Escalante River Adventure: Days 4 & 5

The cave where we camped was just a little ways past Death Hollow(a narrow slot canyon with cold, clear water flowing through it, into the Escalante), which marked the half way point of our trip. So we had hiked about 7 1/2 miles total, with about 7 to go. Thursday was a sunny warm day, and we covered some good distance, with a lot of hiking down the middle of the river. It was colder and deeper now, since joining the water from Death Hollow.


This picture is of Thursday evening. The kids had gathered all the firewood, and were waiting for Ryan to get the fire going. For dinner we had curried chicken and rice. We were still hungry, so we cooked one of our extra meals- fiesta chicken and rice. We got really full, and the dog got the leftovers which he was happy about! That night we all slept under the stars. It ended up being a cold night, and Dallin got to sleep with me in my sleeping bag...a tight fit, but we did it! He didn't sleep too soundly, along with the girls, who must have been a little cold. In the morning, his diaper wipes were frozen, and there was ice in our water bottles!

Friday was a pretty exciting, memorable day. Besides the anticipation of getting back to the car, along the trail we were looking to find a natural arch, natural bridge, and the ruins of an Anasazi cliff dwelling.

This is the natural arch, and under it laid the cliff dwellings. The guidebook suggested that the Indians built their home there because they thought there were magical powers in the arch.


We had our final snack break right under these ruins. It was pretty amazing to look up and imagine the people who lived there...the kids were especially intrigued with how they were able to get up the cliffs. Ladders?


A bridge made by nature.


The rest of the trail led us through pretty desert scenery. We didn't cross the river again until the very end. We were kind of sad when we saw the trailhead. Ryan and I looked back wistfully the way we had come, and knew we would always remember this trip!! There is something about being out in the wilderness as a family, having to work together and go through hard times and good times.

In the parking lot, there was a group of really nice people who piled us and our gear into their 2 cars, and gave us a ride back to our van. Oh the excitement to get back to our little old car. We packed up our stuff and drove into town all scruffy looking . We ate at Subway, had cold ice water, went to the bathroom without getting sand on our bums, and washed our hands with hot water and soap!! That night we drove half way home until midnight, then found a motel 6. You bet we took nice hot showers although it was 1 in the morning. We slept in as late as we could, then headed for home sweet home! We were extremely happy to find that all the snow had melted while we were gone!

Escalante River Adventure: Day 3

Wednesday was forecast to be cold, with chances of rain or snow. We actually considered calling off the trip because of it,... but ended up deciding to go any ways and hope for the best. If it rains and you are in the canyons, flash floods can come on suddenly, and can be really dangerous. Besides, it is no fun to be stuck outside all day with a little baby when it is snowing, you know? The morning dawned clear and blue skied. It ended up being a little cold, but not as bad as we thought it would be. There were wispy clouds lurking about, but other than that, not a drop of precipitation! For breakfast we ate our CLIF bars instead of starting a fire for oatmeal so we could get a head start on the day. Then for lunch, we stopped and made pudding with graham crackers....only on a backpacking trip would I ever eat this way!!! Ryan discovered a new invention he liked- mixing his pudding with instant oatmeal...Dallin loved it too! It was pretty good, but really sweet. Again, I'm sure only when you are out in the middle of the desert would this actually be desirable!! That evening, Spencer found the ultimate shelter to set up camp...A cave!! We were excited to have a place to be out of the breeze. Not only that, we started a fire at the mouth of the cave, so that the heat would reflect. That night we had seafood pasta with salmon and crab! We kept the fire going all night, and had a nice toastyAND cozy sleep!

It felt just like home all set up in the little cave with our bags and clothes, and walls around us. Not to mention lots of spider webs and other friends of nature. We slept on sand, so had some padding for the ol' hips. There was just enough room for us to line up all of our sleeping bags in a couple rows.



The next morning while we packed up, the kids hiked up on top of the rocks above where our cave was.

