Willis Creek

We had a great family hiking day planned out in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Our goal was to hike in Willis Creek which I heard was the best hiking trail for kids in the monument. Unfortunately, when we awoke Conrad was sick. This concerned his mother, so the two of them decided to stay back while Zyla and I went off for our hike. I took Zyla hiking alone once before when she was a bit younger and the results were okay. She was not as interactive then, so I was hoping this time at nearly 3 she would be a bit more fun.

She had to wait a while to get the hiking in. We had to drive east of Zion National Park, north from Mt. Carmel, to the Glendale Bench Road. Then it was another hour of driving on dirt roads. The first 45 minutes were on good dirt roads, the last 15 minutes was on some rough dirt roads. Zyla and her dad handled it well and eventually we were at the trailhead. I was a bit nervous that Zyla was not going to enjoy the hiking and would be distracted with all the little things along the way. This was the case at the trailhead. Every rock and stick was something to play with. I loaded up the backpack with things for the day, but my goal was to see how much I could get her to walk. The first part of the trail was right near the canyon above it.
This was a lot of hand holding and saying, okay, keep moving Zyla. Then we hit the water. I thought that this could be trouble because what is the point of going to the next stream crossing as there is one right here. Also, what if she didn't like getting wet? Well, my fears were absolved very quickly as Zyla figured this one out quickly. I have never seen that little girl move so swiftly. It was down hill, downstream, nothing but water walking for the next bit. And it gave her dad so much joy to see her really enjoying it.
To top it all off, the canyon was rather amazing with some gorgeous narrows and some more open hotter sections. It was rather busy in the canyon. When any of the older folks passed, they would say something about how she is missing the point and should be walking next to the water. I said, no way, she's got it figured out. Walking in the water is number one the least impactful way to walk and number two, the most fun. This was the first time that I really saw Zyla just purely enjoy hiking. I was having a great time, too.

We stopped for lunch and two of us ate lunch together. It felt really good inside to be able to share the day with my daughter. We continued downstream to where there was an arch. Then the creek hit a junction and opened up a bit. This was where we decided to turn around. I told Zyla, that whenever she wanted, she just needed to tell me and I would carry her in the backpack. She went a little ways upstream, but then decided that she had enough. She had hiked over two miles, which at two years old is pretty good.
The rest of the way I carried her back in the backpack where we were able to have some conversation. We made it back to the car after a very enjoyable hike. Then it was another two hour drive back home. We took the other way through Cannonville and this was just as long but a lot less bumpy. What a great day, so enjoyable with my wonderful daughter.

Babylon

It was just Zyla and I for the day, so we met up with Grandma and Papa to go for a hike out in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. Carl had a good idea of a place to go hiking, so we drove out toward Babylon. On the drive we saw a large snake that looked just like a rattlesnake, but it turned out instead to just be a Bull Snake. We saw this along a dirt road that took us out to the trailhead. Our goal for the day was to see a desert tortoise as I had been in Zion for 7 years and still never had located a desert tortoise.

We parked at the trailhead, where Carl led us out toward some dinosaur tracks. Nearly immediately, we spotted a desert tortoise. It was just a baby probably about a year old and not too large. We watched it for a bit and then let it go on its way. Then we went over to the dinosaur tracks. They were pretty neat going up the side of the cliff. I tried to point them out to Zyla, but she was not incredibly stoked about it. We took some photos and admired them, then headed back to the trailhead. So far we had not even hiked and we already had seen some interesting sights.

This would continue as there were a bunch of petroglyphs right at the trailhead. They were a pretty good example of petroglyphs and we enjoyed them thoroughly. You could just imagine the ancients hunting for game in this area. Then we began the hike. So far Zyla was walking, but if we wanted to make any ground, she was going to need to go in the backpack. I put her in there and then we were able to move a bit quicker. The scenery was less than inspiring as the previous summer there was a large fire in this area that kind of cleared out the vegetation.

It started out with a gradual uphill. We had a map with us, but it did not show the mileage or topography, so it was hard to tell where we were. There were also other trails coming in that were not on the map. At a junction, we sat down to have some lunch. Looking at the map, it seemed we had reached Historic Babylon on the Historic Babylon Trail. But we were mistaken when we kept going. When we finally reached it, we were four miles into the hike and it was just as far to go back the same way as to continue. So we kept going and eventually met up with the Little Purgatory Trail.
This one led us around and we were second guessing whether we were headed the right way. There were other little trails coming in that weren't on the map. But we stood the course and eventually made it back to the car. Everyone was pretty beat after that hike as Grandma and Papa liked to do some shorter hikes, but nothing of that length. And for me, I was carrying my two year old for many miles so that is enough to wear me out. It was a nice hike though the views were not incredibly inspiring, but a good trail with some good company.

