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- Apr 20, 2013
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There have been several iterations of this post Thanksgiving special.
I think I have reported on some of them. I wake up early Thanksgiving, prep and cook the turkey, plus everything else that we have agreed to take to the in-laws and at the same time, I finish packing my bags.
Thanksgiving was enjoyed. The turkey was great, even if I tore the skin, causing it to pull back.
Once dishes were cleaned up, and the pie eaten, I gave my wife a look.
"Get out of here."
The Wasatch from SLC past Nephi had nice, low-lying clouds. I did a poor job driving and capturing this one.
The drive this year was more harrowing than normal. The final destination was Escalante, but leaving later and willing to be colder the first night to save some driving in the dark, I headed towards Torrey.
Past Sigurd was dense fog, and the road was crawling with elk who were probably just getting out from the recent storms.
The drive was like an anti-Frogger. I was the truck and trying to dodge the elk mingling and crossing the road in dense fog that gave just 30-50' of visibility.
Once I cleared the climb out of Koosharem, it was back to normal, until there were some mulies that ran out in front of me by Bicknell. I braked hard, avoided them with the expense of a few things flying forward into the front of the cab.
As expected, Torrey was quiet and empty.
I saw some people camped where I would normally camp, and thought of crossing the other side of the reef, but decided against it.
This left me parked on snow and looking at the outside temp of 13d, and it was only 804pm.
I leveled out the truck, and sat back in the cab, contemplating my life decisions
The night was not that bad. I woke up to 8d on the temp gauge when I started the truck and began packing up. The sleeping bag on the front seat with the heaters blowing to make sure it dried out. I did not know how much sunshine my bag would see once I started hiking.
I drove over to the other side of the Reef, just because I was there.
Some more deer in the road in a few places, including right by the schoolhouse, where a ranger turned on his lights and hazed them a little to hurry them off the road.
The far side of the Reef was snow-free and much warmer- just as I had expected. The spots I had in mind were also deserted. Oh well. Supercold and snow was fine.
After a little bit, I was back on the road up and over to Escalante.
I arrived at the trailhead, packed up and headed in.
The destination is not really a destination of its own, but that has been the theme for my post-Thanksgiving trips the past few years. Shorter distance, getting to an area, staying out in as much sun as possible, find water, and keep to the slickrock and rims.
This was no different.
I crossed the frozen "River" and then the creek a few times. I crossed the creek a couple of times extra, since I crossed once where I did not have to.
Then it was solid elevation gain.
When I reached this view, I heard some noise, and looked through the junipers to see three bighorn sheep eyeing me. There might have been more that I did not see. They made a good ruckus going down the slope out of view.
I did not go after them, but instead went up to a viewpoint down into the canyon, in case they turned the corner from below. They did not, but I heard them on the rocks for a while before I moved on.
The route/trail makes as good use of the terrain on this side as it does on the other more used side, and soon I was on slickrock ramps and then up a slickrock gulley all the way to the top.
I ate my lunch of leftover turkey, cheddar cheese, and homemade cranberry sauce, wrapped in a tortilla.
With a little variation this was my lunch and dinner the next day too. This is from day two, with a little japanese bbq sauce for flavor.
The little bottles are pretty handy.
The plateau was easygoing, but partway across my hip was bothering me. Hip or knee have been the latest pains at times. I was pushing the pace, and had only sat for lunch, so maybe that was it.
A big, dead ponderosa.
This meant that when I started to drop down to the flat I was already looking for a place to spend the night.
I saw potential water, slickrock, great views... and dropped my pack to scramble around and see what was there.
On a bit of a raised peninsula, with unobstructed sun to the south, especially southeast, I found a great spot that had a little protection.
Not the mileage I had wanted. I was one small climb and long flat short of where I had wanted to make, but this would be good.
The setting sun got blocked a little early by a ridge, so I climbed up onto the taller ridge next to camp and wandered until dark.
Camp
Tiny arches became a theme for this trip.
Real size by my shoe:
The night was still in the teens, but felt much better in a tent.
In the middle of the night, I woke up, done sleeping. It was only 2am. So I watched "A Knight's Tale" and then fell back asleep until sunrise.
The night was SILENT. Barely a breeze to rustle the tent. No animal, no running water, and nothing one the planes stopped passing overhead. That's just how the desert is in winter.
Time was tracked by watching Jupiter, Orion and Pleiades pass overhead.
The sun rose eventually...
Also camp, if you look closely on the right, you can see the dome of the tent.
Morning views.
The next day, I decided not to pack up camp.
The slickrock nearby and then the flat beckoned.
I wandered, climbed some high points, and then struck out across the flat, looking down on what I had intended as my destination. There is some really great stuff in every direction. I do not feel bad at all for exploring where I did. There is more to the north and south that I can conquer another time.
