Utah - hiking and biking (Oct. 2008)

A month of hiking and biking in southern Utah

(Oct 8 - Nov 4/08)
Wow, what a spectacular area, and getting another month of summer was pretty nice too. I either hiked or biked for 24 days in a row, with 2 days of driving in each direction. It felt great. If you haven't been to southern Utah, you have to put it on your list.
This really was a great hiking and biking trip. It was also nice to warm the bones for a few more weeks before winter in Calgary. I loved the amazing slot canyons, interesting desert hiking, huge deep canyons, giant sandstone towers, colourfully painted cliffs, weird hoodoos, Anasazi rock art and ruins, knarled old cottonwoods along the rivers, knarled old Utah Junipers and Pinion Pines. Most of all, I love the smells of the canyons and desert, and vegetation along the rivers. The sand and red rock dust gets everywhere. But there is always something new and interesting to look at, and it never got boring.

Photos posted at:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5KYeRLzrNKZhiXov7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JTcEEB8RFiMMyShy9

Every canyon or desert hike is different. Southern Utah really is an amazing part of the world.

Calf Creek Falls near Escalante

If you ever travel to southern Utah, you may find the following summary helpful...
Fruita, Colorado Area
Monument Canyon Hike - 8/10
4 hrs 10 miles
A 600’ descent into Monument Canyon with many rock sculptures towering overhead. Really interesting canyon and rock formations.
Devil’s Kitchen Hike – 8/101 hour. A natural grotto or bowl, surrounded by huge upright boulders that look like they could topple over any time.
I really enjoyed both these hikes.
Fruita -Mack Ridge Area Biking (8/10)
4hrs 2600’ EG 30k
These are fun, technical rides that have great views of the Grand Valley and Colorado River. A bit loose and rocky, and about as technical as I could handle, with lots of ledges and drop-offs. You can connect a number of loops together to make a great day of riding
Fruita -Book Cliff Area Biking (9/10)This is the best single-track riding I’ve ever done
Western Zippity > Front Side > Joe’s Ridge
Amazing ridge top single-track descent
Prime Cut > Chutes and Ladders
Moderately technical roller coaster
Prime Cut > Kessel Run
Cut like a Luge Track with banked corners, rolling smooth single-track that descends in and out of a ravine

Moab Area
Enjoyed camping in the Big Bend BLM campground on the Colorado River. And I had a gorgeous spot right on the river.
Fischer Towers (8/10)3 hrs
I really enjoyed these sandstone monoliths
Arches – Devil’s Garden (8.5/10)5 hrs
Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Double-O Arch, Dark Angel Tower, Private Arch, Fin Canyon Primitive Loop was a maze of fins, and easy to get lost. Good intro to following the cairns
Got a campsite at Squaw Flat Campground. Very nice.
Chesler Park and The Joint (9/10)
6hrs 11 m
This was longer and more strenuous than I expected, but spectacular scenery. Lots of spies, needles, towers, crypto crusts, slots, and the very narrow joint canyon. I had to remove my pack and go sideways on one of the side slots.
Peek-a-boo Trail and Lost Canyon (9/10) - Needles
7hrs 15m
Much more of a desert, canyon wilderness than Chesler Park, which had lots of people.
Peek-a-boo trail passes Sqaw and Lost Canyons on its way to Salt Cr. Canyon. The cairned route follows spectacular slick rock benches. Lots of steep slopes with some exposure, and a couple of ladders, made it really interesting. Petroglyph panel at the end. Took Lost Canyon on the way back. This has some sandy sections and some difficult trail finding in aptly named “Lost Canyon”. Riparian area with water pools, cottonwoods, bushes, and dense vegetation including bamboo. The route between Lost and Sqaw canyon involved a bit of route finding.

Natural Bridges Area
Natural Bridges Loop (8.5/10)
8.6 m 4hrs
Canyon bottom hiking, going under 3 massive sandstone Bridges. Very nice canyon bottom hike with water and greenery. Nice and cool as I didn’t start until 3pm.

