WINDING DOWN

It’s hard to get excited about anything after The Wave, but the trip continued. From Page we headed to Canyon de Chelly for one night. http://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm Back in the tent, we survived a balmy 29 degrees, and actually managed to stay warm. We didn’t venture into the canyon as a guide is required, but drove both the south and north rims, peering over the edge at every turnout.

Next up, Chaco Canyon. http://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm We’ve been there a couple of times before, but never for an overnight stay. I wanted to be there for both the sunset and sunrise in an attempt to get photographs in the subdued lighting conditions. After setting up camp, we went to Pueblo Benito, the largest ruin in the Chaco complex where once again I took way to many photos. After another cold night, this time 19 degrees, I left Cathie in a warm bed and went to Pueblo del Arroyo and took a whole bunch more photos as the sun came up.

After defrosting with a warm breakfast of oatmeal, we headed to Rio Rancho on the outskirts of Albuquerque to stay with friends for 3 nights. We had a great visit and ate way too much food and drink. Back on the road, we stopped at the Grand Canyon for one night. http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm I don’t think we’ll be coming back to the Grand Canyon again unless it’s on a raft going down the Colorado. This place is way too crowded with a never ending line of tourist buses arriving all day long. We stayed in Mather Campground and for most of the night you could hear the drone of vehicles on the nearby roads, not to mention the idiots with their car alarms going off with the slightest hint of a breeze.

We are now in Prescott for our last stop of the trip. We are staying at a very nice bed and breakfast. http://www.prescottpinesinn.com/index.html This morning after a great breakfast we drove to the old mining town of Jerome and walked up and down its steep streets. Tomorrow we’ll head home, where after recuperating for two days, we’ll head for the beach for a week.

No new adventures are planned in the immediate future, but who knows. I’m sure something will come up.

CHACO AT SUNRISE
CATHIE AND FRIEND

RUIN IN CANYON DE CHELLY

HOTEL IN JEROME

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OUR ROOM'S NOT READY?

PRESCOTT PINES B&B

CHACO CANYON PHOTOS

SOME MORE WAVE PHOTOS

WOW, THE WAVE

After freezing in 26 degree weather, we abandoned the tent for the night and stayed in a motel in Kanab. We got up early to drive the 40 miles to the trailhead for our hike to The Wave. We have been looking forward to this hike for months after being successful in obtaining a permit for 2 hikers out of the 10 given each day on the internet. An additional 10 are given out the day before the hike at the ranger station. These permits are extremely hard to come by and we were very lucky to get ours.

We started the 3 mile hike to The Wave at 9 AM and passed a couple of others on the way. Most of the trail is not marked and permit holders are given a map and directions. After 1-1/2 hours we were the first ones to arrive. Upon casting our eyes on this natural wonder we immediately understood why so many try to get the limited number of permits. We both agreed that this was the most beautiful piece of landscape we had ever seen. It is doubtful we will ever see anything like this again, unless of course we manage to get another permit. We spent the first 30 minutes or so alone in the silence, in awe of the scene. Others began arriving and we learned one group was from North Carolina, a couple from Scottsdale, and a couple from Germany.

We couldn’t stop taking pictures and between us we manage to snap just shy of 200 photos. It was hard to stop taking photos as the light changed the hews and shadows. It was also very difficult choosing which photos to post here on the blog as they all turned out pretty good. After several hours snapping pictures and exploring the surrounding area, we managed to pull ourselves away and headed back to the car.

We are now in Page, AZ at a motel (a planned stop) before heading to Canyon de Chelly tomorrow. We have already decided to try to obtain another permit for The Wave in the future. Yes, it’s that impressive.