I walked a little farther downhill, closing the link to where I had stopped coming from the other direction a couple of years before. All so I can say I have walked the full route.
A water supply that was not frozen by afternoon.
So delicate. A couple of mm of stone holding this one up.
One of the slickrock sidewalks that come and go on the Navajo.
These pics are not all in order. I wandered north, south and east of camp. I just wanted to be in sunshine, and walk as much of the distance as possible on slickrock. I skipped the trail on the way back to also walk the outskirts.
A less tiny, but still delicate arch. This faces perpendicular with the main trail, and is probably rarely seen.
Another one, up high by my lunch spot.
A few of these had edible nuts. I read later that dry, drought conditions, bad fertilization, and many other factors, can lead to the nuts to wither, not form, or be aborted by the pinyons.
I wandered over that direction on the way back.
Some slickrock that will have to be another trip.
The pine needle pile under this one was impressive, over a foot deep.
Another one.
Nice rocks, like square posts.
I ate lunch at another high point, explored some more and then went back to camp.
The night was pleasant, just cold, and silent again, except for an owl some distance away for part of the night.
I am sure my snoring was the loudest thing going on up there, and scared everything else away.
Sunrise came, and I contemplated another night, but decided to do a night of truck camping.
I wandered again, and then packed up slow.
Morning details.
The hike down and out was pretty quick.
This gave me more time than I expected, and so after arriving at a spot for the night, I took off to explore one of the fingers of a colorful canyon. I stayed high on purpose and got to where two branches met. Nothing spectacular, but a great walk.
Night came too fast.
I had the weekly call with my parents and siblings from the back of the truck, and then I watched a couple episodes of "The English" and went to bed.
I had brought a spare sleeping pad, just in case. I used both pads in the back of the truck. It was cushy...
I woke and watched the sunrise from the truck, enjoying it going from pastels to hot pink and then grays and blues.
The next morning, I explored again, this time the other direction, just to warm up my insides and feet.
I still had time, so was contemplating where else to hike. I passed on a couple of places, and as I drove past this canyon wall, I decided it was time to stop there. I explored a bit, heard a bighorn scamper away, and then sat for a little while in the sun, taking in the view of the cream-colored cliffs.
After Boulder Mountain, I got stumped by a few places being closed still for the holiday.
Snow and gray skies until I got farther north.. then it became smog.
It was a great trip.
I feel like this one has come up on this forum before. t's just natural, but resembles a little man. This is down by the Escalante River.
I think I have reported on some of them. I wake up early Thanksgiving, prep and cook the turkey, plus everything else that we have agreed to take to the in-laws and at the same time, I finish packing my bags.
Thanksgiving was enjoyed. The turkey was great, even if I tore the skin, causing it to pull back.
Once dishes were cleaned up, and the pie eaten, I gave my wife a look.
"Get out of here."
The Wasatch from SLC past Nephi had nice, low-lying clouds. I did a poor job driving and capturing this one.
The drive this year was more harrowing than normal. The final destination was Escalante, but leaving later and willing to be colder the first night to save some driving in the dark, I headed towards Torrey.
Past Sigurd was dense fog, and the road was crawling with elk who were probably just getting out from the recent storms.
The drive was like an anti-Frogger. I was the truck and trying to dodge the elk mingling and crossing the road in dense fog that gave just 30-50' of visibility.
Once I cleared the climb out of Koosharem, it was back to normal, until there were some mulies that ran out in front of me by Bicknell. I braked hard, avoided them with the expense of a few things flying forward into the front of the cab.
As expected, Torrey was quiet and empty.
I saw some people camped where I would normally camp, and thought of crossing the other side of the reef, but decided against it.
This left me parked on snow and looking at the outside temp of 13d, and it was only 804pm.
I leveled out the truck, and sat back in the cab, contemplating my life decisions
The night was not that bad. I woke up to 8d on the temp gauge when I started the truck and began packing up. The sleeping bag on the front seat with the heaters blowing to make sure it dried out. I did not know how much sunshine my bag would see once I started hiking.
I drove over to the other side of the Reef, just because I was there.
Some more deer in the road in a few places, including right by the schoolhouse, where a ranger turned on his lights and hazed them a little to hurry them off the road.
The far side of the Reef was snow-free and much warmer- just as I had expected. The spots I had in mind were also deserted. Oh well. Supercold and snow was fine.
After a little bit, I was back on the road up and over to Escalante.
I arrived at the trailhead, packed up and headed in.
The destination is not really a destination of its own, but that has been the theme for my post-Thanksgiving trips the past few years. Shorter distance, getting to an area, staying out in as much sun as possible, find water, and keep to the slickrock and rims.
This was no different.
I crossed the frozen "River" and then the creek a few times. I crossed the creek a couple of times extra, since I crossed once where I did not have to.
