My Recent Trip to Utah

I recently returned from a trouble-free camping trip to southern Utah. I camped at Kodachrome Basin State Park which, for those of you who do not know, got its name from a National Geographic visit in 1948 when the explorers were impressed with its colorful geology and photogenic properties. The name was later changed to Chimney Rock State Park due to concerns about copyright infringement, but Eastman Kodak later granted permission to use the name "Kodachrome". My campsite was in Bryce View Loop, no hookups and very pleasant.

I stopped on the way in Arizona for a short hike to Horseshoe Bend, on the Colorado River just south of Page. The first picture is of that landmark.

In Utah I drove up a 40 mile dirt road named "Cottonwood Canyon Road". Very scenic but also very rough in places with some very steep ups and downs. The truck and trailer handled this ok, but everything was on the floor in the trailer when I arrived at Kodachrome. The second picture is the Cottonwood Canyon Narrows along this road. The road looks good here, but there is a very steep, rough patch at the end and my wheels were slipping a bit, even in 4-wheel drive.

The third picture shows one of the many "chimneys" in the park. These features are "sandpipes" and are believed to be unique to this park.

The fourth picture is one view from my campsite, and you can see more of these chimneys.

The most impressive one, though, was just east of the park, all by itself in the plain. This is "Chimney Rock" and it is 170 feet tall! You can drive right up to it.

Then, about 12 miles back down Cottonwood Canyon Road, you can visit Grosvenor Arch, one of many stone arches in this part of Utah. You can walk right up to it on a paved path, about 1/2 mile long, that leads from the parking area. It is a double arch, about 150 feet high, and was named for the first full-time editor of the National Geographic magazine.

More in the next post.

- Jack

If you're still with me, I attempted to take a hike through Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons, I wasn't successful, but I'll show you what I DID do anyway. The trailhead is about 22 miles down "Hole in the Rock Road", east of Escalante, which is near the northern end of Grand Staircase National Monument. The first picture is near the first part of the trail, very "exposed".

But then, you drop down into Dry Fork Wash, another slot canyon that's between 1/2 miles to 3/4 miles long. The next two pictures are inside that wash. The fourth picture shows the exit of the wash and the walls are quite high here.

The fifth picture is the entrance to Peekaboo. This was up a nearly vertical rock face to the opening in the shadows at the top and was more risk than I felt able to do. There ARE a couple hand and foot holds on the wall, but they are badly weathered and I did not feel safe to make the 12 foot scramble. Sad, because I really wanted to go in there, and it's a one-way trip into Peekaboo, then into Spooky.

So, I walked on down to the exit of Spooky and that's what you see in the next to last picture. I DID go under the rock into the canyon, but then would have had to slither on my belly through the next opening pushing my pack and camera ahead of me, going against traffic if anyone was coming out. So, I stopped there.

However, I met up with the pretty, 2-foot long rattlesnake you see in the last picture, near the exit, so the trip wasn't a total loss. It was rattling constantly, telling me to not come too close.

Overall, it was about a 5 mile hike and I was a bit tired afterwards.

More in the next post.

- Jack

That night, I had a rather beautiful sunset, that I took a picture of. I thought you might enjoy it as well.

Have you guessed I like slot canyons? The next day I took a stroll through Willis Creek Narrows, which is about 15 miles west of Kodachrome. The first picture is where the narrows really starts, at a small waterfall and then the next ones are along the canyon. It goes in and out of narrow spaces for about 2 miles. It's quite an easy walk, very level, but you DO have to cross the creek many times, so your feet get a bit wet. I love the shapes of the rock walls.

The last picture is one of the exits of a "narrows" portion.

Different subject next.

- Jack

One of the most photographed features in this area is the Lower Calf Creek Falls. It is at the northern end of Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument and you get to it by hiking 6 miles round trip. Sadly, much of it is through very fine, deep sand, so it is kind of a demanding hike. It also goes up and down all the way, and I hate going "up". Still, I love waterfalls, so I did it. These are pictures I took along the route and at the falls.

The walls of the canyon on the way to the falls are quite high and the patterns on the rock are very beautiful to my eyes. In the second picture, I show you a beaver pond that is along the way. There was a male and female Mallard duck in the pond.

The falls themselves are rather spectacular. They are about 120 feet high and cascade down the rock face at the end of the box canyon. You get right to the base of the falls and people swim in the pool at the base. In fact, a middle-aged woman stripped down to her underwear and went in. It looked much too cold to me, so I didn't try that.

Utah has some impressive rock formations in this part of the State, and the next to last picture is one I photographed on the way back from the falls.

The last picture is of a "grainery" (grain storage place) that was made by the Native Americans about 1,000 years ago. It is near the center bottom of the picture, just at the top edge of the lighter rock layer. It looks like "brickwork" in a beehive shaped cave. You can't tell from the picture, but it is probably at least 100 feet above the valley floor, and would have been a long fall for anyone getting to it. These are the same people that made the "cliff dwellings" that are seen throughout the southwest.

I was really tired after this hike!

- Jack

But, if you can stand it, I did another hike into another slot canyon - at the Cottonwood Canyon Narrows. Along the dirt road I drove up to Kodachrome on. This one was dry and again, quite "civilized" with few difficult spots.

The first picture shows the entrance to the canyon, to the west of the dirt road and then the next four are inside the canyon itself. The last one of these shows a shallow, but very tall cave that is being hollowed out on the right wall of the canyon. If I can come back in about a million years, it might have become an arch!

I overnighted both ways at the Whaweap Campground near Page on the banks of Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon Dam. The last picture shows the water level behind the dam, and you can see how low it is. This area is really suffering from the prolonged drought.

Whaweap Campground is fine, if you like having other campers very close to you. They have both full hookup and "dry" sites and they take reservations.

Anyway, that was my trip. I enjoyed it and am glad to share it with you. The new LiFePO4 battery system with solar worked perfectly.

- Jack

Beautiful pictures.

Glad you had a trouble free trip. I got tired reading about your hikes. Thanks for posting. Something to keep us going in the cold North at 47*

Jack, thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures of your Utah trip, it must have been an awesome camping trip!!
BTW, nice post on the Lithium Battery conversion.

Thank you both for your kind words. Sam, I commented to a somewhat younger woman that I met on the trip to the falls that, "I was too old for this," or something to that effect. She replied, "But you're out here!"

That just about sums it up. You gotta keep on movin', if you plan to stay alive.

Angel, I think the LiFePO4 conversion is working very well so far. Of course it's still quite new and I may discover things I don't like about it, but I'm really optimistic.

- Jack

magnificent

Thanks for the share of your Hi-Lo Outing.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Jack

For sharing the photos. I love the west and south west, but it’s a long drive/tow from South Carolina. My daughter and I flew to cali in early May so I could let her see the super waterfalls after a record snow fall season in the Sierra. Mid week in the park was fine, I love staying in Curry Village.
Maybe next spring I will hitch up the 2203T and head for Moab and Arches for a long road trip!
Tom

Thanks for sharing your adventures and all the great photos! I used to live in Utah and New Mexico and miss being able to explore there. (We now live in Tennessee). That sunset shot is spectacular! The best sunsets are in the southwest!!!

Marissa

Wow! Beautiful!