THERE ARE NO CAPTIONS NECESSARY

JUST SOME PHOTOS

THE BURR TRAIL

COTTONWOOD CANYON ROAD

SWITCHBACKS ON THE BURR TRAIL

THE BURR TRAIL

BURRRRR ON THE BURR TRAIL

IT'S NOON AND THIS IS WHY

WE'RE IN A MOTEL

SUNRISE AT KODACHROME BASIN STATE PARK

AND ITS 26 DEGREES

GROSVENOR ARCH NEAR KODACHROME BASIN

PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF

After a week in San Diego and with Cathie’s mother in the hospital, but on the road to recovery, we decided to continue the road trip with the week in the middle missing. We left home early and drove straight through to Escalante, Utah. We will spend a couple of days here before our scheduled hike to The Wave. Due to the emergency at home, we missed the White Rim Trail in Canyon Lands National Park, but we probably would have had to cancel anyway due to lots of rain. We will explore Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as long as the weather holds. Rain and snow are expected tonight so we opted for a motel. Hey, we like adventure but draw the line a 25 degrees! BLM web site is here: http://tinyurl.com/4x78b7

While still in Zion, one evening we decided to have dinner with a view. We drove to a view spot on the Zion Tunnel Road and with our new camping kitchen prepared a dinner of salad, Jambalaya with the appropriate wine. An enjoyable meal with the best view in Zion.

Stay Tuned............

Next stop and we’re in Moab where we’ve been many times before. With its close proximity to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, it is one of our favorite places in the Southwest. On our last trip here in the fall of ’06 we were caught in a severe thunderstorm when we attempted to photograph Delicate Arch at sunset. Read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/43n8ud This time the weather cooperated and we managed to get some good photographs of the arch in the late afternoon glow.

DELICATE ARCH







A POPULAR PLACE AT SUNSET

Another reason for coming to Moab is the abundance of 4-WD trails. With names like, Steel Bender, Metal Masher, Cliff Hanger and Hell’s Revenge you immediately get the idea that some of these trails just might be a tad bit difficult and evidenced in this video: http://tinyurl.com/4j579d We opted to try out some of the more tame ones given our desire to drive home in the same car we arrived in. One of those roads took us to Gemini Bridges, set of natural stone bridges, while another took us into the La Sal Mountains for some striking fall color.

PUCKER PASS

THAT'S CATHIE OUT THERE

IN THE LA SAL MOUNTIANS

We managed to get in a great hike in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, south of Moab. We hiked to an area called Chesler Park, a 6 mile round trip hike with some really striking scenery. It rained on us some during this hike, and the forecast was calling for rain over the next several days.

CHESLER PARK

CHESLER PARK

When we arrived back in Moab and the cell phone started working, we were notified that Cathie’s mother was in the hospital in San Diego. After several phone calls we learned that she was in the ICU at Kaiser Hospital and we decided to head for home. The next morning we hit the road at 5:30 AM arriving in San Diego about 8 PM. Although it was touch and go, Cathie’s Mom now appears to be out of the woods.

Not ones to let a little emergency put a total kibosh on things, we intend on returning to Utah once everything is OK on the home front.

PER YOUR REQUEST

I've had several request for photos of the scabs, so here you go. The ones on the hands don't show well. Don't I look happy?

WE MADE IT THIS TIME

After the attempt to reach The Subway, there was some doubt in my mind if Cathie would be all right to attempt the next hike we had planned. We have wanted to hike to Observation Point in Zion for several years after having failed to complete the hike on a previous visit. Starting in Zion Canyon, the trail zigzags its way to a point overlooking most of Zion. It is an 8 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of 2148 feet! After a day of recovery from the Subway attempt, Cathie skipped the medication that made her dizzy and gave the go ahead. http://tinyurl.com/4emmzp

We set the alarm for an early start and were hiking by 7AM. You must take the Zion Shuttle to the trailhead. The shuttle system in the park works really well with busses running every 7 to 8 minutes beginning at 6:45 in the morning until 10:00 PM. http://tinyurl.com/4wcn6s The trail to Observation Point is maintained with no boulder hopping involved. What is involved is a steep climb for almost the entire 4 miles. There are beautiful views on the way up, which were especially nice with the rising sun shinning on the mountain tops and cliff faces.

After climbing 2-1/2 hours, we were rewarded with the best view in Zion. Luckily Cathie made it without experiencing any of the problems she had a couple of days ago. She climbed the entire 2148 vertical feet, while I made the extra effort and climbed 2149 vertical feet, climbing the last foot twice. We were the second couple on the top on this particular day and shortly after we arrived, the other folks started back down. We were left in the solitude with a never ending view for 30 peaceful minutes before other hikers started to arrive. We decided to head back down as it was getting too crowded at the top.

