Off the Beaten Track

Friday, September 20

With very sketchy directions, we bush-whacked cross-country to Diana's Throne Canyon hoping to explore its slotty sections. A number of spots required ropes we don't have and down-climbs we don't know how to do so we hiked to the rim in order to skirt obstacles and then made our way down into the canyon below them.  In tackling the canyon this manner, we increased both the mileage and difficulty of the hike but found some really unique places we would have missed otherwise.

First Downclimb

Hidden Chamber

 

View in Slot

 Trail to Canyon

Second Downclimb



Soup Town is a cute little place that serves delicious soup and sandwiches in Orderville, just a few miles from Diana's Throne on Route 89.  It was on our way to Joe's Rock Shop so we had lunch there for the third time.  At Joe's, we bought some cool rocks, one of our weaknesses, and asked about septarian nodules.  He gave us directions to the site where he mines them and said we were welcome to look for some on our own.  

 

Septarians formed between 50 to 70 million years ago. As a result of volcanic eruptions, dead sea life was chemically attracted to the sediment around them, forming mud balls. As the ocean receded, the balls dried and cracked. Due to their bentonite content they also shrank in size, creating the cracks inside. As decomposed shells seeped down into the cracks in the mud balls, calcite crystals formed. The outer thin walls of calcite then transformed into aragonite. The name Septarian comes from the Latin word "septem", meaning seven, because the mud balls had a tendency to crack in 7 points in every direction, thereby creating the distinctive pattern these nodules exhibit. Septarians are composed of calcite (the yellow centers) and aragonite (the brown lines) enclosed in an outer grey layer of limestone.

 

The operation is located in one of the few non-lovely places in Utah--grayish-tan soil and rocks interspersed with sparse, scrubby, gray vegetation.  The nodules tumble down into a wash after the heavy equipment digs into the hillsides.  There was no shade and the wash was very deep and we were tired from all the climbing up and down we'd done in morning.  We settled for scouting the base of the tailings pile because anything we found in the wash would have to be carried out of the wash.  Without much searching we found two interesting broken nodules and were satisfied with this limited success.
 



 Septarian Nodules Mining Site

Rock Slab Cabin with Petroglyphs

Today Jan had to work and I didn't so I set off to explore a small side canyon to Kanab Creek a couple of miles up the road from our RV site. We were told when we first arrived that there were petroglyphs a small distance up the canyon but we were unsuccessful in our attempt to find them.

Within 20 minutes of hiking I had crossed the deep and steep-sided wash and reached the end of the canyon. Here I found a panel of petroglyphs that are a different style from most of the ones we have found elsewhere.

End of Side Canyon

 

Panel of Petroglyphs

 

Unexpectedly, I also found a small cabin that was made from three large rock slabs with a tin roof and wooden side wall. The entrance was a small crevice between the rock slabs.  The interior firepit with bucket and miscellaneous items indicated that someone had been living or camping there.

 

Cabin Entrance

Cabin

 

Cabin Interior

 

The round trip hike was a little over a mile and took 40 minutes with a double descent and ascent of approximately a 50-60 ft deep sand wash.

A Drive Through Hildale

September 13th

Hildale is the Utah branch of the polygamist community of Short Creek.  Its Arizona component, Colorado City, is better known because it was (is?) the fiefdom of Fundamentalist LDS leader Warren Jeffs.

Many of the houses are very large:

 

 

 

                               

Many are incomplete or not well maintained:



Most are behind high walls:

 



Angel Canyon, Peekaboo Canyon and Water Canyon

Friday, September 13th
Days Off #1 &2

Thursday

With a forecast of rain, thunderstorms and flash floods, we played with the idea of spending our days off in St. George.  However, the weather there looked no better than Kanab's and hanging out in a motel room didn't seem any more fun than hanging out in the RV. 

The skies were relatively clear on Thursday morning and rain wasn't likely until late afternoon.  That provided an opportunity to do something short and close to home; those sites we wanted to revisit in Angel Canyon fit the bill to a T!  We returned to the Indian granary in an alcove, the plateau at the top of a nearby cliff, Hidden Lake and Angel's Landing.

 Indian Granary

 

Tower on the plateau 

 Sacred Datura stamens

 

 Entrance to Hidden Lake

 

 Hidden Lake

Looking Out from Hidden Lake

Good weather reined after lunch so we headed north again, this time to Peekaboo slot canyon.  Recent rain had compacted the sandy road so tire-deflation wasn't needed.  It also made walking in the wash much easier and kept the temperature a bit cooler.  Before entering the slot, we followed the small wash to the north a short distance to a column of stone standing at its end.  We'd forgotten to do that on our first trip and it was well worth the short detour.



