Utah canyons wild, rugged

There are lots of secret places hidden away in the Escalante Canyons in southern Utah. That includes numerous slot canyons, arches, Indian paintings and carvings, outlaw hideouts and waterfalls. Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Escalante River and its tributaries have carved out 1,000 miles of canyons and created some of the best backcountry in the West. It was the last river in the continental United States to be discovered, named and mapped. It flows from 10,000-foot Boulder Mountain and the Aquarius Plateau southward for 90 miles to the Colorado River. The Escalante Canyons are a vast country, wild and rugged and remote. It lies in the national monument and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The lower 15 miles of the Escalante River are now part of Lake Powell, where the Colorado River has been dammed and backed up in Glen Canyon. Recent droughts have lowered the lake level and again exposed some long-flooded canyons in Glen Canyon. Most trails in the Escalante Canyons follow streams or washes or cut across open slickrock. There are few easy trails and almost no maintained trails. To get to the Escalante Canyons can take some work. Many of the canyons are accessible off two dirt roads: Hole-in-the- Rock Road and the Burr Trail, both of which run south off state Route 12. Hole-in-the-Rock Road provides access from the west. The Burr Trail provides access to the Wolverine and Moody Canyon roads, which will give you access to the Escalante Canyons from the east. Adventurer-artist Everett Ruess disappeared in 1934 in the Escalante Canyons and was never found or heard from again. His legend lives on in southern Utah. Our hike to Upper Calf Falls began off state Route 12, which runs along the north edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante. That provided easy access. From the trailhead off state Route 12 between Escalante and Boulder between mile posts 80 and 81, hikers drop off the rim of Calf Creek Canyon at an elevation of 6,530 feet en route to the falls. It is initially a very steep drop of perhaps 300 feet over light- colored slickrock or bare Navajo sandstone. The descent is easier than it appears at first on the dry rock, but it is slow work later on the way back up to the rim. The trail is marked by stone cairns or piles or rocks. Round, gray volcanic boulders litter the slopes. The route continues to drop in switchbacks and steeper bands of slickrock. Then the descent slows over a gently sloping sand-and-rock bench that drops perhaps another 300 feet. In some places, you can follow footprints in the sand. At others, you search intently for the next cairn because that's the only way to find the trail. The views are impressive. It is a scrubby, hot, exposed landscape with lots of green in the distance along Calf Creek. Vistas include the Pink Cliffs of the Table Cliff Plateau on the west to the Straight Cliffs of the Kaiparowits Plateau to the southwest. The Henry Mountains are to the east. A spring is the year-round source of water for Upper Calf Creek Falls, where the water drops off a cliff face at the head of the canyon. It is a shaded, picturesque spot. The water drops into a cool, often-green pool. It is generally deep enough for swimming, although the poison ivy is thick. One trail leg runs to the top of the falls, where the creek follows a shallow valley with several deep pools. Another trail leg drops into the canyon below the falls. The stream is flanked by heavy vegetation because of the water. There's a great wading stream below the falls. Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it is fairly easy to reach. More visitors head to a second waterfall about 2 1/2 miles downstream, where the canyon deepens. That's Lower Calf Creek Falls, where the stream drops 126 feet into a green pool in a cliff-bound canyon. It is at the end of a 3.1-mile one-way trail maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and is the only maintained trail in Grand Staircase-Escalante and a major tourist attraction. The Calf Creek Recreation Area is accessible off state Route 12, a federal scenic byway and an All-American highway. No permits are required for day hikes like our trek to Upper Calf Creek Falls. No camping and no fires are permitted within a half mile of Upper Calf Creek Falls. No camping is permitted at the state Route 12 trailhead. Permits are needed for overnight hikes. Flash floods can be a threat, especially in the slot canyons that are a big draw in southern Utah. The prime season for visits is mid-March through May and again in September and October. For information, contact the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument at 190 E. Center St., Kanab, UT 84741; 435-644-4300. The office is one of five visitor centers that surround the federal monument. The Internet site is www.ut.blm.gov/monument.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/16107006.htm

hey tanya, i believe you must pay a $2-3 parking fee at Calf Creek Falls.

