Watchman100 - Zion National Park, Utah - Road Biking

Roger and I registered for the Watchman 100 bicycle ride a few weeks before the September 27th event.  The website says that the 100 mile ride takes place "in Southwestern Utah where the sun shines more than 300 days a year."  As the weekend neared, it became clear that it was going to be one of those other 65 days.  I made the case that we shouldn't even bother heading to St. George on Friday night, but we had already paid for the registration and the hotel.  It was also possible that the weather wouldn't be as bad as the forecast.  After a very late departure from Salt Lake and sleeping through the 5 am alarm in St. George, we made our way to the start line in Springdale as flashes of lightning lit up the western sky.  "Look at the radar!" I kept thinking.  Why was no one concerned?  I decided I definitely wasn't going to ride.  But then I decided to ride, grumbling my way to the start line.

How did I get talked into this?

The first 15 miles were lovely as we passed through Rockville and Virgin.  The sun was out, lighting up the surrounding sandstone cliffs, and providing a dramatic contrast to the black clouds approaching us from the west.  As we descended into LaVerkin, the storm let loose with uncomfortably close lightning strikes, gusty winds, and torrents of rain.  Being outside, in the open, during a lightning storm is my least favorite activity in the world.  We took shelter for about 30 minutes against a church building, then resumed riding through puddles and rain showers as the worst of the storm subsided.  We had planned to ride the 100 mile route, but the constant rain and occasional sheltering from lightning slowed us down significantly.  It also seemed like most people had abandoned the ride.  We finally decided to ride the 70 mile route and made our way back to Zion.  By the time we returned to Springdale, we were done.  The ride organizers had great food and hot coffee for the people who endured the ride, some even completing the 100 miles!

Roger and I decided to walk up the canyon to check out the flooding that forced the closure of all roads in the park for the afternoon.  Zion Canyon was wet and moody, and the Virgin River was raging out of its banks in a few places.

Virgin River flooding

Virgin River flooding

Zion Canyon in the rain

Zion Canyon in the rain

The sun was out on Sunday morning, so we decided to go for a hike before returning to Salt Lake.  We walked around Kayenta Art Village for a bit and then headed up nearby Hellhole Canyon, a gorgeous wash with a terrible name.

Hellhole Canyon near Kayenta

Hellhole Canyon near Kayenta

 Red Mountain

Patterns in the wash from a recent flood

Red Mountain Wilderness

Despite the washout, I am looking forward to riding the Watchman100 again.  It was a beautiful route with enough elevation change to make it a challenge.  Hopefully the ride will take place on one of those 300 sunny days next year.

Moab, Utah to Spanish Bottom, Canyonlands National Park - Canoeing

I kept seeing the Facebook posts from Canyonlands National Park about the enormous amount of rain they had received over the past week.  After checking their web page, I noticed that several roads within the park were closed or impassable, including the road to Mineral Bottom.  This, unfortunately, was the access point for Wednesday's river trip through Stillwater and Labyrinth Canyons on the Green River.  I knew my second attempt at these canyons was most likely a no-go before leaving Salt Lake.

As Roger and I drove through Green River on our way to Moab on Tuesday night, we were greeted with lightning and downpours.  Things weren't looking good.  We discussed the idea of sleeping at a hotel on Tuesday night before meeting with the river company on Wednesday morning, but skies cleared enough upon our arrival in Moab to convince us to sleep at Dead Horse Point State Park as planned.

It was late and we had to wake up early.  We thought we could get away without setting up a tent, but we got rained on.

 We met with our river rental company on Wednesday morning to learn that Mineral Bottom was still impassable and that we could do an alternate trip from Potash to Spanish Bottom on the Colorado River instead.  The trip was a similar length, about 50 miles, and was certainly better than not going at all.  After a change of plans from kayaks to a canoe due to our large dry bags, we were on our way to Potash for launch.

Launching from Potash

Roger enjoying the float

Dead Horse Point from below

 We paddled for about 15 miles with surprisingly beautiful weather the entire day.  It was great to see Dead Horse Point State Park above us as I have spent plenty of time staring down at the river from from that spot.  By early evening we came across a fantastic beach to set up camp and had a perfect evening by the river with good food and a small fire.  I couldn't believe how perfect our first day was considering the weather forecast looked stormy all week.

 First night camp

 

 

 

First night camp

 

 Roger enjoying dinner on the first night

Perfect evening on the beach

We broke camp on Thursday morning and headed out for day two on the river.  We planned to paddle about 20 miles and enjoyed several miles of leisurely floating through the gorgeous red rock canyons before the storm clouds started to build.  Just short of the 20 mile mark, we were hit with our first storm.  While most of the intense precipitation passed just to our north, we pulled in to a small cove to wait out the worst of it.  We were treated to some great waterfalls coming over the cliffs as the sun came out, and we found a great camping spot just beyond our intended stopping point for the day.

