Red Canyon Fall Trip

So another successful bike trip to Red Canyon just outside of Panguitch, Utah. I call it successful when one comes back in one piece. After doing an "endo" on my last trip to Moab, I am all too aware of the perils of mountain biking.

This trip was with my Sister and husband Jan and Jim, and my niece and husband, Lisa and JJ with their two very cute daughters. Also Jim's grandson CJ was with us. Heidi was not with me as she was enjoying a "Painting with the Masters" trip to Colorado with some friends. Again we camped au natural in a BLM campsite away from the established campgrounds. A beautiful view of the canyons and surrounding valley where Panguitch is located. I had my VW camper which worked out great except I found my auxiliary battery was dead and needs replacing. The first night we enjoyed a great foil dinner, cooked in the coals. A hardy breakfast the next morning (made by moi) was french toast, bacon and eggs...a good hardy meal for what lay ahead.

What lay ahead was Thunder Mounting which lay at the beginning of Hwy 12 as you head toward Bryce Canyon. It is a little jewel which contains within its bowels and miniature Bryce Canyon. Since one cannot ride a bike in Bryce Canyon (a far less destructive mode of transport) this is a great proxy for Bryce. We parted at the end of the trail and took a paved bike path up Hwy 12 about 4 miles. This then cuts off on dirt road and leads to the beginning of the trail up the mountain. It winds through Ponderosa forests, rocks and boulders and a narrow trail...sometime with precarious drop offs. It tops out with a fabulous view of the whole region where Bryce Canyon is found and then drops into a bowl similar to Bryce. On one ridge and fell off on both side making it all that more important to not do too much sight seeing along the way. As we went into the bowl, the trail was quite hairy and technical and one had to really be on their toes. The final 1/4 of the trail was a rolling race to the bottom that one could really open up on. The ride took about 2 1/2 hours with spectacular views and a great trail.

That afternoon we just chilled at camp recovering. Mtn biking is very anaerobic and really can take it out of you so the break was very welcome. Dinner that night was courtesy of Lisa which was marinated pork loin, rosemary potato, pears and asparagus. This was topped off with a homemade peach cobbler. You could not have found better in a fine restaurant.

The next morning we headed back to Red Canyon and the Cassidy trail. This is a big loop that goes over to Loosee Canyon with plateaus and lookouts. At my ripe old age I huffed and puffed but was not too far behind the pace setter, JJ. You can tell what 14 years less in age can do. Anyway the views were again spectacular and again the trail had some great cruisers and enough technical spots to keep you awake and watchful. The ride was about 2 hours and a great way to cap off the trip.

Overall I like this area as much is not more than Moab. It has higher elevation, thus cooler temps, trees (did you know that Ponderosa Pines, if the bark is pealed back, smell like vanilla) and wonderful hoodoos and rock canyons. Unfortunately the season is shorter due to elevation, but a great destination.

Our Lake Powell Adventures

OK, my last adventure was my 100 miler bike ride for MS. As a result of all this stress I came down with an outbreak of shingles which afflicted my left chest rotating around to the back spine. At least Heidi attributes it to my ride.

So on July 22nd through the 28th we headed to Lake Powell with some friends, the Kings, and another couple Cara and Jeff Edwards. The Kings also had their two college age kids and their cousin. We started the trip auspiciously with a boat trailer blowout right before the last Provo exit (lucky us) which delayed us an hour. After a six hour ride finally arrived at Bullfrog Basin at 4:00 p.m. and about 105 degrees. Heidi managed to acquire a migraine headache. After a fireman drill of offloading the cars and on loading the house boat (we also had a nice ski boat and two jet skies and two kayaks).

Our intent was to motor up to Good Hope Bay which is way up stream, but due to late arrival we pulled in for the night for a temporary one nighter. Mother was getting over her migraine and I was coming down with some stomach flu. That night I slept poorly and woke up feeling absolutely punk. We headed out for our final camp at Good Hope and after two hours were set at our location for the week. What a beautiful setting (see pic). A huge Bay almost to ourselves, calm water and beautiful backdrop. That night was our assignment for dinner. We did a dutch oven lasagna which and a cherry cobbler which was a great hit (unfortunately I hardly ate a bite due to my stomach).

That week the temperatures were all in excess of 100 degrees and the house boat had no AC so we spent alot of time jumping in for a cool down. This was fine except that some fish in the lake likes to nibble at human flesh! I was still recovering from my biking accident (elbow) and the fish seemed to like sluffing off scabs.

Anyway with two jet skis and boat and lots of food and drink, we were all set. After the first full day I felt alot better. The heat was oppressive and the evenings were very warm. Of course the stars were spectacular. One night a storm came in and we were forces to sleep "in". It was soooo stifling and hot some were jumping into the lake in the middle of the night for relief.

On Sunday, we had to take one of our party back to Bullfrog as he needed to be back to work for Monday. We all (ten at that point) took the boat. While there a storm started to brew (see pic) and the ride back up promised to be a rough one. As we head up up channel the water became very rough so we found a side canyon to take refuge in. I think it was Spring Creek. As we went further we looked for a shady overhang as the sun was still blazing where we were. Eventually we found this fantastic amplitheater. Some of us elected to take the opportunity to bathe (we had biodegradable soap). While floating on my back, staring at the roof of this desert cathedral we put "Miserie" by the Thomas Tallis Singers on. This soaring choral music was fantastic as we rolled and reverberated off the rock and the natural amplitheater was a natural amplifier.

After a couple of hours we headed back up channel to our camp. It had pored on the camp and chairs were strewn around and wet. But by the time we arrived the sun was out and the lake soon turned to glass. That night we had alot of fun doing strobe photos of summersalts off the diving board.

On one of our side canyon trips we encountered this shallow cave. I soon dubbed it Gatorade Grotto for the lime green water. The reflection of sun and water and the dark shaddow cave were really surreal. Unfortunately some fish took exception to our presence and soon nipped us out of there.

It was fun to be with friends who were kind and generous to invite us. The dinners were almost gormet. So after a wonderful week we headed home...for a wonderful respite from the heat.