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The view from my seat in the trailer out the back window. Did I mention they have WiFi as well. A great deal for $20 a night.
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After a day of transition between Capitol Reef NP and the Escalante area, it was time to hike. Today, our destination plan was Phipps Arch. The arch is located high on a fin in the lower part of Phipps Wash. Lots of folks access it from the Escalante, but we wanted to try a "scenic overland route." So we dropped into a little drainage off of Hwy 12. We figured it would be 4 - 4.5 miles to the Arch. Dropping into a sea of slickrock is pretty neat.
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Looking up from the wash bottom.
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As we joined with another drainage, there were some neat "tanks" in the slickrock. Note Susie has her fleece ear warmer on, so one can tell that it is not hot.
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The first serious obstacle one encounters is a 150 foot high pour off in a drainage leading to Phipps Wash. Fortunately, it is easy to bypass on the right headed down canyon. One just climbs up on the slickrock and walks the rim for maybe 500 meters until you find a place to descend to the floor of the drainage. Such is just short of the confluence with Phipps Wash.
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We have been doing the bypass, and Susie is taking a photo of the pouroff.
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The pour off.
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As one travels down Phipps Wash, water starts flowing.
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Taken from the side canyon that holds Phipps Arch. One has to do a lot of scrambling to climb up to actually see the Arch. We did most of it, but then decided, looking at one move, that the risk associated with missing the foothold when we would have to slide down one spot was too high, so we turned around.
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Heading back up the wash.
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A nice, huge, overhang in the Wash.
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We are returning and bypassing the 150 foot pour off in the side drainage.
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Climbing back up the slick rock.
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Part of the sea of slickrock. The "toadstools" in the distance are right above where our car was parked
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A closeup of the toadstools. OK, so hiking 8.5 miles without seeing one's objective was a bit of a downer, but the overall scenery was super, and navigating across open terrain is always fun.
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It's morning at the campground, and time to take another hike. Today's hike is one we have driven by a LOT of times: Lower Calf Creek Falls
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Roger is pondering life - or something, near the start of the hike. The hike leads about 3 miles from the Calf Creek Campground to the falls. The hiking is pretty straightforward.
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Some of the Navajo sandstone (the white formation) that one sees along the way.
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See the Fremont pictographs along the opposite wall? We didn't right away, either.
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This photo was taken later in the day, with sun on the wall, to make them easier to see. I had my lens extended to a 35 mm equivalent of 840 mm. The pictographs appear bigger than lifesize.
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By getting an early start, we had the falls to ourselves for a while. While warm out on the trail, it was quite cool in this little grotto. The part of the falls you can see in this photo is supposed to be 126 feet high.
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So this photo provides a bit more perspective.
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We have just left the falls and are headed back right now. We would count over 50 people on the trail on our way back. So come early in the morning to avoid the hoards.