I have to do a little side tangent about Porter. The whole trip, he would stop and pose in different positions, flash a winner smile, and say-"Hey mom, is this a good picture?" He would change position a little, then say "Hey mom, what about this?" It was so cute, I had to include some of his many poses. I couldn't not take his picture, fearing I would hurt his sweet little feelings.

Escalante River Adventure: Day 2 - Petroglyphs!!

The highlight of our trip, of course, was discovering the petroglyphs. We knew there were supposed to be some, somewhere along the trail, but we didn't know where. All we knew was that the Indians lived mostly on the North side of the river. So as we hiked, we searched the rock walls for the Indian art. At last, I spotted a goat etched into the rock! So we climbed up the bank and up the trail (keeping out of the poison ivy that was very prominent!) to take a closer look.


It was neat to think of the Indians hundreds of years ago living in the area, and think of all the people since then who have been through the canyon...this inscription "1882" was especially cool.

The second set of pictures we found were all along the walls of this huge arched overhang.




Looking for "ancient artifacts" in the crumbled rocks.


Some of them were colored in yellow and red.

These petroglyphs were weathered by the wind.

The kids had fun making up stories about the pictures...this one Spencer thought was a warrior.



This one I found in a small alcove I discovered when I went off the trail exploring the area for a campground. It was up and over a hill and through some cactus, which makes me think most people don't see this one. Aren't I special.

Escalante River Adventure:Day 2

Tuesday morning we warmed our stomachs with hot oatmeal(note: yes, Ryan got the fire started with a bow drill, and our breakfast was nice and hot!!) , rolled our food and clothes into the sleeping bags, and set off. It was forecast to be very windy, and indeed it was!! One of the wind gusts toppled Porter to the ground! I think it actually made us hike faster than we normally would...the wind would blow really hard, and the sand would sting at our legs, so we'd hurry to get around the corner in hopes that it would be calmer, which it usually was! The trail wound around along with the river,and led us through river crossing after river crossing...the kids thought that is was pretty fun to have permission to get wet over and over again splashing through water! A lot of times we just hiked right in the water for awhile. It was never more than knee deep, and not too cold. It was a beautiful hike at the base of high, red rock canyons.

We found out that the dog and the sand were the best babysitters and kept Dallin happy for long periods of time! That evening we found a new campsite, another successful bowdrill fire, and a nice dinner of "Backpackers Feast"-mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and lots of butter all mixed together in one beautiful glop!!. So far, so good on not using matches! I was a bit apprehensive about Ryan's assurance that I would have a very comfortable bed....but he turned out to live up to his promise! He made me a nice fluffy debris bed out of long grass and leaves, and I put my sleeping bag on top of it, and voila'...it provided both insulation and padding, so I slept in warmth and comfort!! Dallin slept through the night again!

Escalante River Adventure: Day 1

It's been a long, cold winter here in Rexburg. We've been shut inside with cabin fever for so long, we decided it was time to break out and do something extreme and crazy. So we decided that for Spring Break we were going to go down South and explore some wild and warm country. After some research into the southern utah area, we settled on the idea that we wanted to go backpacking along the Escalante River. Backpacking with 5 kids sounds crazy enough, but with Ryan at the head, that's not quite enough. We had to go primitive. So here was the goal: No matches, no tents, no sleeping pads, and no backpacks. Great preparation for the last days, right?? So we took on the challenge, and I must say it was a hard earned success, and the kids say they had fun!!