Kane Gulch Trail (7.5/10)
5.5hrs 10m
This gulch drops off the Cedar Mesa plateau, gradually descending to Grand Gulch. I met only a couple of people all day, which really enhanced the canyon, wilderness quality of the hike. Two ruins in this canyon – Junction and Turkey Pen.

Drove to Mulie Point Overlook which has views across to Goose Neck and Monument Valley, and then drove down the steep switchbacks of the Moki Dugway.

Goblin State Park Area
Little Wildhorse/Bell Canyon Loop (8/10)
4 hrs 8m
LWH Canyon has a section about 1.5 miles, with the average width of less than 2 yards. It is a fantasyland of sandstone corkscrew meanderings. One of the easiest and best slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau. There were quite a few people in the slot narrows, but after that I only saw a couple others for the rest of the day.

“The Goblins” (9/10)One hour walk in the early morning light. These really are bizarre formations, and well worth the walk. I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

Capital Reef Area
Drove the scenic road and the Capital Gorge road into a really deep canyon. Wow, this really is an amazing canyon drive on a dirt road.
Golden Throne (8/10)
2 hrs 4m 1100’ EG
I really enjoyed the climb out of the canyon up to a viewpoint of the Golden Throne Mtn. and the Capital Gorge canyon.

Navajo Knobs (7/10)
4.5hrs 9m
Slick rock ramps climbing 1100’ above the Fremont River. Good views of the river valley and the Fruita area. Petroglyphs site by the trailhead.

Notom-Bullfrog Road from Fruita to Escalante
The road was all in great condition and even the Burr Trail Road switchbacks where fine. No washboard, good gravel/dirt road.
Surprise Canyon (7/10)3 hours
Walk across the mesa to the canyon entrance. This hike had a slick rock ramp to climb, which was much more difficult down-climbing. I got into some off-trail bouldering so decided to head back.
Nice drive into Boulder and down to Escalante (GSENM) – really nice drive along the Hog’s Back ridge top road.

Escalante AreaDrove the Hole-in-the-Rock-Road to Dry Gulch Slots (Dry fork of Coyote Gulch). I had to endure washboard for about 40 miles, doing only 10-35 mph.
I loved these very narrow slots canyons.
Peek-a-boo and Spooky (9/10)
3.5 hrs
Dry Fork Canyon was not very interesting, so I headed for Peek-a-boo and then Spooky. Had to do a 8’ climb to get into Peek-a-boo. This is a sculptured slot for ¼ mile, with lots of twists and turns. It is very narrow, and I had to walk sideways at times without a pack. Holes to crawl through. I wore pants and fleece shirt to prevent getting scraped up. A bit of wiggling, squeezing sideways, stemming with back, shoulders, arms, feet, etc. Had to leave pack at canyon entrance.
Zebra Canyon (8.5/10)
2.5hrs
Involves a mesa and river bottom walk to the canyon entrance. This slot is only ¼ mile long with cool marble conglomerates, called Moki Marbles, stuck in the walls. This canyon is known for its pink and white striations in the curving sandstone walls. Had to climb a tree branch to get over a pour off, which was a bit awkward to climb up, and even harder to down climb.

Calf Creek Falls (9/10)3 hrs
This is a stunningly beautiful canyon especially with the fall colors.

Kodachrome State Park Area
Really nice campsites in a sheltered canyon, surrounded by red rock cliffs and towers.
Panorama Trail (8/10)
3hrs 6m
Loop trails around tall tan colored spires called sand pipes, red rock towers, box canyons, and cool caves. Not that interesting for the 1st half hour, but it just kept getting better. Could have biked this trail, but it was a bit sandy.
Willis Creek (7.5/10)
2hrs 5m
10 km of dirt road with a couple challenging sections to drive, along steep ridge tops with sheer drops on both sides. Hiked into 4 small slots, but I really liked the canyon walls when it opened up a bit – lots of water pockets, pinion pines, and crumbling arches and cracks. Easy walking along the creek bottom. Was wet at first, then turned into a dry wash.
Thunder Mountain Biking (10/10)
26k 10:30-1:30 3hrs
Located in Red Canyon, just west of Bryce. Wow!!! Single track riding just doesn’t get any better than this. Smooth single track, contouring red sandstone formations, and rising into a ponderosa forest. This is a superbly built trail, not too technical, exposed in places, ridge top riding with views of pink sandstone columns. One of the most aesthetic rides I’ve ever been on.
Butch Cassidy Trail Biking (8/10)
2hrs
I rode up the paved cycle path to the Red Canyon trailhead and rode the Butch Cassidy Trail to a great viewpoint of pink sandstone towers. It was a bit rocky and dusty, and not as fun as Thunder Mtn, but not bad.
Bryce Canyon
Navajo-Peek-a-boo Loops (8/10)3hrs 10.4k 500 meters EG
Really stunning scenery, but a few too many people even on a Monday. Pink-salmon colored towers.

