Spooky, Peek and Neon, March 20-21 2015

Dave

Broadcaster, formerly "ashergrey"
.
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Waves of sound, molecules vibrating in the air, ping-ponged their way along the narrow walls. They reflected at odd angles on the sandpapery surfaces.

Spooky textures by ashergrey, on Flickr

"Oh wow, get a photo here."

High frequency, high amplitude.

"The light's really great right here. Yeah. Get us all in."

The woman's voice bore an accent, something southern maybe. Unfamiliar. Grating. Harsh.

"It's blurry. Try again. Get us all in. This is the spot."

We couldn't see them, a few tight bends ahead in the slot. But I glanced at my brother, irritation knotting my forehead.

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Our shuffling steps continued up canyon as the loud group started down. They were hardly the only inconvenient group with which we had to share the slot. A gaggle of Scouts — well over the permitted headcount allowed by the BLM — had passed the other way prior.

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But for some reason this woman rubbed me really wrong.

"There's a big wall up ahead," she offered, uninvited, as we passed. "It's a dead-end. You'll have to turn around and go back. But go up there and take a look. It's the best part of this whole place. But you won't be able to get up it." She would not shut up. "Well, maybe you could but I doubt it. Anyway, get your skinny on because it's really tight up there."

"Okay," my brother said. I simply stared at her.

"It's really beautiful. Have fun."

Spooky crossbedding by ashergrey, on Flickr

Her group at last moved past, back the way they'd come, the profane sound of their raised voices diminished with distance until at last we couldn't hear them anymore.

My brother turned to me.

"I thought you said this was non-technical," he said, almost whispering.

"It is."

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We moved around the bend and came face to face with a pour-over. The sandstone walls on either side bore scuff marks from rubber soles. My brother tested one or two footholds, contorted his body and ascended right to the top of the obstruction. I followed.

Piece of cake.

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"You won't be able to get up it," I said in mocking mimicry. "I can't believe some people come to places like this from thousands of miles away and don't even bother to read. One trip report would have told them this is a loop. With a little effort they could have made it up. Instead they get to walk back out the way they came. Like chumps."

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At the boulder jam near the top of Spooky, we smelled an overwhelming odor of rotten marijuana. We weren't sure if it emanated from some hikers discarded stash or from the decomposing vegetation trapped between the rocks.

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We ran the loop backward from most, going up Spooky and coming down Peek A Boo.

It was getting into the afternoon hours when we topped out of Spooky, so most of the people we encountered were already finished with Peek by the time we entered.

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Cow dung littered the sandy bench between the two drainages.

"I wonder if these cows ever wander into the slots."

"Funny you should mention," I replied. "The BLM actually had to come clean up after one died in a slot around here just a couple of months ago. In fact, it might have been Peek A Boo. I don't remember."

I remembered fine after seeing the aftermath.

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"Ugh. That smells foul. Look at the black marks."

I nodded.

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"The rancher had to shoot it when it got stuck. Then he tried to burn it. That caused part of the wall to collapse and bury the remains. The BLM told me they'd come in and cleaned it up. Obviously not."

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The stench felt intolerable in my nostrils. Harsh afternoon light made the pictures terrible. I hung around just long enough to snapshot the evidence, then moved quickly down canyon.

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After Peek, with some time to burn, we wandered up the Dry Fork Coyote Gulch slot.

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While not as narrow dramatic as Spooky, the light did make for some nice color.

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This little guy was just chillin' in the shade.

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Route-finding overland back to the trail above the rim of Dry Fork, I spied something shimmering in the bushes.

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Happy Birthday Anthony! Next time don't let your garbage waft away on the breeze.

Backtracking along Hole in the Rock Road, we turned up toward Egypt Bench. When we arrived at the trailhead, only a few other vehicles were there.

Afternoon light started to wane, so we wandered out to the rim for some photos.

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Point 5576 by ashergrey, on Flickr

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Mount Pennell stood tall over the petrified dunes.

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Navajo Mountain still had a splash of snow near its top.

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After wandering a bit, I settled on this composition for sunset.

