Circle Cliffs, UT

Five of us went down the Burr Trail headed for Lampstand Road. After a stop in Long Canyon, we spent a couple of hours driving around the Flats lookin for a place to camp. It was hot, and most of the roads were washed out several miles in. After a few camper backing lessons, we found a shady place near on old mine on the northwest edge of the Flats. The next morning--and without the camper--we bounced our way over a break in the cliffs and down into the Gulch. When we reached a deep washout, we parked the truck and hiked to Stair Canyon. It was getting hot by then, so we sat in the shade of a juniper tree to have lunch. The afternoon was spent, likewise, in the shade--mostly napping. On the third morning, we set out to drive a loop around the Onion Beds on the east side of the Flats. The roads were not good, and we found no onions, but the views down into Muley Twist Canyon from the western edge of Captitol Reef National Park were well worth the effort. By the time we got back to our camp, the winds had picked up and a few sprinkles were reaching us out of the virga hanging from the clouds above. It was still cloudy the next morning and the clouds kept us cool as we cleaned-up. We stopped for one more short hike where the Burr Trail crosses the Gulch before returning to Escalante.

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Horse Canyon, UT

We spent just one day in Horse Canyon--a cold, rainy day in April. In some ways Horse Canyon is no different from any of the others that surround it. It has the same low, broken, buttery walls; the same pinyon and juniper shrubs; the occaisonal ponderosa or douglas fir; a dry, sandy, somewhat-cobbly wash; and a few crusty cow pies. But, upon closer inspection, there are a number of interesting things to see. We found a Moqui grainery, a layer of sandstone full of ancient leaf and log imprints, and a camel shaped rock to sit on.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/HorseCanyonUT

Alvey Wash, UT

We left Escalante late on a Friday afternoon headed for Death Ridge and the back side of Canaan Mountain. We got a little past the mouth of Horse Canyon when we noticed a likely camping area and decided to look at it before going up the ridge. After crashing around through head-high sagebrush for a few minutes, we found a little sandy cove under a small dryfall and decided to stay there. The late afternoon sun was hot, and we wondered if we'd camped down too low. The heat quickly disapated, however, and the night became very cold. We were only barely warm enough and were thankful to see the sun again the next morning. We spent Saturday hiking around the area and napping in the warm afternoon. Later, we drove up on Death Ridge and looked at an old line cabin on the edge of the oil field. We drove half way down the road to Trap Canyon to look at a campsite we'd thought of for the weekend, but we soon decided that the road was too rough for our little camper and were happy with our decision to camp down in Alvey Wash. After a warmer night, fortified with extra sleeping bags, we cleaned up camp early and made it back to Escalante in time for church on Sunday morning.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/AlveyWashUT

Harris Wash, UT

We didn't leave home until dinner time on Saturday evening. We stopped where Harris Wash crosses Hole in the Rock Road, but the road into the wash was too narrow for our camper. So, we continued to Harris Wash Road itself. Once again we had to back out when we found that the road to the trailhead was too sandy and narrow. We backed the camper to the corral and stayed there. The evening was beautiful--warm and soft, with great light. During the night, Ellen heard some coyotes and started to cry. She asked to come and sleep on our bunk. In the morning, we took turns hiking upstream and climbed the rock behind our camp. After a nap in the warm afternoon sun, we cleaned up and returned to Escalante in time for Sunday dinner.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/HarrisWashUT

Kodachrome Basin, Utah

It was a warm holiday weekend in February--probably reaching the sixties during the day--and we decided to enjoy the relative luxury of an outing at a developed campground. We went down to Kodachrome Basin on Sunday afternoon and found that we were sharing the state campground there with one other party. We got set-up in time for a nap and did some hiking in the weak winter sun before dinner. We'd forgotten the briquettes, so the dutch oven had to go directly in the campfire. It snowed or rained during the night, but it wasn't cold enough to freeze. On Monday morning we hiked for a couple of miles on one of the park's trails. By lunch time the wind had stiffened and our early morning sun was gone, so we packed up and spent the afternoon at home.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/KodachromeStateParkUT

Deer Creek, Utah

Kass and Rachel came from Tahoe and we spent 48 hours on the Burr Trail--Deer Creek, the Gulch, Long Canyon. The days were short and warm; the nights were long and cold. We stayed a Deer Creek Campground. It is pleasant enough, but busy. The road serves as the driveway to a private ranch and there are numerous daily arrivals and departures.

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