bruce from bryce

>From: "~tanya" gotta@visitzionpark.com
Reply-To: Yahoo Canyons Group
To: Yahoo Canyons Group
Subject: [from Canyons Group] Utah canyons wild, rugged >Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:57:13 -0000
There are lots of secret places hidden away in the Escalante Canyons >in southern Utah. >That includes numerous slot canyons, arches, Indian paintings and >carvings, outlaw hideouts and waterfalls. >Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf >Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of >the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. >The Escalante River and its tributaries have carved out 1,000 miles >of canyons and created some of the best backcountry in the West. >It was the last river in the continental United States to be >discovered, named and mapped. It flows from 10,000-foot Boulder >Mountain and the Aquarius Plateau southward for 90 miles to the >Colorado River. >The Escalante Canyons are a vast country, wild and rugged and remote. >It lies in the national monument and the Glen Canyon National >Recreation Area. >The lower 15 miles of the Escalante River are now part of Lake >Powell, where the Colorado River has been dammed and backed up in >Glen Canyon. >Recent droughts have lowered the lake level and again exposed some >long-flooded canyons in Glen Canyon. >Most trails in the Escalante Canyons follow streams or washes or cut >across open slickrock. There are few easy trails and almost no >maintained trails. >To get to the Escalante Canyons can take some work. >Many of the canyons are accessible off two dirt roads: Hole-in-the- >Rock Road and the Burr Trail, both of which run south off state Route >12. Hole-in-the-Rock Road provides access from the west. The Burr >Trail provides access to the Wolverine and Moody Canyon roads, which >will give you access to the Escalante Canyons from the east. >Adventurer-artist Everett Ruess disappeared in 1934 in the Escalante >Canyons and was never found or heard from again. His legend lives on >in southern Utah. >Our hike to Upper Calf Falls began off state Route 12, which runs >along the north edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante. That provided easy >access. >From the trailhead off state Route 12 between Escalante and Boulder >between mile posts 80 and 81, hikers drop off the rim of Calf Creek >Canyon at an elevation of 6,530 feet en route to the falls. >It is initially a very steep drop of perhaps 300 feet over light- >colored slickrock or bare Navajo sandstone. >The descent is easier than it appears at first on the dry rock, but >it is slow work later on the way back up to the rim. >The trail is marked by stone cairns or piles or rocks. Round, gray >volcanic boulders litter the slopes. >The route continues to drop in switchbacks and steeper bands of >slickrock. Then the descent slows over a gently sloping sand-and-rock >bench that drops perhaps another 300 feet. >In some places, you can follow footprints in the sand. At others, you >search intently for the next cairn because that's the only way to >find the trail. >The views are impressive. It is a scrubby, hot, exposed landscape >with lots of green in the distance along Calf Creek. >Vistas include the Pink Cliffs of the Table Cliff Plateau on the west >to the Straight Cliffs of the Kaiparowits Plateau to the southwest. >The Henry Mountains are to the east. >A spring is the year-round source of water for Upper Calf Creek >Falls, where the water drops off a cliff face at the head of the >canyon. It is a shaded, picturesque spot. >The water drops into a cool, often-green pool. It is generally deep >enough for swimming, although the poison ivy is thick. >One trail leg runs to the top of the falls, where the creek follows a >shallow valley with several deep pools. Another trail leg drops into >the canyon below the falls. >The stream is flanked by heavy vegetation because of the water. >There's a great wading stream below the falls. >Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it is >fairly easy to reach. >More visitors head to a second waterfall about 2 1/2 miles >downstream, where the canyon deepens. That's Lower Calf Creek Falls, >where the stream drops 126 feet into a green pool in a cliff-bound >canyon. >It is at the end of a 3.1-mile one-way trail maintained by the U.S. >Bureau of Land Management and is the only maintained trail in Grand >Staircase-Escalante and a major tourist attraction. >The Calf Creek Recreation Area is accessible off state Route 12, a >federal scenic byway and an All-American highway. >No permits are required for day hikes like our trek to Upper Calf >Creek Falls. >No camping and no fires are permitted within a half mile of Upper >Calf Creek Falls. No camping is permitted at the state Route 12 >trailhead. >Permits are needed for overnight hikes. >Flash floods can be a threat, especially in the slot canyons that are >a big draw in southern Utah. >The prime season for visits is mid-March through May and again in >September and October. >For information, contact the Grand Staircase-Escalante National >Monument at 190 E. Center St., Kanab, UT 84741; 435-644-4300. The >office is one of five visitor centers that surround the federal >monument. The Internet site is www.ut.blm.gov/monument.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/16107006.htm