Egypt Bench sundown by ashergrey, on Flickr

Three minutes later, the best of the light vanished below the horizon.

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I hunted for some other interesting angles in the fading light. Here's 16mm…

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…or 35mm.

Tipping Point by ashergrey, on Flickr

A chill wind started to blow along the ridge after sundown. We pitched an impromptu camp and started cooking dinner.

Egypt Bench campsite by ashergrey, on Flickr

As we were setting up, a guy came huffing up the trail to his truck. We chatted for a minute. He was running to pick up a shuttle car at the conclusion of an Escalante River pack rafting trip.

Oh, jealousy.

Barren by ashergrey, on Flickr

The night turned cold, but not uncomfortably so.

We were up by 7 a.m. The air nipped as we went out to shoot the sunrise. My brother stayed on the rim. I went down below.

First light on Egypt Bench by ashergrey, on Flickr

I wish a few clouds had shown up to add some drama, but even with clear skies the results weren't too shabby.

Egypt Sunrise Shadows by ashergrey, on Flickr

Somewhere up on the rim there, my brother was flying his UAV.

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As the air warmed we broke camp, loaded up our day packs and started down the steep route onto Egypt Bench.

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We proceeded to Fence Canyon. There are some nice campsites right down at the mouth where Fence empties into the Escalante. Noted for future reference.

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Then it was time to wet our feet.

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The river wasn't running all that high… just enough to prove annoying in places. When it was wide we could get by without soaking our shorts. On one or two crossings I went down to my skivvies to be safe.

Too much sun exposure made the shade in Neon feel quite nice, by comparison.

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A short way up Neon and we reached the Golden Cathedral.

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gma...47512/GPS/Golden_Cathedral_via_Fence.kml&t=t4

A Sense of Scale by ashergrey, on Flickr

We lounged, lunched a bit and had some fun skipping rocks across the pool.

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The splashes made interesting reflections.

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Knowing we still had a long hot hike back to the car, it was time to turn back toward the Escalante. On the way, Neon lived up to its name.

Neon Canyon by ashergrey, on Flickr

We opted to take the direct route back (instead of returning via Fence).

It seemed like a good time to take a dip in the frigid river.

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Our ascent up the endless dune provided ample opportunity to dry out and rewarm ourselves.

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We stopped in the shade of one or two junipers along the way. The berries were on in force.

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Once back on the bench, we followed as straight a path as we could across the rolling sandstone terrain.

The liter of water I'd held in reserve gave us each 500 milliliters to replenish our exhausted supplies at the foot of the 500-foot climb back to the car. One milliliter per foot.

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http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gma.../3847512/GPS/Golden_Cathedral_return.kml&t=t4

We hit the rim right at the same time as two gals — probably in their mid 20s — were getting ready to head down the trail. They were packed for what appeared to be at least a few nights. I gave them an approving nod as they passed on by. Part of that was respect from a fellow Subaru driver.

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We didn't shoot much video, but my brother put together a little compilation.


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It was a little tough to get through all the negativity in the dialogue, but I've been guilty of that too.

It wasn't as terrible as I made it sound. It really bothers me though when people don't consider the impact of their noise on other people outdoors.
 
I hear ya, we take all this effort to get out in solitude, only to have an obnoxious crowd. Frustrating.
 
It wasn't as terrible as I made it sound. It really bothers me though when people don't consider the impact of their noise on other people outdoors.

I'm glad you pointed it out. People's irresponsibility and the lasting effects of it need to be stated. Gorgeous pics!
 
Good stuff. Your reaction to the annoyances cracked me up. Great shots and vid. The UAV makes for some really cool shots!
 
it seems everyone takes the scale picture in Neon. I did a few years ago, too. :)

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great trip report, wants me to go back to the Escalante area and explore a bit.
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone.
 
Awesome report and photos. Nice to see some photos of the cow-rnage too. I hope the monsoon season this year fixes that up quick. I'm a little perplexed what rotten marijuana smells like though.
 
It smells like my old roommate's room… pot odor mixed with B.O. and three-day-old food growing mold.
 

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