Preparing for the expedition was two solid days of bagging meals, assembling clothes, and getting the gear together. Our extra set of clothes, food, and an army poncho were rolled into our sleeping bags- we tied a rope around it, tied on some straps, and there was our "pack". We used our extra pair of pants tied around the waist as a hip belt. Getting everything organized while still trying to leave with the house clean was a challenge... But here are the paragraphs from trails.com that inspired us to keep going-

"Among Utah’s serious hikers, the 85-mile-long Escalante River is well known. The small desert river and its dozens of side canyons contain some of the wildest, most scenic desert wilderness in the United States. It is a region of redrock canyons, sandstone arches, and Anasazi Indian ruins. The Escalante badlands contain hidden natural treasures guaranteed to give pause to even the most unenthusiastic of hikers.
Although the Escalante drains over 200 square miles of the Colorado Plateau, it is so remote that its existence wasn’t even known until the middle of the last century. In 1866 it became the last major river to be discovered in the American West. It was named six years later in honor of the early Spanish explorer Silvestre Valez de Escalante who visited Utah in 1776.
There are a number of hikes in the area that touch upon parts of the Escalante River, but the 14-mile section of the river described here is the most accessible. It is also a particularly interesting section, with fine examples of the sorts of things that make the Escalante drainage so interesting: petroglyphs, Anasazi ruins, natural arches, and slickrock pools."

Sound inviting? After days of planning and even more days of the kids worrying about scorpions, rattle snakes, and poison ivy,(Spencer was praying weeks before that we would be safe and not be attacked by scorpions) we set off with our car packed and the dog in tow. Our plan was to start at the Escalante River trailhead, hike 3-4 miles a day, and come out on the other end, 15 miles later and hitch a ride back to the car.

Monday we arrived at the trailhead about 6 pm with bellies full of Panda Express, and ready to hike until we found a good place to set up camp. With a couple hours of daylight still available, we set off...Jackson was a bit leery about carrying his pack full of his own food, but once he got on his feet he was ok!So we set off, and several minutes into the hike, we passed a small pool of murky, muddy water. Before I could do anything Kami said," Hey!I'm going to jump in and go swim!"I turned around, and screamed as I saw her plunge into the water! Luckily it was only up to her armpits. So we took off her soaking wet clothes, and she hiked in her underwear for the next 3/4 mile until we found a nice spot to set up camp, right next to the river.
We quickly put up a shelter so the kids could get to bed since it was getting dark.
The moon was almost full and it's shining light lit up our camp with a peaceful glow. Instead of carrying tents, we each carried an army poncho. The ponchos can snap together, so they doubled as rain gear and shelter. As for sleeping cushioning, we were right on the sand. It was pretty soft, but not quite as comfy as my bed at home! What a relief to finally have all the kids settled and in "bag"! Baby Dallin went right to sleep, and slept soundly through the night!!

For the Record

Look! It's dirt! Could it be?? This picture was taken on conference Sunday, just so we could document that we still have snow 3 weeks into Spring!!. But things have been starting to thaw out a bit this week! We've even heard some birds chirping, and our driveway has melted and we aren't getting stuck any more! We have never been so thrilled to see mud as we are this year!

Uh-oh!!

"Mom, Kami just went into the bathroom with a guilty look on her face, with scissors in her hands, and locked the door!" Spencer hollered down the stairs to me. Oh dear, I knew instantly what was happening behind the closed door. "Hurry! Unlock the door and get her out of there!" I frantically called back. But it was too late. By the time Spencer found a nail and poked it through the doorknob to unlock it, the damage had already been done. Kami had successfully hacked off big chunks of her beautiful prized curls. What had only moments before been cute boinging pony tails was now a mass of uneven chunks of hair. Long ones short ones and in betweeners. She got in pretty good trouble, and when I mentioned going to the salon to get it fixed she excitedly said "Yes! yes mommy the haircutter place!" Well, instead of rewarding her and getting to go get a "fun" haircut, I tried the best I could to even it out and make it look nice. So now Kami has a curly little bob, with extremely thinned out sides!! (Thats where the really short snips were). When I told her that now she had no more pretty long curls she said- "Thats ok mom, Jesus will make me some more curls, ok?" The first picture is her "before" shot, and the second two are after I tried to make it all even...luckily curls are pretty forgiving!
The other two pictures are of her latest triumph--Learning to blow a bubble! Thats all she's been doing now for the past couple days! Porter was a little shall I say, insulted that Kami learned before him!!