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2nd post to this. And no the new America the Beautiful, Multi-Agency Pass will not cover the parking fee.

bruce from bryce

>From: "~tanya" gotta@visitzionpark.com
Reply-To: Yahoo Canyons Group
To: Yahoo Canyons Group
Subject: [from Canyons Group] Utah canyons wild, rugged >Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:57:13 -0000
There are lots of secret places hidden away in the Escalante Canyons >in southern Utah. >That includes numerous slot canyons, arches, Indian paintings and >carvings, outlaw hideouts and waterfalls. >Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf >Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of >the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. >The Escalante River and its tributaries have carved out 1,000 miles >of canyons and created some of the best backcountry in the West. >It was the last river in the continental United States to be >discovered, named and mapped. It flows from 10,000-foot Boulder >Mountain and the Aquarius Plateau southward for 90 miles to the >Colorado River. >The Escalante Canyons are a vast country, wild and rugged and remote. >It lies in the national monument and the Glen Canyon National >Recreation Area. >The lower 15 miles of the Escalante River are now part of Lake >Powell, where the Colorado River has been dammed and backed up in >Glen Canyon. >Recent droughts have lowered the lake level and again exposed some >long-flooded canyons in Glen Canyon. >Most trails in the Escalante Canyons follow streams or washes or cut >across open slickrock. There are few easy trails and almost no >maintained trails. >To get to the Escalante Canyons can take some work. >Many of the canyons are accessible off two dirt roads: Hole-in-the- >Rock Road and the Burr Trail, both of which run south off state Route >12. Hole-in-the-Rock Road provides access from the west. The Burr >Trail provides access to the Wolverine and Moody Canyon roads, which >will give you access to the Escalante Canyons from the east. >Adventurer-artist Everett Ruess disappeared in 1934 in the Escalante >Canyons and was never found or heard from again. His legend lives on >in southern Utah. >Our hike to Upper Calf Falls began off state Route 12, which runs >along the north edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante. That provided easy >access. >From the trailhead off state Route 12 between Escalante and Boulder >between mile posts 80 and 81, hikers drop off the rim of Calf Creek >Canyon at an elevation of 6,530 feet en route to the falls. >It is initially a very steep drop of perhaps 300 feet over light- >colored slickrock or bare Navajo sandstone. >The descent is easier than it appears at first on the dry rock, but >it is slow work later on the way back up to the rim. >The trail is marked by stone cairns or piles or rocks. Round, gray >volcanic boulders litter the slopes. >The route continues to drop in switchbacks and steeper bands of >slickrock. Then the descent slows over a gently sloping sand-and-rock >bench that drops perhaps another 300 feet. >In some places, you can follow footprints in the sand. At others, you >search intently for the next cairn because that's the only way to >find the trail. >The views are impressive. It is a scrubby, hot, exposed landscape >with lots of green in the distance along Calf Creek. >Vistas include the Pink Cliffs of the Table Cliff Plateau on the west >to the Straight Cliffs of the Kaiparowits Plateau to the southwest. >The Henry Mountains are to the east. >A spring is the year-round source of water for Upper Calf Creek >Falls, where the water drops off a cliff face at the head of the >canyon. It is a shaded, picturesque spot. >The water drops into a cool, often-green pool. It is generally deep >enough for swimming, although the poison ivy is thick. >One trail leg runs to the top of the falls, where the creek follows a >shallow valley with several deep pools. Another trail leg drops into >the canyon below the falls. >The stream is flanked by heavy vegetation because of the water. >There's a great wading stream below the falls. >Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it is >fairly easy to reach. >More visitors head to a second waterfall about 2 1/2 miles >downstream, where the canyon deepens. That's Lower Calf Creek Falls, >where the stream drops 126 feet into a green pool in a cliff-bound >canyon. >It is at the end of a 3.1-mile one-way trail maintained by the U.S. >Bureau of Land Management and is the only maintained trail in Grand >Staircase-Escalante and a major tourist attraction. >The Calf Creek Recreation Area is accessible off state Route 12, a >federal scenic byway and an All-American highway. >No permits are required for day hikes like our trek to Upper Calf >Creek Falls. >No camping and no fires are permitted within a half mile of Upper >Calf Creek Falls. No camping is permitted at the state Route 12 >trailhead. >Permits are needed for overnight hikes. >Flash floods can be a threat, especially in the slot canyons that are >a big draw in southern Utah. >The prime season for visits is mid-March through May and again in >September and October. >For information, contact the Grand Staircase-Escalante National >Monument at 190 E. Center St., Kanab, UT 84741; 435-644-4300. The >office is one of five visitor centers that surround the federal >monument. The Internet site is www.ut.blm.gov/monument.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/16107006.htm


