Willis Creek, Grand Staircase-Escalante

Nick

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Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
12,955
January 2011

I spent a few days last week camping in the Escalante area. We didn't get in nearly as much hiking as planned but we still got to see some cool stuff. The temps at night were into the 20's with a slight breeze so it felt even cooler. Daytime temps were into the 50's which felt ohhh sooo nice!

We started out the trip with a stop in Bryce Canyon. I had my dog so we wouldn't be doing any hiking but I wanted to hit some overlooks and see what it was like in the winter. Once again I left thinking Bryce has got to be the least awesome National Park in Utah. I think I need to actually hike in it though. I've seen some mighty nice photos of it lately.
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After Bryce we drove over to Cannonville and then south to the Skutumpah Road to hike Willis Creek. I was hoping to see a lot of ice in Willis and I was not disappointed.

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I've been enjoying the ability to shoot video with my new camera.

Looking down at the end of the main narrows section of Willis Creek
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After Willis Creek we drove over to Bull Valley Gorge just to take a look. The drive over was a little sketchy, especially coming out of Willis Creek. The melting snow made parts of the road beyond slippery. Bull Valley Gorge was very full of ice, there was one note in the trail register saying that someone had tried to hike it but that it was impassable die to ice and water.
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Skutumpah Road overlooking the Paria River valley south of Cannonville
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We arrived in Escalante a little before sundown and had time to explore the area around our camp. Unfortunately there wasn't a cloud in the sky so the sunset was pretty uneventful.
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Camp shenanigans
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The clear skies were great for some night shots. I caught this meteor while setting up for some star trails.
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Here is a time lapse video that includes the trails in that last photo. Way better in full screen HD so you can see the stars and airplanes.

After an awesome dinner of dutch oven baby back ribs we went down by the rim of the canyon and tried out some starry jump shots.
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The next day we were really lazy. We ended up lounging around camp until after noon so our original hiking plans were scrapped. It felt so nice to just sit in the sun and chat.
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Eventually we packed up camp and made our way out to Hole-in-the-Rock Road. I had been told they had just finished blading the whole thing so it seemed like a fun drive. First stop, Cedar Wash Arch.
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And a little Kung Fu style jump shot at Cedar Wash Arch.
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After that we went to Devil's Garden. I've been here several times but never really spent more than a few minutes.
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Adam climbing up through some hoodoos.
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After Devil's Garden we made the very short drive to one of my favorite campsites on upper Hole-in-the-Rock Road. Unfortunately, the cows were out in full force.
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Lucky for us Adam is a fast runner and is great and belting out a good Braveheart scream while swinging a shovel.
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Once again, sunset was a dud but the stars were awesome.
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The next morning we slacked off again and didn't get out of camp in time to get in any good hiking. Something about those long, cold nights make me want to just sit and soak up the sun in the AM. We stopped at a few of the overlooks between Escalante and Boulder that are normally tourist packed. I think we only saw 2-3 cars on the highway.
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We were also lucky to see six golden eagles picking away at a dead deer on the side of Hwy 12 near the hogs back. Unfortunately they flew off as I pulled over and by the time I got the long lens on they were just circling. We hung out for a while hoping they would come back but nothing. After a bit a very nice BLM ranger named Jeff stopped by. Apparently they are pretty common this time of year, he dragged the carcass further off the road to keep the eagles safe from cars.
 
Awesome TR! Love the star trails and the star pics. I like how you can see the milky way in the one! I also did the ice falls on the 4th picture!!!
 

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