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Journal Cary
Simms
10/2/99 - 10/10/99 OKC Sierra Club outing
to Escalante National Monument, Utah The Grand Staircase 6 members, 9 days, 2600
miles, 7 nights in tents, 1 night in hotel, 4 x 4 Suburban rental, $160.31 each
+ $70 car fee for non-drivers + food - nice price for a 9 day trip! Carolyn Esmon, Elean
Ainette, Cary Simms, Rita Henji, Bill Scimeca (asst leader), David Franklin
(leader) This was the best
backpack trip any of us have ever taken! October 2, 1999 Met at David Franklin's
house, OKC at 8 am. Lunch at Calico
Country in Amarillo, TX. Camped at
Red Rock State Park, east of Gallup, New Mexico.
The hills surrounding the camp look white in the spotlights but are light
red in daylight. Red
rock hills illuminated light, impressive sight all around the night.
Dirt
roads entwine with the hills, night walk round back where darkness fills. Cold,
crisp wind stirs the land, starry night flush with the Milky Way's band. October 3, 1999 To Flagstaff, AZ
airport - rented Suburban. Lunch at
Cameron Trading Post (David's plan was to eat at Speedy's but that was nixed).
Took Cottonwood Road thinking that even though it was marked
"closed", we might be able to get through).
At 8 miles, however, the road was completely washed out and we had to
turn around. Met a lone bicyclist
from Amsterdam crossing the washout section.
Got back on the highway, had dinner at the Wok Inn in Kanab, camped at
Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park. Star
gazing after dark on the dunes. Early
before dawn, David is up, exploring the dunes.
He stampedes some cattle against the fence next to our campsite. Coral
pink sand, shifting under your feet, traversing the dunes, night air so sweet. Watching
for meteors, bright streaks in the sky, waiting for sleepiness to capture the
eye. Hoofbeats
and snorting, disturbing the night, David spooking the cattle, when up before
light. October 4, 1999 To Bryce Canyon
National Park, Utah. Set up tents
in the North campground. Visited
the major scenic points on the rim, hiked the Bristlecone Loop Trail. At Yovimpa Point we saw the following quote on the site board
about the lands in the park: "The
air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath - the
beasts, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath.
The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes… If
we sell you our land, you must keep it apart, and sacred, as a place where even
the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadows
flowers." Chief
Seattle, 1854 Had early dinner at the
Lodge, attended a park history talk. Several
of us hiked the rim trail until past dark.
Later, some of us sat in the Suburban to talk and laugh before retiring
to our tents. Native
Americans appreciated the air, their rights were ignored, their land taken away. We
must preserve and respect the earth, to show we have learned to care. Rim
Trail hiking to the end of day. Erosion
leaves Hoodoos, where hard rocks sit where they may. Hiking
faster and faster to finish by dark, we don't want to miss-step and be hurt in
the park. Truck
party, truck party, what a good time!
Who snuck up and jerked open the door?
You startled us badly, please do that no more!
To Escalante, Utah and
southeast down Hole in the Rock Road to trailhead at Hurricane Wash.
Began hike #39 in Ron Adkinson's "Hiking the Grand Staircase".
Backpacked 6.5 miles into Coyote Gulch and camped next to the Jacob
Hamblin Arch formation. This camp
was 2 miles from our planned base camp but we figured we could do the extra 4
miles the next day without our backpacks, no problem. A magnificent campsite - it has the only toilet facility in
the area. The tree next to it was
my favorite in the gulch (good fertilizer I suppose) - I've got a great picture
of that tree. I enjoyed exploring
the gulch until dusk and wading through the cold creek (really nice after the
hot afternoon walk in tightly laced boots).
I was surprised that the gulch wasn't pitch dark that night - the bright
starlight provided some illumination! Several
of us wondered why others had packed certain items in their backpacks.
Packing just right, we all know we can, but how do you justify a large metal loaf pan? October 6, 1999 Day hiked down the
gulch past Coyote Natural Bridge towards the Escalante River.
Note: An arch is formed
by rain and wind erosion and has a debris pile at the base.
A natural bridge is formed by water erosion eroding the base (no debris
pile). A short ways after the
Coyote Natural Bridge, a tarantula was seen in a branch only 6 feet off the
ground but not before one of the gals had passed under the branch.
She said she wasn't squeamish but I wonder about that if she had noticed
it just as she was passing under, instead
of after the fact! In total, there
were 2 tricky areas that were extremely hard to navigate.
At the first, a waterfall, we were lucky to meet a couple who showed us
where they had climbed down which we genuinely appreciated.
At the next seemingly impassible point, huge boulders and a 30 foot
waterfall were the obstacle. Just
as we were about to decide we couldn't go farther, a pair of hikers showed up.
They told us we had to travel over the steep slickrock on the right
canyon wall, past the waterfall, and use a pole ladder someone had set up (out
of site from where we were at the time) to get down.
With wind blown sand on the slickrock, the footing was treacherous!