East of Kanab Area
Lottery at the BLM office for Coyote Buttes North and “The Wave”.
Buckskin Gulch (9/10)
16m return 10-5pm 7hrs
Started from the Wire Pass trailhead. I kept a good pace all day with only a couple short breaks. I think I made it to the “ Midpoint Exit”. The first 1.5 miles goes down Wire Pass Canyon and meets up with Buckskin Gulch. WOW!! This is probably the best slot canyon so far. Long and deep, with very few exit/entrance points. 13 miles of deep, narrow, slot canyon, to the confluence with the Paria Canyon. I only went half way, but was very impressed. It is very dark and cold at times. One pool had to be waded with sandals, thigh deep. No technically difficulties.

Zion NP
Angel’s Landing (9/10)
3.5 hrs 5m 1500’ EG
The section through Refrigerator Canyon was shaded and nice for the climb on this hot day. This is a really cool, exposed trail to the landing. Lots of chains. Smoky, due to a controlled burn in the area, but still good views.
Emerald Pools (8/10)
1.5 hrs 3m
Nice shaded hike into green areas with 3 lovely pools. I really enjoyed this aesthetic hike. Very pretty. I find the whole Zion canyon is very aesthetic and beautiful. It’s a garden of Eden in a spectacular canyon.
Canyon Overlook (7/10)
2 miles, great views, worth the short walk
Observation Point (8.5/10)
2150’ EG 5m 3.5 hrs
This is a stunning canyon, very pretty, great viewpoint, switchbacks and lots of elevation.

Gooseberry Mesa Biking (8/10)
5hrs 20 miles of single-track and slick rock playground
A bit of a convoluted drive on dirt roads to get up to the Mesa, but well worth it. The riding was technical, bowls+ledges, on good slick rock, following the rim of a circular mesa. Great views when you stop for breaks.

St. George Area
Snow Canyon Trails (8/10)
This is a very cool area, with lava flows and towering sandstone cliffs in colors ranging from burnt orange to creamy white. The Navajo sandstone formations and desert plants makes it an interesting place to wander, and not nearly as crowded as Zion. I climbed up some slick rock domes and into a lava cave, and to the top of some stunning viewpoints.
Johnson Canyon (8/10), which is a really pretty little canyon with an arch. Worth the short walk.