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<<There are lots of secret places hidden away in the Escalante Canyons in southern Utah.>>

This is true, but the below is obviously written by someone very dilusional, or at best incredibly inexperienced:

<<Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.>>

<<Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it is fairly easy to reach.>>

Upper Calf Creek Falls is "secret" and "doesn't get many visitors"? Brings a whole new perpective to the "secrecy" debate among canyoneers and how rediculous some of the claims of secrecy can be and have been......

--- In Yahoo Canyons Group, scott patterson <kesscokim@...> wrote:

> This is true, but the below is obviously written by someone very dilusional, or at best incredibly inexperienced:
<<Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf > Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of > the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.>
<<Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it is > fairly easy to reach.>>

88 feet? Ummm. I though closer to 65, but not sure. As far as the 4 miles of slickrock? In Rudi's book it says 1 mile to the falls. Seemed pretty close to me. Inflation? ;-) R

--- In Yahoo Canyons Group, "adkramoo" <adkramoo@...> wrote:
--- In Yahoo Canyons Group, scott patterson <kesscokim@> wrote:
> This is true, but the below is obviously written by someone
very delusional, or at best incredibly inexperienced:

<<Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper
Calf Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern
edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.>
> <<Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it > is > fairly easy to reach.>
> 88 feet? Ummm. I though closer to 65, but not sure. As far as the 4 > miles of slickrock? In Rudi's book it says 1 mile to the falls. > Seemed pretty close to me. Inflation? ;-) > R > 1.25 miles each way more or less. Makes it a 2-1/2 mile slickrock hike, round up to 4 miles.

See next comment about Scott - applies here, also.

Tom

--- In Yahoo Canyons Group, scott patterson <kesscokim@...> wrote: > <<There are lots of secret places hidden away in the Escalante > Canyons in southern Utah.>
> This is true, but the below is obviously written by someone very > delusional, or at best incredibly inexperienced: > Note A, below.

> <<Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper > Calf Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern > edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.>
> <<Upper Calf Creek Falls doesn't get many visitors, although it > is fairly easy to reach.>
> Upper Calf Creek Falls is "secret" and "doesn't get many > visitors"? Brings a whole new perpective to the "secrecy" > debate among canyoneers and how rediculous some of the claims of > secrecy can be and have been...... > .Utah canyons wild, rugged .By Bob Downing .Akron Beacon Journal

.ESCALANTE, Utah - There are lots of secret places hidden away in .the Escalante Canyons in southern Utah...

The original byline above.

