Utah 2018

After fleeing the unseasonably cold and wet weather that hit Calgary in late September- our first morning in the Utah desert, at a familiar camp spot below the San Rafael Swell.

Topped off with gas, water, and of course- Green River melons, we left the pavement behind for two days in the San Rafael desert, starting with Moonshine Wash.

As is often the case- hiking Moonshine begins with a short walk down a wash before descending into the canyon, where easy walking is interrupted by down climbs of up to 3m high.

Most of the drops are actually pretty easy for a fit hiker, as long as one trusts the grippy sandstone. Fortunately- everything was bone dry after a long hot summer.

Being a bit dynamic is required on a couple of the moves!

Done with the obstacles, and walking under the historic sheep bridge spanning the narrows.

With the entertaining part of the canyon over with, we relaxed for a bit and decided to return up the narrows, rather than climb out and loop around on the desert above. Climbing back up doubled the fun!

A flat tire on the road south from Green River had us reconsidering our plans, as we were left with no spare in lightly travelled country. Nonetheless we turned off on the side road leading to the much more remote Colonnade Arch trailhead.

A sunset walk after much needed solar showers, on what turned out to be the warmest day of our trip.

After waking up to overcast skies and a light shower, the clouds lifted a bit and we did the easy hike north to Colonnade Arch, passing this much smaller opening after leaving the old vehicle track.

The Green River and Labyrinth Canyon.

Multiple openings give Colonnade it's other name- "Five Hole Arch".

There is plenty of scope for further exploration at Colonnade, but with tire issues and threatening skies- we pulled the plug on continuing the hike out to Bowknot Bend. After cautious driving on the 60 km out to pavement, and then into Hanksville- we got the verdict on repairing the damaged tire- not good! A couple hours of research and phone calls coupled with a forecast of rain led to a change in our route, which had been towards Upper Muley Twist. Instead- we would go west through Capitol Reef to Bicknell the following afternoon, for new tires all around.

The domes of Capitol Reef, at a favourite camp spot near the Notom road.

The rain held off long enough for morning coffees under the cottonwoods, before we hit the road west.

By the time we entered Capitol Reef, it was raining steadily, which helped bring out the colors in the surrounding walls.

With time to kill in the rain- we visited a couple of pictograph panels, the visitor centre, and Fruita where we picked apples from the old orchards.

After lunch- the rain tapered off, and we hiked the east end of Cohab Canyon, and then out to the two Fruita viewpoints, which we had never been to before.

The sand and rock trail was fine in wet conditions, compared to the clay hills that mark the other end of Cohab Canyon above the campground.

View into Cohab Canyon.

Ledge walking off-trail to connect the two Fruita viewpoints.

From the west viewpoint- more rain moving in but overall- a clearing trend was in the works. Late in the afternoon- $1000 CAD lighter but with renewed confidence in our tires, we drove over Boulder Mountain through fog and cold (thus no fall foliage pictures) and set up camp at Deer Creek.

Waking up at Deer Creek. A nice campsite, but on a cool damp morning- a bit lacking in sun.

Back on our planned route- we decided to explore the sandstone ridges above Deer Creek to the south of the campground.

The rock is here is largely pale, but has some interesting features.

Wanting to continue further south, we searched around for a viable route across Deer Creek. After a few false leads we found one that involved a fair bit of bushwhacking, but then decided instead to loop around back to our parking spot via a different route.

A nice splash of color!

Another version, because gnarly trees.

Ridgetop views of Boulder Mountain at left, and Deer Creek below to the right.

After hike refreshments with my life-long partner in adventures. Hard to believe that we celebrated our 40th anniversary this summer!

Moving on- we spent an "exciting" (actually, scary at times) night camped near Spencer Flats, enduring five intense and very close-by lightning and hail storms, before things quietened down in the wee hours and we were able to get some sleep. Daylight brought clearing skies and breakfast in the sun.

Our destination for the day was a dome that I've heard called "The Glacier", and a pictograph panel below it. On approach- the ascent ridge running from left to right looked overly steep, but as seen here in profile later on, after completing our loop over the top- it is only moderately angled.

Easy hiking, by following ledges and ramps on the solid rock.

Great views south beyond the Escalante River canyon at middle distance- to faraway Fifty Mile Mountain.

Approaching the summit block.

Sheltering from the wind behind the summit, we found an interesting area of small hoodoos and eroded formations.

Travel was straightforward down the long south ridge, with a few short detours around minor escarpments.

Our route down the nose of the ridge terminated in a short steeper pitch, but firm rock and some routefinding got us down easily.

Circling back north below the slopes that we had previously descended.

Here- the best examples of the pictographs found along the cliff face.

Sandstone tapestry.

We moved camp a few km down the road for the next two nights, to a location with more shelter if a storm was to roll in. No worries- we enjoyed a peaceful night, and another sunny breakfast while waiting for our friends Larry and Karen to arrive from Escalante.

We had hiked Bighorn canyon a couple of years ago, but having seen my photos- Larry and Karen were keen as they had never been. Bighorn was well worth a repeat visit, especially as it was only a short distance further out on the road that we were camped along.

A short distance in- the most publicized directions to bypass a high pour off require either a steep downclimb, or a scramble in a rubble filled chute. Further left though- we found an easy walking route down a sandstone bowl leading back into the drainage.