Day 2 on the river

A good start to the second day

Taking shelter from a storm

Waterfall after the storm

Camp for the second night

Roger at camp

 Day three was to be our last day of paddling on the river, about 20 miles from camp to Spanish Bottom, with a journey through The Loop, The Slide and the Confluence.  We enjoyable a leisurely float through the meandering Loop section of the Colorado River and an easy passage through the only "rapid" on this section of the river, The Slide.  As the river company said, it was more like a ripple.  We reached the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers just as a large thunderstorm passed over the Needles.  Canoeing was rough for a bit, but we missed the majority of that storm as well.  After a quick sign-in at the Cataract Canyon sign, we headed for Spanish Bottom a few miles downriver.

Paddling through The Loop

Approaching the Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers

 Mixing of the Colorado and Green Rivers

 Waiting out the storm

Spanish Bottom

 We set up camp on the left bank of the Colorado River at Spanish Bottom, just upstream from the mouth of Lower Red Lake Canyon.  Camp sites along the more ideal right bank were occupied.    When we arrived, Lower Red Lake Canyon was completely dry and we walked up it for a bit.  We looked around for a good place to set up our tent and eventually decided to place it higher up on the river bank.  The nicer, sandier beaches seemed a little to close to the water for comfort.  As I was cleaning up for the night, under mostly sunny skies, I heard cracking and rumbling coming from above.  The sound grew louder and louder and I realized that a flash flood was coming.  I grabbed the canoe and bags and dragged them even higher up on the hill as a pile of mud and debris came roaring around the corner of Lower Red Lake Canyon.  My first flash flood!  Fortunately the flood remained within the banks of the wash and never threatened our camp, but it made for great viewing that night.

Lower Red Lake Canyon as the Friday night flood flows.  It was dry a few minutes earlier.

It was an uncomfortable night for sleeping on Friday night.  I kept waking up to check the status of the flood but throughout the night the water level continued to fall.  Unfortunately, a few brief but intense thunderstorms rolled through Spanish Bottom with uncomfortably close lightning and echoing thunder throughout the night.  I think I finally fell asleep around 5am as everything calmed down and the flood had subsided.  On Saturday morning we decided to canoe over to the right bank of Spanish Bottom for jetboat pick up because the water was too shallow near our campsite.

We canoed over the the right bank of Lower Spanish Bottom on Saturday morning for jet boat pick up

Waiting for the jetboat

We thought our adventure was over as we waited for the jetboat to pick us up at Spanish Bottom.  Suddenly, we were surrounded by black clouds.  Pick up time passed and no jetboat.  The skies opened up and water began pouring off the surrounding cliffs and through the area that we were standing.  As I was hiding in the bushes from the lightning, a massive flood broke through Lower Red Lake Canyon and began to fill the Colorado River with debris and newly formed rapids.  Four kayakers who camped near us on Friday night were suddenly trapped on an island created by this new flood.  Fortunately, two park rangers on a motorized raft saw this happening and went to their aid.  At this chaotic moment, the jetboat (finally) arrived.  We threw our bags and gear in the boat but the four women trapped on the other bank with the rangers were also part of our pickup and they could not be reached.  It was getting late and the Colorado was filled with rapids and debris.  It looked like we'd be spending another night at Spanish Bottom.

Flood coming off the Maze District

 More rain in Spanish Bottom

 Flood coming out of Lower Red Lake Canyon

Once it became apparent that we were spending the night, we set up camp, ate our extra food, and went to sleep.  I was stressed about the river eroding the bank below us and the sound of rockfalls throughout the night made for another uncomfortable night of sleep.  The river company sent a motorized raft to rescue the four women from the other bank and bring them to our camp in the morning.  The plan was to jet boat back to Moab by late morning once the women and their gear were pulled from the other side of the river.  We had a couple of hours to kill, so Roger and I decided to hike from Spanish Bottom up to the Doll House in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park.  A trip to the Maze has been on the top of my to-do list forever and I was excited to get a brief taste of this remote area.  The hike provided amazing views of Spanish Bottom and the mist and clouds made everything feel surreal.  I was so happy we were stranded for the night so that we could do this hike!

