Cottonwood Canyon

 

Well, this weekend would usually be Easter Weekend and a four day break. We still had the four day break, but it wasn't quite as dramatic with online school. Plus, we couldn't do our usual where Jacqueline went up to Northern Utah to visit her brother and I stayed home and did a long trip into Zion. The backcountry of Zion was closed, so I settled for a goal I had for a long time. I was going to hike all of Cottonwood Canyon. This was the most common place for me to begin a run or a hike in Red Cliffs. Cottonwood Canyon was this very long dry creek bed running all the way through the northwest corner of Red Cliffs. 

I had hiked in it numerous times, but never all the way through. I had even had a very slow awkward run through it, but never again because Cottonwood Canyon was incredibly rocky. Very dry, but incredibly rocky. I got an early start. I figured there might be some people out there, but I got an early start before many other people were out there. This was lucky because with the recent wetter weather, the canyon was a little easier to walk with where the rocks melted away and the sand began. The sand gets rather firm after a rain. I was moving along quite well enjoying the crisp April morning weather. 

Many plants were starting to bloom including one I really liked with these vibrant purple flowers. The hiking was a slow slog up the drainage. There were not many obstacles, but when there were, they were easily negotiated. The really amazing part of the hike was looking up at the cliffs above. At first, it was not too exciting, but as I got further in, the slickrock domes rising above me looked amazing. The best was further up when I could see up to Yant Flat. This was a hike called the Candy Cliffs that I knew I had to go do sooner rather than later. 

I really enjoyed this area and I wondered if I was going to be able to make it out to the road. So far, no obstacles had gotten in my way. As I got closer to the road, I could actually see it above me and I wondered if  I was going to be able to make it up there. The hardest part of the whole hike was making it up the last mile. The canyon became overgrown and wet. There were lots of big boulders, but when I came out to the Danish Ranch Rd. after 8.5 miles of hiking I was stoked that I had made it all the way up the canyon. The elevation gain was around 1400 feet, but it is amazing how much quicker you could move downhill. The temperature was beginning to warm up and it was turning out to be a comfortable day in the mid 70s. The canyon was just as amazing on the way down with some sights more fantastic from a different angle. All and all, the entire 17 miles of hiking took me a little over 6 hours. 

The open canyon allowed for freedom of movement and I definitely achieved a goal. I wondered how many people had actually hiked all of Cottonwood Canyon. It had provided me with a new goal also. I had to get out to the Candy Cliffs because seeing them from below only brought more intrigue. What an amazing place Southern Utah is.