Nothing would stop you from falling into the gorge if you lost your
footing. Despite some tense
moments, we made it past this area and down the pole ladder. Once we reached the Escalante river (the end of the planned
hike), we waded upstream several hundred yards because the day before, we met a
group of hikers who told us that we would see the best sight of all around the
bend - Steven's Arch! It was well
worth it and all of us were impressed by this beautiful formation. After lunch and a
little swimming in the river, we started back to base camp (13.4 miles total
trip). After the pole ladder,
crossing back over the sandy slickrock took even more courage than the first
time! One of us was in
sandals because the cheaper boots he started in (saving his good boots from
getting muddy) were not working out. He
never complained, but at this point he was bleeding from his heels all over the
trail so we had a short stop to provide some first aid. Back at the waterfall,
some of us decided not to try climbing up the way we came down and took another
route. This proved to be a bad idea
and the tensest moment of the entire outing.
One of us almost slid off the edge when the person he was helping lost
their footing and was dangling above the gorge! When we finally arrived
back at camp, we were shocked to see that strong winds had pulled up most tent
stakes and most tents were tipped over on their side. One tent that was still upright had slid about 20 feet
towards the river and left the backpack sitting next to where the tent had been. Up on the rocks, slippery with sand, how could she pass, so high above land? The courage it took was admired by all, she could have been killed by a dangerous fall. On the way back the same ledge to cross, She tackled her fear with no courage lost. Cheap
boots like tennis shoes, do not make a good hike, but sandals on all day will
leave your heels such a sight! We got back to base camp and all was askew, most tents were tipped over, see how the wind blew! One of us boasted “my tents the only one standing, but look how the wind moved my backpack from its landing!”
Night was approaching, the wind was still blowing, the clouds were threatening. Being stuck in the canyon, a flash flood was mighty frightening. One
of us anchored his tent by tying stakes to rocks and the tent to a tree.
If he had it available, I bet he'd put his tent in a safe with locks! Huddled
in tents, ready for night, one last checkup to make sure it’s right. October 7, 1999 Backpacked 6.5 miles
down Hurricane Wash back to the Suburban.
On the way, we got into a nest of bees under a log and one of us received
5 stings, with 2 others getting one each. At the next clearing, a tarantula on the sand terrorized one
of our gals ("It's looking at me!!!!"). After loading the Suburban, we drove up Hole in the
Rock road and turned south on Lefthand Colliet Top road for 69 miles of 4
wheeling. This saved us about 100
miles but didn’t save any time due to the roughness of the roads.
Extremely rough roads. Very
extreme. Most of us thought that
was enough for a lifetime of rough roads. We
stopped in Page, AZ at a pizza joint and talked about getting a hotel room for
the guys and one for the gals instead of a 6th night in tents.
Didn’t take much talk. The
Page Boy motel turned out to be a good choice. Soul searching questions, offered each day, we didn’t know how to answer, but debated anyway. One of us in back, a rough ride and worse for sakes! - but a pacifier indeed is the last of the pieces of pecan pound cakes. 5
nights in our tents, then over pizza we sat.
A motel nearby, which would you choose – a bed or a mat? October 8, 1999 To Grand Canyon South
Rim. Set up camp at Mather
campground, Grand Canyon Village. Rode
the free shuttle down West Rim road to Hermits Rest (end point) stopping at many
vista points for pictures. David
touched us with a very moving story along the way.
Rode the shuttle back to Bright Angle Trailhead and walked back to the
Village. We ate lunch and dinner at
Yavapai Lodge cafeteria. Late
evening hiking and then a truck party. One
topic of discussion was large mouth water bottles – how great they are to have
around when you really need one.
Good food and prices, ate there a lot, free water’s available, but the cashier said not. 2
pieces of fish, one not complete, the whole price was paid for the small piece
of meat. Could have enjoyed it and
liked every bite, but teasing and poking make salmon taste not right. October
9, 1999 To Flagstaff to turn in
the Suburban. Chinese lunch at
Grand Canyon Café in Flagstaff. To
Santa Rose State Park, New Mexico The stars at night, deep and bright, friends are nearby, warming the soul like the heat of the sun although there’s no light. Playing
cards on the table, sharing our thoughts, making memories so deep and friends
like we ought. Examining
the sky (Pleiades), just before bed, laughter so real, it weighs more than lead.
Stirrups and horses, points in the sky, what do they look like, its up to
my eye. October 10, 1999 To OKC.
Listened to Henry Mancini brought back strong memories and feelings for
me. Lunch at Furr’s Amarillo, TX.
All you care to eat for $6.70! The
best meal of the trip! Mine was as
follows: Hamburger steak, sauteed mushrooms, Fried chicken leg, aspargus
casserole (2 servings), grilled cod fillet, cucumber salad, mexican cornbread,
green beans, millionaire pie, strawberry pie (2 servings), a few bites of pecan
pie and custard pie! Stopped at the
Cadillac tailfin memorial along I-40. All
meals were fine, even some great, we shared food around so plenty we ate. Junk
food and drinks, lots every day, keep all receipts and review what you paid. Diet
Pepsi in litres, every stop on the way. How
do you finish the tough hike? – you look forward to a slush even though you
know there’s no way! |
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