ADAM HAYDOCK

Willis Creek & Bull Valley Gorge

May 31, 2013

WILLIS CREEK

We had one more day to spare and wanted to find a good place to view some canyons without too much trouble so we came to Willis Creek and Bull Valley Gorge. It was nice to break away from the "adventure tour" of Bryce Canyon and back to the remote Escalante back country. This time we went to another section of the Escalante but with the dirt roads only being 6-7 miles from town, people still found their way to Willis Creek.

WILLIS CREEK

Willis creek is a nice easy access narrow canyon with light and dark shaded sandstone walls molded from the hydrology that water finds its way through. As you walk down the canyon, you find sections that narrow up enough for two people to walk side by side allowing a cool breeze to blow through and sections that open up to the dry morning sun. There is a stream that flows from the top of Willis Creek down into Sheep Creek eventually connecting to the paria river.

WILLIS CREEK

We continued down the canyon and had a REI adventure outing following us from behind which sounded more like a mobile speed dating event than a hike through the desert for an REI adventure. Kinda annoying? yes....rather amusing?....oh yea.

WILLIS CREEK

We had hints of civilization around us as we walked back out of Willis Creek but it was nothing like Bryce Canyon,..... thankfully! We got to the parking lot and found it pretty backed up from when we started so we set off to go to Bull Valley gorge.

WILLIS CREEK

We pulled up to Bull Valley Gorge and noticed the canyon below was deep! nice, It would have been nice to rappel into this one but the canyon was easy enough to enter a mile upstream so we started there and started our circuit traverse. We ran into another "group outing" and as I walked up closer to the 10-15 ft restriction, I noticed a Justin Beiber impostor hugging the keyed-in rock like he was about to fall into a pit or snakes. The fear in his eyes lit up his aviator shades while his tour guide and 5 other friends of his coached him from the bottom. As he was about to make his leap of faith, ignoring the fact that there was a hand line and a log to ladder to walk down next to him, the tour guide grabbed his foot and stuck it in a hand hold. Now maybe I was just too tired to deal with this shit but for a split second I thought about giving him a little "motivational push",...with my foot, but instead I reminded him that there is a nice red hand line to slide down on.

CAR KEYED INTO BULL VALLEY GORGE

They finally made it down and we came down shortly after them to find that they were moving full speed ahead and we didn't run into them anymore. nice..back to our semi serenity!!

BULL VALLEY GORGE

As we proceeded down we noticed the walls getting taller in this narrow passage and also noticed a Buick keyed into the top of the canyon, this must have been apart of the bridge that we saw at the surface. That sent chills down my spine when I saw that,.. not because of the crushed car dangling 80 ft in between rock walls, but what the rental car company would have said if that was our car.

BULL VALLEY GORGE

We continued on the passage watching it open and close up as we continued down the canyon.

BULL VALLEY GORGE

The canyon walls opened up a little bit and there was a place where we were able to climb out instead of backtracking which saved us some time.

BULL VALLEY GORGE

We found an exit point and climbed out on talus and scree till we got to the top of the canyon. After a week of not showering, I was feeling rather sick so I stopped for a bit and had to take it easy for the walk back to the car. It was a beautiful thing to get back to the campsite and into the waterfall for a quick shower and rest for the ride back to Salt Lake City the following day. We had a couple of stops to make while making our trip back to civilization, the hot spring, and the lava tubes.

BULL VALLEY GORGE FROM THE TOP

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BRYCE CANYON, UTAH

May 31, 2013

Bryce Canyon

We got to the Bryce Canyon visitor center and waited in the expected long line to get more information on where to camp for the next two nights. We get to speak to a ranger and the conversation went like this,..."Hello, where are some good places to camp for the next two nights"... (Fuzzy dirty Santa looking ranger)..."Yeaaaa, all of the parks I have been at, 'and I have not been to them all, but the ones I've been to, have designated campgrounds". He than gave me this look like I am some idiot. "Are you fucking kidding me right now" I thought to myself in exactly .3 seconds. It took another .2 seconds to think, 'Yea I'm thinking I want to high five your face with that yellow stapler on your desk but I'm just to sore from being in the last national park to do that.' Another .3 to interrupt that may not be the best idea (thank you, reasoning), and another .2 to reply "tell me more about the north campground"?

