe-holds carved into the sandstone help but are spaced for a man's long legs and Brad has to boost me up.  It's very scary, hanging onto a wall 12 feet above the sand and rock floor, but once up inside the slot, I am exhilarated simply because I made it!  But the obstacles continue.  More climbing and balancing on narrow protrusions is required to get into the prettiest part of this slot.  Huh!  I can do anything now!  The sandstone walls are incredibily orange and smoothed by eons of erosion.  Near the slot entrance is a double arch which requires a lot of photo-taking.  We easily hike to the end of the slot and have another great picnic lunch, then decide to find the back end (exit) of Spooky Slot by going across the slickrock as our photography guidebook directs.  No problem!

Brad inside Peek-a-boo Slot Canyon

Marilyn in a tight squeeze in Spooky Slot Canyon

Spooky is a very narrow slot at the end and we are just able to squeeze between the rippling walls.  At many points, my butt and gut are touching opposite walls; I have to carry the backpack in front of me.  Thankfully, the canyon widens towards the entrance which we exit.  What fun!  You can tell I'm not claustrophobic; some of our friends wouldn't be able to do this hike because it is very confining and I wondered once or twice if I might get stuck.

Brad inside Zebra Slot Canyon

Zebra is another beautifully striped sandstone slot, as its name implies.  It is even more narrow than Spooky, and I don't fit through this one!  Being all alone on this particular hike, we dump our packs in a wide part of the slot canyon and head in.  I squeeze through to a narrow section where I have to arch my back to contour to the rock wall, but it's a no-go!  My feet are turned 90 degrees to my body, my right foot to the right, my left foot to the left, and with each itty bitty step I try to take, my knees complain!  While I might be able to force my body through, my knees won't agree to the angles my feet are taking.  I go back and try turning my feet in the same direction, but the result is the same.  I go back, defeated.  Sleak Brad squeezes through without any hesitation.  Bugger!  He goes in and takes photos while I eat lunch sitting in the sand outside the slot.  I later read that others who can't squeeze through chimney themselves up to a higher elevation on the wall using their hands to push themselves along.  My arms and shoulders are already sore from Peek-a-boo yesterday!

Moqui Marbles on checkerboard slickrock

Again, we head cross-country from Zebra to find Tunnel Slot in order to avoid backtracking about 1.5 miles.  Using our guidebook and our GPS, we easily find the slot (thanks to my superior navigation skills!) as well as other interesting formations along the way: the orange and white rock walls are beautifully striped; the slickrock on which we're walking has a fabulous checkerboard pattern common to this area's white sandstone; and the most curious are black ball bearings called "Moqui Marbles" which are strewn about in groups on these slickrock hills.  These marbles are iron oxide concretions of sandstone encased in a hard outer shell of hematite and goethite (GUR-tite).  They range in size from peas to baseballs, most being perfectly round but others resembling oval spaceships.  Moqui Marbles are entombed in the Navajo Sandstone walls and eventually weather out as the soft rock erodes.  It is believed that local native tribes used these stones for healing and spiritual purposes.  Moqui means "dead" in the Hopi native language.

Brad in Tunnel Slot which is full of water

We have to scale down the steep slickrock to drop into Tunnel Canyon's exit.  The floor here is about 10-15 feet wide and sandy with many chokestones blocking our path, so we have to do quite a bit of scrambling.  We encounter a pool of water and Brad finds out the hard way that it is surrounded by quicksand - sand with pockets of water underneath.  He doesn't disappear, but does sink into the mushy sand several inches.  As we head towards the slot itself, we realize that it is full of water.  A close look reveals that the water is deep - too deep to wade through as we can't see the bottom.  But the slot is very interesting with an almost closed top although the roof walls don't actually touch, they overlap giving the appearance of a tunnel.  The discovery of the water means that we can't exit through Tunnel Slot's entrance into the wash where we can easily navigate our way back to the truck.  Retracing our steps to Zebra Slot and then back through Harris Wash to our trail will be about one mile.  From the slickrock above Tunnel Slot, I can see the trail where we need to be - it's right there!  But how to get off this rock towering above the wash!  We try heading straight for our trail, but that leads us to a cliff drop of about 50 feet.  We're not going this way.  We head towards Zebra Slot and miraculously find a gentle slope down to the wash where we're within 1/4 mile of our trail.  What luck!  I think Brad doubted we could do it, but I'm always game to find that alternative.  I knew we weren't lost - we could always retrace our steps using the GPS.  Maybe I'm just over-confident in my navigation skills and one day that will get us into trouble.  Well, we survived to tell this tale...