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| Backpack | 23.80 Miles |
2,050 AEG |
| | Backpack | 23.80 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 2,050 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | What a long drive! But well worth it. And I have to preface this by stating that I'm usually a car camper. I like having all the luxuries of a roomy tent, cold beers, and whatever food items I can pack into my cooler. I traded that in on this trip for my brand new Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 tent (maiden voyage!), a Nalgene flask full of vodka (not nearly enough for two nights), and Enertia TrailFoods (ho hum).
Day 1: We hiked out La Verkin Creek in the early afternoon (we camped at the Watchman campground the night before, and had to check in vehicles in the morning). What a beautiful area - and it was the perfect time of day for the views, but the heat was exhausting for our 6.5 mile hike to our campsite (#11). We set up basecamp there and then day-hiked out to the Kolob Arch, since we were told that late afternoon/early evening was the best time for viewing. Had an enjoyable dinner around our faux campfire (John brought tea lights) and played a couple of games of Connect 4 before sleep.
Day 2: Hike out La Verkin Trail to Bear Trap Canyon. Water is plentiful in both of these watercourses. Some of us even had a little swim in the very cold waterfalls at Bear Trap. We goofed around, played our version of how many people (hikers) you can get in a phone booth (narrow little cave/slot/crack), and then started hiking again back to La Verkin Creek, then up another side canyon, until we turned around and came back to camp. (Video of the hikers coming out of the hole in the wall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRvZEE2ixQA.)
Day 3: Break camp and hike back out to the trailhead, where I had enough cold beers for everyone who wanted one. (This is where you can tell the car campers from the rest of the crowd - although most wanted one, the rest hadn't even thought of this!)
The weather was nice - no rain. It was windy once we got out of the canyons, but we were protected at camp. All in all a pleasant trip. Stopped in Flag on the way home for a drink and some food at Beaver Street Brewery, then ran into a LOT of traffic on the I-17 just past Cordes Junction, where we met up with half of Phoenix it seemed. Lesson learned: never choose a destination for a holiday weekend that involves a drive through Phoenix! |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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| There are just two switchbacks left. And another half-mile to the destination... |
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