FAIRLYLAND LOOP TRAILHEAD

We found the right camp site and we quickly got set up in one of the last spots the campground had. Thankfully we got the spot right next to the first hike we were going to do, the Fairyland Loop trail. Another couple joined our camp site for the night as they could not find another location which was nice because they paid for the spot for us. We got to sleep early and wanted to get an early start to the day.

FAIRYLAND LOOP

We woke up early the following day after a cold night of sleeping on the wrong side of the tent. Cooked up the usual grub from the massive bag of dried foods we collected from REI and started our run on the fairlyland loop trail. From what we understood, this trail seemed to be only 3-4 miles, but at around mile 8 we found that to not be the case. This loop was no joke!, there were ups, downs, curve to the left, curve to the right, zig zag, and even go in circles as we weaved through the hoodoos of this alien like landscape. Pine trees and mineral deposits peppered the lands with brilliant fairy dust colors of red, yellow, white, and pink. We made our dazzling finish to the loop in good time so we went to the lodge for a nice lunch. There was one more hike I wanted to accomplish before I could say Bryce Canyon has been seen. The Navajo Loop Trail.

THOR'S HAMMER-NAVAJO LOOP

We started our decent into the popular 1 mile down and up trail zig zaging through tall pine trees and hoodoo pillars. The Last forth of the loop trail was closed use to debris falling so we made it to the section that was closed off and took a brief power break from the "where does the trail go" questions. I took some snap shots and than be back tracked toward the entrance where we came from. Expect to see a lot of people from all around the world here but also expect to see something that you have never seen before when you go to Bryce Canyon. I'm not much for the tourist places but this place is worth a visit.

NAVAJO LOOP

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RINGTAIL CANYON & NEON CANYON- ESCALANTE

May 31, 2013

Rappelling the Golden Cathedral

The hike down to the Escalante river was a bit more challenging....actually it was a mini Shit Show, but I expected nothing less as descending 1300 ft within a 2 mile period can get interesting. We got to the river and started following the trail, crossing the river at times, to the mouth of neon canyon. The Neon Canyon Campground has a nice Oak Tree surrounded by wheat grass, bitter brush, and a beautiful maroon varnished wall as a backdrop which made this canyon a welcoming shimmer. We set up camp and proceeded to Ringtail Canyon.

hike to ringtail slot canyon

After our short 1 mile walk and a brief encounter with a bare boned deer, we got to the canyon entrance and immediately noticed a familiar dark cave-esque feel to the passage. We donned our helmets and decided to go from the bottom up which we found to be a bit challenging but a whole lot of fun. There was water encountered, narrow side squeezing passage that curled/twisted/turned , and opportunities to chimney up and over keyed boulders....cool air was blowing through the passage way and the sun reflected colors of reds and yellows that gave the walls a smooth colorful luster.

ringtail slot canyon

We got the the first keeper pot hole and decided to turn back as we knew we could get out from where we were but it appeared we could have breached over this keeper with a challenge. Maybe next time

ringtail slot canyon

As we were exiting the slot, found a group of people that we chatted with and I ended up dropping my camera on a rock which was its last straw. The camera is broken, destroyed, and I was pissed. It went through so much in so little time and Ringtail Canyon was its last bit of life. It was beeping and staying open due to all the sand and dust but a 3 ft drop was its final resting place. I was upset the camera broke but thankfully my better half had a camera and we were able to use this for Neon Canyon..

ringtail slot canyon

The next day we got a chance to sleep in a bit so after a nice long morning with sweet Maple Oatmeal and boiling river water we hiked up Neon Canyons bench to the drop in point where we set up a rappel and dropped into the heart of Neon Canyon. We pulled down the rope and looked around at the ancient petrified slab rock holding us captive in the heart of the Escalante.

