The Log Book

Last year around the same time, another Canfield 5 visited Coyote Gulch. Dad was part of the mix, and he was disappointed he wasn't with us this year. He asked for us to keep a little log of our trip which we all took turns writing in.

Monday 8/13:

10:15 AM, "I wonder how many times I've been on this road? I love this drive." - Joy on the drive between Thistle and Fairview.

11:00 AM, "Mmmm potato logs." - Clair, stop at Terrel's.

1:33 PM, There's a discussion about gold teeth. Likely it all started because of Dad's gold tooth.

1:37 PM, We may be lost. Where's 4G when you need it? - somewhere in Richfield

1:47 PM, Still lost...looking for the 24 & 12

2:15 PM, Back on track. Stopped at IFA, Joy finds a cowboy hat..yee haw!

3:19 PM, We stop at the Bicknell pickle-pinto bean-buttermilk pie joint. Shocking news, no pie is consumed by our group. Very un-Canfield like. We stretch our legs and take photos. James shares cinnamon bears.

7:47 PM, Turned off 12 towards Dance Hall Rock. Hiked Upper Calf Creek Falls but saw no falls. Lots of rocks are collected on hike.

10:30 PM, Set up tents at Dance Hall Rock. We got our bones shaken on the road. No moon, lots of stars. - Eric

10:30 PM, "MREs are delicious!" - Joy

10:39 PM, Joy bids 39 and is dismayed by Ruth's pass. Walking Stick invades pinochle game, hysteria ensues. - Clair

11:00 PM, Bug death toll....22. - Clair

Site of bug massacre.

Tuesday 8/14:

9:00 AM, Everyone is packed up but me. It's overcast. Boys beat the girls at pinochle. Spider legs is ready to go. Wish us luck. - Bug Smasher

We made it down the crazy steep rock face that should be banned.

6:39 PM, Joy shoots the moon. Time for chow.

7:00 PM Clair discovers he left both his jam for lunches as well as all of his dinner meals in the truck. :(


Wednesday 8/15:

Weird. No snoring. Clair slept in hammock and had yummy Almond Joy-white hot chocolate. Today we are going to walk to the Escalante River.

Joy made James' butt laugh.

Our party camped across from the Bathing Rock.

Sad news, potty house burned down.

Crows defeated 2 days!

Met 1 couple at the "boot arch."

Clair climbed into a questionable potty hole likely used for a dump (TP inside).

Saw a toad with a missing leg. Clair sees a cow skull. Eric sees a dead baby coyote.

Eric dropped new camera in water. :(

Ruth slipped and went "whoosh" into mud and butt chewing bug likely climbs aboard.

Back at camp, bellies full, now playing pinochle. James and Clair win, bugs drive Eric mad.


Thursday 8/16:

Wednesday night was a restless one. Ruth's butt itches, James had toxic gas, Clair hears animal in the bushes, and Eric couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in. It was much hotter than the previous 2 nights, but we did get to enjoy seeing a few lightning bugs/fireflies.

Sad...trip is over.

What an awesome trip.

 

 

 

 

 

Epic.

 

 

Slot Canyons

Thursday morning we packed up camp and headed up the insanely steep hunk of rock out of the gulch. Up or down, it's a little intimidating whatever direction you're headed. By the time I very ungraciously scrambled up the wall, my blistered little toe was screaming at me. I tried Eric's sweaty thin sock paired with Joy's water shoe with some improvement but not quite enough, so I ended up hiking out with one boot and one flip-flop. Not the smartest idea by any means, but if my little toe could thank me, I'm sure it would.

 

Joy says it's not as bad as it looks. Maybe not, but it's ridiculously close!

The trail head and Suburban were a lovely site, and we all cooled off and rehydrated to get ready for our final hike through slot canyons Peek-a-Boo and Spooky. After making our way through the first slot canyon (I still don't know which one is which), we had hiking directions claiming we could hike a loop that would take us into the next canyon and back out towards the trail head. Unfortunately the directions weren't all that great, and we ended up on a hot and boring stretch of desert until we reached the second slot canyon.

Regardless of the ugly going on between the two canyons, I must say scrambling around in the canyons themselves more than made up for the delay. A great way to end our GSENM trip!

Escalante River

With our one full day in the gulch, we followed the tributary we were camped along to it's merge with the Escalante River, about 7 miles downstream. A lot of the hike I spent in the water since I opted to ditch footwear for the day. I can't think of many other circumstances where I would hike 14 miles in my bare feet. It was pretty awesome (at least up until the end).

As we approached the Coyote Natural Bridge arch (which really isn't much of a "boot" arch) we came across the only other hikers in the gulch. Apparently during peak times of the year, you can share the gulch with 100+ people! After being there with nearly no one, it's not something I can imagine or want to. Sometimes you need solitude in a place like Coyote to fully appreciate your surroundings.

 

 

We stopped for a lunch break at one of the waterfalls along the way which definitely beats a jetted tub when it comes to a back massage. The water was even warm for an added bonus. Eric left us and headed back to camp to conserve his energy for the hike out the following day, and the rest of us continued on until we made it to the Escalante River.

The river wasn't too deep, but it could have passed for Wonka's Chocolate River. The color and the stronger current made wading a treacherous task without being able to see the riverbed, so we chilled out on a couple of rocks in the river before we started our hike back to camp.

Joy took this shot of the tributary merging with the Escalante.

 

Coyote Gulch

Day 2 of our trip took us to the trail head for our hike into Coyote Gulch. This was only my second time backpacking, the first time being around 20 years ago or so (to the same gulch). I definitely had some concerns about the heat, the weight of my pack, and hiking in a higher elevation. Excitement helped calm what nerves I did have, and the hike in went better than I had expected. We lucked up and had just enough cloud coverage to keep the sun from beating directly on us, and the only sketchy part was the rock wall we had to descend to reach the gulch. It was a tad on the steep side, but James made it less scary by relieving me of my pack on the way down.


Canfields constructing the Canfield Cairn

 

 

By midday we had setup our camp across from the Jacob Hamblin Arch and spent a few hours napping/relaxing. In the afternoon we headed upstream for a leisurely hike and enjoyed having the gulch to ourselves. We spotted 2 crows (who were patiently waiting for us to leave camp so they could raid it), 2 ducks, 2 bucks and lots of lizards and toads.

Looking at the landscape stretched out before us on the hike in, you would never know such a stunning and peaceful place is hidden away just a few miles from the trail head.

 

To have the opportunity to be able to spend a few days alone with 4 of my siblings was pretty special. By the end of the day we had all reconnected in ways that I'm sure none of us had expected we would at the start of our trip.