A Grouse and a View

I had a leisurely day of backpacking ahead of me as I was just going on the West Rim where there was just 14 miles of trail to hike over two days. I decided that I had to make this a bit more interesting. I was able to start from Barney's Trail due to the West Rim Road being closed. This was the only place I still saw significant snow. I could tell from the condition of the road that it would be a matter of days until the road was open. The trail was rather similar to past hikes. I talked to a few groups that were backpacking. They were all rather nice. As I got to Potato Hollow, I was excited to see a grouse. I watched this grouse for a bit and I thought it strange that it was letting me get so close to it.

I snapped some photos but after the third picture, it was right at my feet. Now, there was no reason to be scared of an animal so small, but it was in attack mode. It kind of flew up, so I gave it a nudge with my foot. This didn't stop it as the grouse came right back and did the same thing. This time I gave it more of a soft kick to knock it back. It still came back for more. I decided then and there that I was going to end this ordeal. I gave it a swift kick and it toppled head over heels. It seemed stunned by that and wandered into the bushes. I thought it was strange, but I went about my business after that. I set up camp at site number 7 in Potato Hollow. There was a fire ring I had to remove, so that made me a little grumpy.

 I went over to campsite 8 and that looked a bit crazy with food and gear spread out everywhere. This group was obviously using too much space for such a small campsite. They were nowhere to be seen, so I used my extra time to do some exploring. I ran into a corral which was probably used at the time when the area above this was referred to as Horse Pasture Plateau.

 Funny how things change when it becomes a National Park. I kept going as my goal was to make it out to the rim. I got one of the most beautiful views of the cliffs below. This was a spectacular shot and viewpoint that no one ever sees because they do not venture off the established route. There was a bit of bushwhacking but nothing above manzanita level to get to this view. Spectacular! One that would be the highlight of many a trip to Zion. I hung out here tracing the route through the Right Fork from above. Then I wandered on over to the drop in for the Hammerhead to check that out. This was a bit more of a bushwhack and not an incredible view, but I could understand how this approach would be interesting and save a bit of time.

I made that something that I would have to do in the future. I then went back down to my campsite. Could you believe that the grouse came back? Well, it did, but this time I was ready. I grabbed the nearest stick and gave it a good chuck right at the grouse. He was gone and did not mess with me any more. I also wandered on down to site 8 in the evening and had an impromptu leave no trace discussion with the campers there. They seemed to agree, but who knows if they actually complied. The next day I went off on my way. There was a lot of work to be done as the West Rim was very popular that Spring. I ended up cleaning up 8 campfires including one that was still warm. The people in the site confessed to it and they ended up getting a ticket in the mail. That one made me feel good as campfires in Zion are so damaging to the resource. A few of those campfires were in places that people weren't even supposed to be camping. I made a mental note that we were going to have to have more frequent patrols on the West Rim next spring. All in all it was a good trip. I heard later there were more reports of people getting attacked by the same grouse.  

An Eventful Day in the Right Fork

I always love hiking in the Right Fork. It always seems different than the last time that I was in there. Many other people already knew this, but I did not, that the lake was gone. But when I went up there, I was expecting to do an early April swim through the lake. I was pleasantly surprised to find it gone. It was rather interesting while it lasted, but you could tell that the rock slide that caused it had ceased its slide without injuring anyone and the creek had breached the dam through its own power rather than with a excavator clearing the way. Just like it was intended to.

Truth is, there are few places left where that is allowed to happen. Thank goodness for the Right Fork. As I continued further up canyon, I saw signs of beaver activity and very recent. The beaver had taken out cottonwood after cottonwood. I did not recall ever seeing beaver activity in this canyon before. Thank goodness for the Right Fork. Then I took a turn and went up a seldom seen off shoot of the normal drainage. I was determined to make it to the back of the canyon to see what was marked as falls on the map. If it is marked as falls, there must be a pretty dramatic fall. I had been up this canyon before but was thwarted by a slippery pour-off.

This time I got above this pour-off by carefully navigating up the right side of the wall. Jackpot! The rest of this canyon was fantastic with other side drainages still waiting to be explored. I had to scramble around some larger impassible pour-offs that required a fair bit of bushwhacking and effort. Eventually, though, I came out in a place where I could access these falls. It was a ton of effort toward the end, something that I would not choose to replicate. When I got there, the pay-off was not all that I was hoping that it would be, but it was still rewarding.
I would compare it to the Emerald Pools, but in a place that few if any had ever been to. There were no signs of human visitation up there. On the way back down, I was studying the rocks closely and they seemed very similar to the rocks where the dinosaur tracks in the Subway were. I looked really closely and sure enough, I discovered a dinosaur track.
 This is one of those discoveries as a kid you dream of. So now I know where a dino track is that no one else in the world has ever seen. I was so excited. As I went down, I admired the rocks and found a window in one of the formations. As I exited my secret canyon, the South Guardian Angel loomed over me. I followed the creek the rest of the way downstream, so excited to share my finds with other Park employees and my family. Some were excited, some didn't care, but truly the Right Fork has to be appreciated for how it has been allowed to remain wild!