Neon Canyon Passage

We kept dropping deeper and deeper into the canyon system from keyed in boulders the size of footballs to boulders the size of small cars encountering a lot of water and a dead Raven we heard about the day before that met its demise by flying into the canyon. As we continued on, we stumbled upon small water cut natural bridges and the final keeper pothole. Whamo!! This is the infamous keeper...infamous?...hmmm..it didn't look too bad. Even if there wasn't a log there, it still seems very do able but this Pothole is known to change in charter depending on water levels and debris. This log was on the other side, long enough to help with the climb out, made this pretty easy.

Seasonal Keeper Pothole

The final drop was a 80 ft rappel into the famous Golden Cathedral!! woohooo I rigged the drop and we relaxed after enjoying the breeze brushing through the slot opening up through this gaping hole. Once over the edge, we got a glimpse of the true beauty that the Golden Cathedral offered up as the water shimmered on the redish blazing orange ceiling and the shear drop ending our rappel into a refreshing pool of cool water. aaaahhhhh. epic? yea it was a nice drop, but not like the drops we experience in TAG. Although we found this to be shorter than expected, I can see why people flock to this beautiful location and why the famous Golden Cathedral is a must for any canyoneering check list.

Golden Cathedral

The hike up 1300 ft of breezy sand blowing desert to our car was a mental challenge but with leaving at the right time of the day, loading up on water and food, celebrating small successes, and tender loving care, we were able to make it back to the car quicker than it took us to get down to the car. We are the best team ever!!! Now its on to Zebra Slot Canyon.

Neon Canyon

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ZEBRA SLOT CANYON-HARRIS WASH-ESCALANTE

May 30, 2013

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GYPSUM CAVE, NEVADA

May 30, 2013

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COYOTE GULCH-ESCALANTE

May 29, 2013

JACOB HAMBLIN ARCH

It has been years since I have been back to the escalante's most remote back country desert hiking but I finally made it back! This time we have over a week to spend here which gave me the opportunity to check out Coyote Gulch, Neon Canyon, Ringtail Canyon, Willis Creek, Zebra Slot Canyon, Bull Valley Gorge, and near by Bryce Canyon. We were also able to sneak in a visit to the Meadow Hot Spring and Lava Tubes.

WALKING IN COYOTE GULCH

We Arrived at the Redwell Trailhead which is one of the starting points to Coyote Gulch. We followed the dry fork into the desert entrance of Coyote gulch which was nothing more than a moist gravel river bed with cottonwood, yucca, and Juniper trees. We got to sleep early on a sandy riverbed so we could get a head start to our long and strenuous journey into the escalante.

We got up at the ass crack of dawn to get this day started with a quickness. The skies were blue and the warm, dry air swept through the Gamber Oak and Bitter brush as we followed the dry bed into a flowing stream flowing with life saving clear cool water. We continued our traverse into coyote gulch watching the canyon walls grow more dynamic at every cut bank. The gigantic sandstone walls were blazing with a bouquet of Reds, Oranges, and yellows which gave a vibrant back drop to the lush green flora inside the canyon. The walls were also varnished with mineral and water deposits which had the appearance of a giant painted mosaic gallery as we passed by Hurricane wash.

varnished canyon walls

Once we past Hurricane Wash we started to see people walking in the opposite direction making short talk as we crossed paths with each other.

We continued to meander around the gigantic canyon bends and came upon Jacob Hamblins Arch. We are here!! Finally.

Jacob Hamblin Arch

This arch has a break down collapse section which appeared to have fallen creating one of the biggest and most beautiful arches I have ever seen !

NATURAL ARCH

A storm was rolling in and being in a canyon with no way out was not the best place to be so we found escape routes on top of shelves and benches in case a roaring torrent of water came rolling in like a train wreck. The thunder cleared up and we continued down stream past waterfall cut slot canyons and a natural bridge as we watched the canyon walls rise into the sky around us. Finally, we made it to a section of Coyote Gulch next to the Sky Arch where we set up camp for the night.

WALKING CANYON PASSAGE

We decided the following day to start our hike out of the canyon, up hill, and to the car so we could get to the Egypt System and down to the escalante river for Neon Canyon. We paced ourselves and made our 10 mile hike back to the car and onto Egypt. It was a challenge to make it back but it was nothing compared to what we were going to encounter next.