Note A: Here's some new words for you, Scott: "Perspective", "Context", "Empathy". Believe it or not, not everyone in the world is exactly like you! Incredible, isn't it. For staff writer Bob Downing of the Akron Beacon Journal, writing for the hometown crowd, that:

"Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument."

is wonderfully true. Why demean it?

And, for Mr Downing and 99.9% of Americans, Upper Calf Creek Falls IS a secret spot. The trail is not marked on maps, there is no sign off the highway, there is a trail, but it is not paved (like it's bigger brother a few miles down the road).

And your point is? And MY point is? I guess I can slag YOU as fast as you can slag Joe Public...

Tom

--- In Yahoo Canyons Group, "Tom Jones" <ratagonia@...> wrote: >> And, for Mr Downing and 99.9% of Americans, Upper Calf Creek Falls > IS a secret spot. The trail is not marked on maps, there is no sign > off the highway, there is a trail, but it is not paved (like it's > bigger brother a few miles down the road).

And the road is essentiaslly invisable coming from the north. Nice lava rocks on the tenth of a mile entry too. A friend blew a tire on it. The parking lot? A sand trap at times. The trail? Cairns and a bit vague. A trail split most of the way. Falls top, to the right, falls bottom to the left/straight. No signs. Now in the last few years...a register at the trailhead and no camping signs. That's relatively new. R

["Note A: Here's some new words for you, Scott: "Perspective", "Context", "Empathy". Believe it or not, not everyone in the world is exactly like you! Incredible, isn't it. For staff writer Bob Downing of the Akron Beacon Journal, writing for the hometown crowd, that:]

The message was posted to the canyons group and is the context.

["Daughter Katie and I delighted in an 88-foot waterfall, Upper Calf Creek Falls, on a four-mile slickrock hike at the northern edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument."

is wonderfully true. Why demean it?]

How does stating the fact that something isn't secret demean it? I've always seen people at Upper Calf Creek Falls in season. People visit it because it is well known, is beautiful, and an incredibly nice place. The only thing I disagreed with is the use of the word "secret" which seemed to be tossed around way too much pertaining to local attractions of any kind.

I've heard some locals get down right offended that some sources call some places "secret" as they didn't think that locals knew about them before the city folk came in and published them (for some interesting history brush up in the naming of Grosvenor or Mussleman Arches, for example).

[And, for Mr Downing and 99.9% of Americans, Upper Calf Creek Falls IS a secret spot.]

I'm sorry Tom, but I repecfully disagree. A google search pulls up 188,000 results Upper Calf Creek Falls:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Upper&#43;Calf&#43;Creek&#43;Falls

Most Americans have the internet, so Upper Calf Creek Falls isn't secret. The falls is also mentioned in many guidebooks and travel guides, along with directions of how to get there. I would bet that the majority of the locals know where it is too. Most Americans have access to the information. Below is the definition of secret. The only one that even vaguely fits might be #3, and in that case you may have a point. Even so, the article should have said "secret to some folk whom don't know the area" or somthing to that effect.

1 a : kept from knowledge or view : HIDDEN b : marked by the habit of discretion : CLOSEMOUTHED c : working with hidden aims or methods : UNDERCOVER <a secret agent> d : not acknowledged : UNAVOWED <a secret bride> e : conducted in secret <a secret trial> 2 : remote from human frequentation or notice : SECLUDED 3 : revealed only to the initiated : ESOTERIC 4 : designed to elude observation or detection <a secret panel> 5 : containing information whose unauthorized disclosure could endanger national security -- compare CONFIDENTIAL, TOP SECRET

[The trail is not marked on maps, there is no sign off the highway, there is a trail, but it is not paved (like it's bigger brother a few miles down the road).]

The trail to Lower Falls isn't marked on the USGS maps either. Is the Lower Falls a secret?

[And your point is? And MY point is? I guess I can slag YOU as fast as you can slag Joe Public...]

My point wasn't to slag anyone personally and not Joe public, but was to point out the incorrect useage of the word "secret" used in the article (and other sources). I strongly disagree with the way the word was used and it doesn't apply to Joe public, but to everyone equally. Not that my opinion matters.







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