Roger hiking up to the Doll House in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park

View of Spanish Bottom from above

Mist and clouds

 My first taste of the Maze

The Doll House - Maze District of Canyonlands National Park

The Doll House - Maze District of Canyonlands National Park

With Roger in the Doll House

 Debris from Lower Red Lake Canyon after the flood

 The jetboat ride back to Moab was another fiasco.  Just a few miles upriver, our jet boat broke down (again) due to the large amount of debris still floating in the Colorado.  There didn't seem to be much of a backup plan and I was beginning to think we'd be spending another night stranded on the river.  A Tex's Riverways jetboat passed us and stopped to ask if we needed assistance.  In less than one millisecond, Roger was leaping over to their boat with me in tow and a couple of our small bags.  We figured we'd deal with the remaining gear at some point, but showers, food, and beer were waiting for us in Moab!  Tex's was awesome for helping us out and we made it back to Moab in no time.  Showers, food, beer, but no gear.  By 6pm we learned that I gear would be on the river until Monday.  There were no rooms in Moab, so we spent the night in Green River and picked up our gear Monday morning before heading back to Salt Lake.  It was an awesome adventure full of the unexpected, as the best always are.

Thank you, Tex's Riverways!

Escalante, Utah and Capitol Reef National Park - Hiking

I spent Labor Day weekend in familiar territory exploring some new places that I haven't seen before.  Without any real plan for Labor Day, I noticed that my favorite camp site at Singletree on Boulder Mountain was available for a couple of nights and made a reservation.  Shawn and Christopher decided to join for a couple days of camping and hiking and Roger and I met them at Singletree on Friday night after work.  Shaw had a fantastic fire going by the time we arrived and we enjoyed some good beer and conversation before heading off to bed.

Roger setting up his tent at Singletree

It was a bit rainy on Saturday morning, but we enjoyed a nice breakfast and spent some time setting up Roger's new canopy shelter.  This proved to be a great purchase as the rain became more prevalent throughout the weekend.

 Roger's new canopy shelter

Christopher and Shawn

Shawn and Christopher making breakfast

I have hiked to Upper Calf Creek Falls several times, but I have avoided Lower Calf Creek Falls as it tends to be more popular with a lot more hikers.  We decided that this would be a good day hike for everybody and drove for an hour over Boulder Mountain and through the town of Boulder before reaching Calf Creek Falls Recreation Area.  The trail was busy, but not annoyingly so, and the reward was a spectacular waterfall with beautiful canyon scenery.  Shawn and I could not resist the urge to swim in the waterfall pool, and eventually the sun came out to make for a really pleasant visit to the falls.

 Lower Calf Creek Falls

Swimming in Lower Calf Creek Falls

With Roger at Lower Calf Creek Falls

It was still early in the afternoon by the time we completed the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike so we decided to hike for a few miles along the Escalante River from the Highway 12 bridge trail head.  There is a large natural bridge a couple of miles from the trail head that I have passed backpacking, but this was the first time I've seen the bridge up close.  Roger and I spent quite of bit of time relaxing and enjoy the views under bridge before heading back to Singletree.

 Shawn and Roger cross the Escalante River

 Natural bridge along the Escalante River

Roger at the natural bridge

Roger crossing the Escalante River

Rain began to fall as we settled in to camp for the evening and became heavier throughout the evening.  That spoiled plans of cooking dinner over a campfire, but we enjoyed sitting under the canopy shelter and watching the rain as we ate dinner and had a few beers.  Eventually, the rain tapered off later that night.

Roger under his new canopy shelter

After a quick campsite change on Sunday morning (our original site had been reserved by someone else for the night), the rain began to fall again.  We packed up some hiking gear and headed down to Capitol Reef with hopes of doing a good day hike.  The rain stopped as we entered the park, but my plan of hiking the Golden Throne trail changed when we found out that the access road was closed due to a flash flood.  My backup plan of hiking the Rim Overlook trail and Navajo Knobs wasn't possible due to a rock slide and trail closure near Hickman Bridge.  Instead, we walked across the road and began to hike the Cohab Canyon Trail, followed by the Frying Pan trail, with a destination of Cassidy Arch.  The weather held out for most of the hike and the views were spectacular.

Shawn on the Frying Pan trail

Christopher and Shawn near Cassidy Arch

Roger at Cassidy Arch

View from the Frying Pan Trail

Still dry at the end of the hike

With perfect timing, the rain began to fall as we finished our hike to Cassidy Arch.  Shawn and Christopher decided they didn't want to spend another rainy night at camp so they headed back to Salt Lake.  Roger and I drove back to Singletree after spending some time in the historical Fruita area of Capitol Reef.  We were greeted by clearing skies just in time to make dinner and a campfire.

Capitol Reef National Park

Pears in Fruita

Clearing skies on Boulder Mountain

Finally, a camp fire

Sunrise was beautiful on Monday morning and Roger and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before breaking camp.  We decided to drive the 45 mile Hell's Backbone Road between Boulder and Escalante before heading back to Salt Lake.  Some of the views along the road were spectacular and we made a quick stop at Posey Lake to find a nice campground that would be nice to use in the hot summer months. We drove back to Salt Lake that night, happy that we were able to do some great hikes despite the rain.

 Henry Mountains at sunrise

 Henry Mountains at sunrise

Roger loves breakfast time

Hell's Backbone Road

Posey Lake