Going down the steep trail presents its own problems with sore toes and knees. Almost to the bottom, I discovered another problem. It was my own feet getting in the way. Cathie said my body actually skipped down the trail as I did a header, landing on my face, stopping the downhill slide with my knees. Imagine the surprise of the startled German tourist as I came to a stop in a heap at his feet. My first thought was that I broke my glasses. I wasn’t worried about broken bones as they are covered by insurance, but the glasses…..

There are several good things about my fall, as I try to find something positive in just about everything. The bloody areas on my forehead, nose, arm and knees were a point of conversation for everyone on the shuttle back to the visitor center. Not wanting to admit that I tripped over my own feet, I started making up stories of heroics on my part, like how I saved a small child from certain death who was falling over the edge. It was also a humbling experience for me, as it is usually Cathie who does the falling down.

After four nights in the tent, we are now the guests of Susan and Mike at the Rockville Rose B&B. The B&B is a short distance from Zion’s entrance and we would highly recommend this establishment for its comfort, great breakfast and engaging hosts. We’re here for two nights before heading to Moab. http://www.rockvillerose.com/

ENTROUTE TO THE TOP TROUGH ECHO CANYON

AT THE TOP LOOKING DOWN

AT THE TOP (BEFORE THE FALL)


ROCKVILLE ROSE BED AND BREAKFAST

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

After an early start, we arrived in Zion mid afternoon and the first thing we did was to go to the back country permit desk at the visitor center to seek a permit for the Subway. Our luck continued to hold as there were permits available for the next day. Check out the link here to learn just what the Subway is. http://tinyurl.com/The-Subway After setting up camp at the Watchman Campground inside the park, we fixed a great dinner of Halibut using our new camp kitchen. It is going to take some getting use to camping this way, with the hardest part, just remembering where you put something.

We’re up before dawn so we can get to the trailhead as it gets light. We’re hiking before sunrise thus avoiding some of the heat. It’s been in the low 90’s by early afternoon. The first ½ mile is easy through pinion pine, then it’s downhill into a deep canyon for the next ½ mile. It’s really steep with part of the trail on the edge of a cliff. We realized right away that the worst part of the hike will be the return up this potion of the trail in the afternoon heat. Once in the bottom of the canyon, it’s just a matter of following the stream up canyon until you reach the Subway. The going is not too strenuous, but there’s a lot of crossing and re-crossing the stream and boulder hopping. Total distance to and from the Subway, 9.5 miles, a piece of cake, right?

After about 3 hours, Cathie started having some difficulty due to a bad head and chest cold. She complained of difficulty catching her breath and of being dizzy. She was taking some medication with a side effect of dizziness. We figured we had another hour of walking before reaching the Subway, and Cathie didn’t know if she could make it. We decided to wait for a guided group of hikers who were behind us. When they arrived, the guide told us our estimate of another hour was pretty close to being correct. We decided due to Cathie’s condition it was probably best to turn around, knowing we had at a minimum a 3 hour hike to return to the trailhead.

As we walked down canyon, Cathie continued to get worse. We were stopping frequently for her to rest, dreading the steep climb out of the canyon. As we reached the bottom of the climb, Cathie told me she didn’t think she could make it. I told her we would take all the time she needed, but staying at the bottom of the canyon was not an option. We started up, walking very slowly, stopping to rest about every 20 to 30 yards or so. Cathie was really having difficulty and told me on several occasions that she thought she was going to pass out. She described everything turning white, with her head spinning. We would stop when ever we found a shady spot with shade being at a premium on this the sunny side of the canyon wall.

After 1-1/2 hours to climb the ½ mile up the side of the canyon, we finally made it back to the car. Cathie told me later that she was really scared and at times thought she would never get out of that canyon. As for me, I was also scared about the possibility of having to leave her under a tree and going for help. There was no cell phone coverage in the canyon or at the trailhead, so she would have been alone for a long time.

Oh well, we didn’t make it, but it’s another adventure and a story to tell. I will return and complete the hike in the future. Any takers?

SOME ZION RESIDENTS