After many disappointing meals in Kanab's restaurants, we decided to try Rocking V, which gets glowing reviews from locals as well as tourists.  The décor is funky, the service attentive and the food is wonderful!  We enjoyed our meal and the somewhat quirky artwork and felt the evening justified the expense.


Friday

Although this morning's weather and the forecast were the best in over a week, today is Friday the 13th.  And it began like a Friday the 13th--with a problem.  Specifically, the gray water tank registered as full and the valve to drain it was stuck.  Fred pulled, jiggled, pushed and twisted but it remained s-t-u-c-k.  A phone call to Ramsay Towing (and general savior in matters automotive)  took care of everything; They've ordered the replacement part and will install it at the RV park early next week. 

With that issue handled if not solved, we took off for Water Canyon.  The route to the trailhead goes through Hildale, Utah, a polygamist town just across the state line from its infamous sister city, Colorado City, Arizona.  An interesting place...   The paved surface ended at the edge of town and the road continued as a dirt double-track interspersed with long, deep mud pits and occasional washes.  Two miles of dodging or surmounting various obstacles brought us to the beginning of the trail. 

Or rather trails.  Hikers have created a number of routes, all parallel to the creek but at various elevations, to reach the waterfall and you haveyour choice.  Hint:  there isn't an easy one!  On our way upstream, we encountered five youngsters from Hildale who'd captured tadpoles in water bottles.  They looked like brothers and wore similar outfits of dark pants and colored dress shirts.

Two miles and 400' of elevation gain brought us to the waterfall nestled in its lovely slot canyon.

Short Creek flowing out of Water Canyon

 



 Fred spotted Water Canyon Arch, about 1000' above the floor of the canyon

 

 



The waterfall

Pool below is colored by run-off from heavy rains.

 





If you proceed carefully, the climb above the falls rewards you with stunning views.

Arrowheads

After a few days of heavy rain, we found a couple more arrowheads near the RV. So far, each one has a different design, size, color and material.

 

 

Black one is a tip of an arrowhead

A Hit and A Miss

Thursday, September 5
Day Off

We did two hikes in Zion today--Shelf Canyon, the 'hit,' and middle Pine Creek, the 'miss.'

The Hit

Shelf Canyon is a pretty little wash just east of the long tunnel on Route 9.  It's possible to travel about half a mile by ascending broad ledges (shelves) before encountering a jumble of large boulders blocking the narrow passage.  It was fun to scramble up, over, around and through the obstacles and to watch the towering sandstone cliffs change color as the morning sunlight struck them.

Although parking can be a problem because all the tourists want to 'do' Canyon Overlook, this trail is virtually unknown.  We had a delightful 45-minute jaunt in a beautiful little canyon all to ourselves.

 

 

 

 

The Miss

 

The Pine Creek trail system is divided into three sections.  Upper Pine Creek is an easy, pleasant southerly wash that turns west at the creek's junction with Route 9, just east of the long tunnel.  Middle Pine Creek is a difficult, technical slot (permit required) which parallels the tunnel and switchbacks.  This portion ends at the third switchback from the west end of the tunnel, where the Lower Pine Creek section begins. 

 

Since we'd previously hiked from the Pine Creek bridge to the waterfall, we decided to tackle the upstream segment to the pools beneath the Great Arch.  To begin, we slip-slid down a precipitous bank from the parking area at the third switchback to the creek then headed north.  We quickly found that there is no trail.  One scans the landscape and tries to discern the best path forward.  Progress involved a great deal of rock-hopping, creek-crossing, boulder-climbing, bush-whacking and did I mention the bentonite clay?  When that stuff gets wet, walking on it is like trying to roller-skate on greased glass!  Adding to the challenges of following the creek, was the heat--Zion was forecast to reach 101*.  At lunch we agreed that neither the surrounding hillsides nor the creek had beauty sufficient to warrant continuing.  Lucky for us we discovered a quicker though steeper path up to the parking lot, turned on the Jeep's A/C full-blast and took off for Kanab.

 

 View of Tunnel Windows from Pine Creek
 

 Great Arch
 



 Rocks and More Rocks

 

After a quick dinner, we hurried into town for DocUtah, a free three-evening documentary film festival.  In a rush to be on time and forgetting that in Kanab any stipulated time is understood to be followed by -ish, we locked both sets of keys in the car.  The extra key was in the RV and both keys to the RV were...locked in the Jeep.  The only bright spot was the car repair shop across the street from the theater was still open.    Twenty minutes and twenty-five dollars later, we strolled inside, keys in hand, and took our seats.

 

 



Has Anyone Seen 50,000 gallons of Water?

Wednesday, September 4



 

This is how the pond above the dam looked on Monday.

 

 

 

This is how the same pond looked on Wednesday.