The Outdoorsy Girl's Travel and Adventure Blog: Southern Utah Trip 2004, Part 3

June 24, 2004
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon, Utah

Within just a few minutes this of writing this, I will be falling asleep, though it is early for me. (9:15 p.m.) It has been yet another action-packed, beauty-filled day. After reluctantly leaving the comfort of our cabin we have resurfaced into the great wide openness of nature. It only took about 15 minutes from the time we left the cabin to become smelly and sweaty again and only about 5 minutes after that to no longer care. No shower for us today, but I feel like I had a cleansing beyond what any steamy, soapy shower (ahhh…the memories) could do for me.

We drove to Bryce via one of America’s most beautiful scenic byways, Utah Hwy. 12, and right through the heart of Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument. It wasn’t hard to see how it was named. You could see swirling, colorful layers of rock creating a grand staircase reaching Heavenward. I took hardly any photos, which is so unlike me. But anytime we stopped the car, and I put the camera to my face and stared at my surroundings through a frame, I would lower the camera to gawk at the panorama that engulfed me. No snapshot could have done it justice anyway.

We stopped at the Calf Creek Recreation area to hike the 6-miles through the hot, sandy, and hilly desert to Lower Calf Creek Falls. The hike was tiring as the sun beat upon my back and I trudged through the powdery sand. A few times we received mercy from the scorching sun under brushy trees, but not often enough. The other hikes through the Utah desert had made me accustomed to the terrain but the heat here seemed more extreme, though you would never know it by the perspiration dripping from my body, for there was none except the small pool of it that was absorbed into my shirt just beneath the small pack I carried upon my back. The rest of the perspiration had evaporated into the arid air leaving a sandy-feeling salt grit on the rest of my body. The hike was entirely worth it, though. We were rewarded at the end of the trail with an oasis. Was this what they call a mirage? No, it wasn’t! The 120 foot waterfall plunged into a clear blue pool shaded by thick trees and vegetation. A sandy beach completed this paradise. And this is where I experienced my cleansing…The water was achingly cold, but more refreshing than the water I was sucking through my hydration pack. I felt the salt dissolving from my skin and my wind-blown. My sun-burned arms and face were soothed after absorbing the shock of the temperature difference. Ahhhhh…cleansing for the body and the soul. The coldness actually caused numbness in my lower extremities so I was careful not to venture out too far. I didn’t want to sink! I was totally soaked in this freezing water (that I swear was cold enough to have icebergs floating about) when we left this oasis, but by the time we reached the trail head and then the Rodeo, I was bone dry again. I looked through my digital camera screen at the waterfall to feel the coolness again.

Now we are here at the fabulous Bryce Canyon for a couple of days of camping. We didn’t see much today, but have set up camp and are resting up for the big plans in store for tomorrow. I can’t wait to look down the golden spires from the rim and then climb down in the canyon and stare back up at them.

Also, I believe that I heard a rattlesnake on the trail and I still survived! But I was terrified! I may not have made it if I had actually seen it. So I am very glad to be alive still and here a mere few dozen yards away from the rim of Bryce, lying in the coolness of the night atop my sleeping bag, waiting for the promise of morning.

June 24, 2004

Today has been a very long day, but in a very good way! We started this morning at 7:00 with horseback riding. It was a nice one hour ride through the fir forest and then along the rim of the canyon. When I realized I was riding a horse along the rim of a famous canyon in the great wild West, I felt like a real cowgirl. It was an absolutely surreal experience. I felt like Whispering Jesse, riding in the mountains and singing in the canyons. (For you unknowing readers, Whispering Jesse is a cowgirl in an old John Denver song.) And my horse was truly an OLD Palomino! His name was Flash. He was a sweet elderly horse. I think that he even had cataracts in his eyes. Poor thing was stubborn though. He decided to go wherever he wanted to until I firmly pulled his reigns. Best Friend’s horse was Paint, who was determined to graze on grass no matter what she told him. Goofball rode Buck, a huge horse that moved rather slowly. Oh yeah, he pooped a lot, too.

I met a real cowboy named B. He was our guide and so cute! I flirted pretty heavily with him at times, but probably should have been more aggressive and got a date just to tell everyone back East that I rode off into the sunset with a real cowboy. He might have been one of those good Mormon boys in dire need of some fun, anyway. He told me he was from southern Utah when I asked. He sounded like he had a southern accent, but one like mine instead of the southwest! He said he spent some time in Kennesaw, Ga. on a mission. (Yep, a good Mormon boy…) He was a sweetie, though, and made our trip as cowgirls much more fun. After all he was an authentic cowboy!

After the horses, we needed a shower. Where’s that cabin when you need it? Though I usually wouldn’t mind, smelling like horse isn’t my forte. So we found some showers in the park before we hit the trail! You know you must stink if you feel the need to bathe prior to a desert hike!

After that, we hit the Navajo Loop Trail then felt like we never showered to begin with. It was a rough trail to the bottom of the canyon, through a slot canyon (my first slot!) and back up to the rim. Douglas Firs were surrounding us and it smelled like an alpine forest rather than a dry canyon bottom. The sun was so bright and the sky so clear blue. I felt those happy-to-be-at-Bryce-Canyon tears welling up in my eyes as I drank in the beauty. The slot canyon I mentioned, had a lone Douglas Fir reaching skywards through the narrow chasm in which the sun crept in, causing a red-orange glow all around us. I was excited as I framed it with my camera. I really had wanted to try one of those awesome photos I see in the magazines of slot canyons.

Shortly after the strenuous climb back out, clouds took over the sky and hid the sun. But the overlooks are still gorgeous even in the dull light. Bryce is amazing! It glows and radiates hues of orange and gold from every nook and cranny. It looked just as I hoped it would and it felt great to there, even standing beneath the clouds that were now beginning to gray and swell with rainwater.

Best Friend and I hiked another 1.3 miles along the rim from Bryce Point to Inspiration Point. Goofball had decided enough was enough and took the shuttle bus to Insiration Point to meet back up with us. Wow! The hike with Best Friend was breathtaking! Just as we reached Inspiration Point, the clouds released their swollen fury on us and the rain fell steadily from the sky. We hung out at the visitor center until fairer weather, and then continued to drive to the other end of the canyon to the overlooks for photos. I loved this day! Do I have to leave tomorrow?

Is this a mirage? It certainly seemed that way as the dry terrain gave way to greenery and then the tumbling Lower Calf Creek Falls.

Finally, we made it to the bottom of the falls. We have several pictures taken of us playing in the freezing water, but with the water being as cold as it was, some of the photos are too risque for posting on this site. Ha!

The "cowgirls" ride again!

The fir tree in the slot canyon on the Navajo Loop Trail. At first, I was mad that this man would not get the heck out my picture, but now I kind of like it. It gives some perception of size.