NEXT TO JACOBS ARCH (notice the people in the lower right)

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SANIBEL- LIDO KEY-MYAKKA RIVER-FLORIDA

May 08, 2013

Lido Key Mangrove Tunnel

I was the best man for my good friends wedding down in Florida so I wanted to make sure I could sneak in something fun before flying back to Chicago. The wedding was held on Sanibel Island just off shore of the Fort Myers mainland which was a nice quiet place with lots of shells on the beach. It was also nice to see some of my old friends that I have not seen in a very long time so we spent the first two nights catching up and doing what we do best. At the end of our madness, we went to the beach to swim in the water where we got to see all of our true colors including bioluminescent plankton that would light up when touched which triggered other planktons to light up. It was a suprise to see as I did not think florida had that.

The day after teh wedding we woke up eager to get out to Sarasota for our kayak trip through the Mangrove Tunnels so we packed up, checked out, and headed out to Sarasota Florida. We got to the location and it was great to see our kayaks all ready to go, with life vests, paddles, and a map of the area. We got into our kayaks and headed out into the mangroves.

We went through the glades and made it to our first trail of mangroves. We entered the mangroves and right away we were surrounded by this network of roots anchored into the swamp mud.

Mangrove tunnels

This water trail lead us through the mangroves without difficulty which also helped when people were passing by us like a two lane road. We exited one mangrove trail and entered another trail that had some twisting and turning to get through. There was also sections of the trail that would intersect with other pathways but some of those would lead to dead ends.

Dead end section

We would meander through these tunnels and watch the birds fly, fish jump, and observe the black crabs run up and down the roots. We even found a rogue black crab hitch hiking on our kayaks bow. After meandering in and out of some of the glades, we came across a beautiful Great White Egret standing tall and proud like a statue overlooking the waterways for a fresh catch of fish.

Great Egret

As we made our final exit from the tunnel system we got to a small beach so we got out of our kayaks to stretch our legs and take a break.

Beach Break

After our break we got back in and decided to grab some afternoon refreshments so we completed the circuit back where we began. As we were make a B line to the starting point, we noticed Cormorants flying towards us and landing in the water just a few feet from our boat. These birds have undeveloped oil glands which means that their feathers become saturated in water which allows them to glide underwater. They loved swimming around our kayaks in the shallow water because our oars would scare fish that live in the sea grasses and the Cormorants would zip underwater to catch a fresh bite of fish. It’s really cool to watch because they swim all around, under, and in between our kayaks looking for fish. When they catch one they come to the surface, flip the fish around, and swallow it whole. After doing more research on Cormorants I found out that they can dive up to 100 feet and they are present all around the world acting as expert fishermen.

Cormorants fishing under our kayak

We got back into the water after taking another break and meeting the local raccoon to hear that there are Bottle Nose Dolphins out in the bay hunting fish. We made our way out there and found what appeared to be a family of dolphins training their young Dolphin how to catch fish. The large Dolphin would be off to the side, the medium and small Dolphin seem to stay close together. The mother Dolphin would throw a fish up and the air and the baby Dolphin would go after it. It was so beautiful to see!!!

Bottle Nose Dolphins.

After that we made a loop around beaver key to look at the amazing houses on the shoreline, we came back to the start of the trip. We met up with Matt and went to Myakka River State Park for a night of camping and a morning stroll through the Palm Tree Woodlands, Prairies, and Wetlands inside this 57 square mile state park.

Myakka River State Park

Our last location inside the park rewarded us with around 10 Alligators that appear to congregate in a pond but unfortunatly my pictures didnt turn out the way I wanted them to but I have fixed the problem now for the next trip!!

Alligators swimming towards the open pond section.

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ADAM HAYDOCK

Willis Creek & Bull Valley Gorge

BRYCE CANYON, UTAH

RINGTAIL CANYON & NEON CANYON- ESCALANTE

ZEBRA SLOT CANYON-HARRIS WASH-ESCALANTE

GYPSUM CAVE, NEVADA

COYOTE GULCH-ESCALANTE

SANIBEL- LIDO KEY-MYAKKA RIVER-FLORIDA

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