Brazil - A Canadian’s Experiences

A Canadian’s Experiences in Brazil Nov 5-14, 1996

I had mixed emotions when I heard I would be traveling on business to Sao Paulo. At first, I thought of beaches, warm sunshine and maybe a cruise on the Amazon. When I started researching, I was surprised to learn that Brazil is almost as large as the USA in area, and that the greater Sao Paulo area is the fastest growing city in the world, with about 20 million people. What does 20 million really mean? I come from Calgary, Canada which has a population of about 600,000 and which I consider a large, fairly crowded city. I feel that Calgary shopping malls are too crowded. How crowded would 17 million people be? I really could not imagine. I did some more research, and learned that Brazil is the world’s eighth-largest economy, but less than half of the city’s inhabitants are connected with the sewage system. What should I expect?
As my plane flew towards Sao Paulo, I watched the sun rise over the Amazon cloud forest. As we descended into Sao Paulo, we started flying over houses, roads, and other buildings. Twenty minutes later we were still flying over houses. This must be a huge city!
During the taxi ride into the city center, I quickly learned that all taxi drivers in Sao Paulo, pretend they are driving on the Grand Prix circuit. We cut in and out of traffic at incredible speed. The white lane markers on the roads seemed to have lost all meaning, and why cars have left and right turn indicators in Sao Paulo, is beyond me. They seldom if ever get used. At the hotel, I thanked the taxi driver for showing me how fast he could drive, as I pried my fingers out of the dash. I later experienced the real rush hour in Sao Paulo, and my only comment is that I was totally unprepared for this. I had no idea that you could get 12 lanes of cars on a 5 lane freeway, with every second car changing lanes (without signaling of course), and trucks pumping exhaust fumes directly into your window.
After a nap to help recover from the 17 hour flight and 45 minute taxi race, I decided to go for an afternoon walk, before it got dark. I had read that street assaults and robberies are common, so I felt pretty nervous for the first few blocks. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was following me. I started to relax, when I realized I probably would not get mugged in the middle of the day on a busy shopping street. As I walked down the street, I found it overpoweringly noisy, hectic, and crowded. This human energy was amazing. I had to concentrate to avoid running into people. I eventually stopped at a sidewalk cafe, and just sat and watched the crowds go by.
After a few days, I did not find the traffic and crowds as intimidating, and I really started enjoying the friendly and energetic people. Almost everyone I talked with was very friendly, and really went out of their way to be helpful. On Saturday, I took a spectacular highway, over jungle covered mountains, to the beaches at Guaruja. Only about 10% of Sao Paulo was on the beach (that’s about 1.7 million), so it was a little busy. Actually, the sightseeing on the beach was a lot better than I had anticipated. Brazilian women have taken the “string bikini” to a new level of erotic fashion. Only the “Brazilian” string bikini is named “floss dental”.
On Sunday, I enjoyed a huge breakfast buffet. I particularly like the incredible variety of tropical fruit, and strong Brazilian coffee. When I took a bus to a city park, I entered and exited by the front door, and since no one asked for money I thought the bus must be free. I only learned afterwards that you pay at the booth in the middle of the bus, and exit at the back. Ibirapuera Park is 400 acres of lakes and trees, and I found it a welcome break from the traffic and downtown crowds. Only about 10% of Sao Paulo was in the Park that Sunday (that’s about 1.7 million). It is actually such a huge park that it does not seem crowded.
I enjoyed some great meals in Sao Paulo. I particularly enjoyed the tender beef steaks, seafood buffets, and Sushi. The dark Chopp (beer) and Antarctica were also my favorites. I tried the Caipirinha, a sugarcane brandy mixed with lime and sugar. Wow, what a kick! Mexican Tequila is like water compared with this stuff!
I had mixed emotions, when it came time to fly back to Canada. I wanted to breathe the fresh air of the Canadian Rockies, but knew I would miss the friendly, energetic people and warm sunny weather of Brazil. When the plane flew over Calgary, we had to circle the airport while they ploughed the snow off the runway, so we could land. It had snowed 45 cm. while I was in Brazil, and the temperature was -22 C. While I shoveled the snow off my sidewalks, I thought of the sunny beaches at Guaruja Island, and the friendly people of Sao Paulo. It warmed up to -12 C this weekend, so I went skiing, and the skiing was great, but there was not one string bikini to be seen.

Biking the Road To Nepal near Calgary

Today I enjoyed a fabulous 100km road bike ride out into the foothills south of Calgary. I rode from home, taking the bike path down 37st out to 22x. The lighting was stunning with brilliant blue skies, bright yellow fields of Canola, and the snow capped mountains in the distance. A large Hawk dive bombed me, coming within about 3 feet of hitting me. I heard later that a cyclist was knocked off his bike a few years ago by a large Hawk, and ended up breaking a few bones in the crash.

I met up with John and rode over the 'Road to Nepal' to Plumbers Road. We saw a huge deer with a giant rack prancing through the fields. We also heard a chorus of coyotes, howling at a farm dog just to piss him off. What a great ride in one of the most spectacular areas of the foothills.