Saturday, April 16, 2016

A tale of dirty slots, busted knuckles, and personal redemption! Part III

Part III


     We left spooky and hiked back to the trucks; dreams of a greasy burgers sizzling in our minds. At this point we had surpassed the twelve mile mark on foot and we were definitely ready for anything that wasn't dehydrated. The only obstetrical that remained was the waiting mileage on the muddy, washboard road back to Escalante. After procuring our burgers, we headed over to the Escalante Petrified forest state park to camp and take a well deserved shower. The next morning, we packed up camp and had breakfast in town, before heading to calf creek falls trail head. 

     Gateway to Calf Creek


     The entire trip, Coltin attempted to scare me, the best he did was startle me once or twice.





          Desert Beauty














     Shannon, Coltin and Chris at went swing and that water couldn't og been more than 40 degrees!
















     Six miles later, we made it back to the trucks and headed to Ceder City and tomorrow Kanarraville Falls. On the way we stopped by Bryce canyon for some photos.

























     Reach.


     The final mountain range we crossed, was covered in snow and it obviously wasn't aware spring had already sprung. We got into Ceder City just before eight P.M. and settled into our hotel. The rain was still coming down and all of our gear was still soaked from last night's heavy rain. We were so glad we climbed out of Coyote when we did. That much rain makes slick rock even more so! The next morning, we grabbed out free hotel breakfast and headed south to Kanarraville. Jeremy and I were the only ones to ever visit the falls, so the rest of our groups was excited to see it. It is only a little less than two miles to the lower falls, so this last hike brought our total miles to over twenty for the trip.

     Muddy road and trail.



     One of the many, run off chilled crossings, necessary to reach the falls.





     At the canyon opening, its time to forget being dry.



     It was about eleven when we made it to the falls and the water level, mud, and light made any photography a serious challenge. Early spring or after the run off is the best time if you want pictures.
     Here is a hand held 1.3 second exposure, not back considering I made the boneheaded move of leaving my tripod back at the truck.



     Here is a better shot, from earlier in the year.


     We all headed for home after making it back to the truck. Utah has such deserve weather and landscapes, so finding something to do all year long isn't difficult.

     Fin.