Then it was solid elevation gain.
When I reached this view, I heard some noise, and looked through the junipers to see three bighorn sheep eyeing me. There might have been more that I did not see. They made a good ruckus going down the slope out of view.
I did not go after them, but instead went up to a viewpoint down into the canyon, in case they turned the corner from below. They did not, but I heard them on the rocks for a while before I moved on.
The route/trail makes as good use of the terrain on this side as it does on the other more used side, and soon I was on slickrock ramps and then up a slickrock gulley all the way to the top.
I ate my lunch of leftover turkey, cheddar cheese, and homemade cranberry sauce, wrapped in a tortilla.
With a little variation this was my lunch and dinner the next day too. This is from day two, with a little japanese bbq sauce for flavor.
The little bottles are pretty handy.
The plateau was easygoing, but partway across my hip was bothering me. Hip or knee have been the latest pains at times. I was pushing the pace, and had only sat for lunch, so maybe that was it.
A big, dead ponderosa.
This meant that when I started to drop down to the flat I was already looking for a place to spend the night.
I saw potential water, slickrock, great views... and dropped my pack to scramble around and see what was there.
On a bit of a raised peninsula, with unobstructed sun to the south, especially southeast, I found a great spot that had a little protection.
Not the mileage I had wanted. I was one small climb and long flat short of where I had wanted to make, but this would be good.
The setting sun got blocked a little early by a ridge, so I climbed up onto the taller ridge next to camp and wandered until dark.
Camp
Tiny arches became a theme for this trip.
Real size by my shoe:
The night was still in the teens, but felt much better in a tent.
In the middle of the night, I woke up, done sleeping. It was only 2am. So I watched "A Knight's Tale" and then fell back asleep until sunrise.
The night was SILENT. Barely a breeze to rustle the tent. No animal, no running water, and nothing one the planes stopped passing overhead. That's just how the desert is in winter.
Time was tracked by watching Jupiter, Orion and Pleiades pass overhead.
The sun rose eventually...
Also camp, if you look closely on the right, you can see the dome of the tent.
Morning views.
The next day, I decided not to pack up camp.
The slickrock nearby and then the flat beckoned.
I wandered, climbed some high points, and then struck out across the flat, looking down on what I had intended as my destination. There is some really great stuff in every direction. I do not feel bad at all for exploring where I did. There is more to the north and south that I can conquer another time.
I walked a little farther downhill, closing the link to where I had stopped coming from the other direction a couple of years before. All so I can say I have walked the full route.
A water supply that was not frozen by afternoon.
So delicate. A couple of mm of stone holding this one up.
One of the slickrock sidewalks that come and go on the Navajo.
These pics are not all in order. I wandered north, south and east of camp. I just wanted to be in sunshine, and walk as much of the distance as possible on slickrock. I skipped the trail on the way back to also walk the outskirts.
A less tiny, but still delicate arch. This faces perpendicular with the main trail, and is probably rarely seen.
Another one, up high by my lunch spot.
A few of these had edible nuts. I read later that dry, drought conditions, bad fertilization, and many other factors, can lead to the nuts to wither, not form, or be aborted by the pinyons.
I wandered over that direction on the way back.
Some slickrock that will have to be another trip.
The pine needle pile under this one was impressive, over a foot deep.
Another one.
Nice rocks, like square posts.
I ate lunch at another high point, explored some more and then went back to camp.
The night was pleasant, just cold, and silent again, except for an owl some distance away for part of the night.
I am sure my snoring was the loudest thing going on up there, and scared everything else away.
Sunrise came, and I contemplated another night, but decided to do a night of truck camping.
I wandered again, and then packed up slow.
Morning details.
The hike down and out was pretty quick.
This gave me more time than I expected, and so after arriving at a spot for the night, I took off to explore one of the fingers of a colorful canyon. I stayed high on purpose and got to where two branches met. Nothing spectacular, but a great walk.
Night came too fast.
I had the weekly call with my parents and siblings from the back of the truck, and then I watched a couple episodes of "The English" and went to bed.
I had brought a spare sleeping pad, just in case. I used both pads in the back of the truck. It was cushy...
I woke and watched the sunrise from the truck, enjoying it going from pastels to hot pink and then grays and blues.
The next morning, I explored again, this time the other direction, just to warm up my insides and feet.
I still had time, so was contemplating where else to hike. I passed on a couple of places, and as I drove past this canyon wall, I decided it was time to stop there. I explored a bit, heard a bighorn scamper away, and then sat for a little while in the sun, taking in the view of the cream-colored cliffs.
After Boulder Mountain, I got stumped by a few places being closed still for the holiday.
Snow and gray skies until I got farther north.. then it became smog.
It was a great trip.
I feel like this one has come up on this forum before. t's just natural, but resembles a little man. This is down by the Escalante River.
