Owl Creek

Another chapter has been written by theBRIGADE! Our search for exploration and adventure took us down to Owl Creek in southern Utah's Grand Gulch Plateau outside of Blanding. That area is quickly becoming our new stomping grounds for sure! There are so many amazing areas to explore down there and Owl Creek was definitely one of them. That being said, it turned out to be different than expected.

Jeff and his curry reach "Canyon Country"

We left on a Thursday after work. Paul and I met up and then went down to SLC to meet Jeff. He had just gotten out of class and was waiting for us at Thai Siam, his favorite restaurant. We were a little behind schedule, so he was waiting for us for some time. When we finally pulled up, he was literally surrounded by every Thai chick that worked in that place! Paul and I just stared as they followed him out into the rain, filling his arms with curry-based food and soup, wishing him luck and imploring us to bring him back safely. ("Have fun, Jeffwy! Be safe, Jeffwy!") He later informed us that they're all married, but it doesn't matter. They're now known officially as "Jeff's Harem."

The trip down was pretty uneventful and we like it that way. We had rain off and on, and Utah County (aka "Crappy Valley") was horrible, as usual, but overall it was smooth sailing. We rocked a smooth playlist of snowboard film inspired songs and Jeff played "Plants vs Zombies." There was one incident, however, that got us a little worried. We'd just passed through Blanding and we're heading down the highway when the back window rolls down, we get a blast of cold air, and I look back to see Paul hanging halfway out the window! Jeff and I both are yelling at him to see what's he's doing and he wouldn't respond. Turns out he had some jerky stuck in his craw (throat) and tried to wash it down with some water which didn't work either, hence hanging out the back window while we drove down the highway at excessive rates of speed in the dark. We finally pulled over and he was able to clear his craw and we had a good chuckle as we made our way towards the trail head.

The road in!



We finally found the ranger station and wound our way the 5 miles down the dirt road which was covered in six inches of snow to the trail head. We pulled in shortly after midnight and quickly set up the tent and climbed in for the night. We awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky! It was completely bluebird and absolutely gorgeous to look out over the desert covered in snow. It was such a nice day, that we took a lot longer than we should have making breakfast, preparing our packs, and heading down the trail. We didn't even start hiking until nearly 11 o'clock, but we couldn't be more happy. We had plans to go down Owl Creek Canyon on day 1, make camp and leave our packs where the trail joined with Fish Creek Canyon, continue downstream to see more ruins, and finally come out the Fish Creek side on day 2. After a short 15 minutes of hiking, we reached the canyon rim and the scenery fell into a massive gorge. It was breathtaking to see, especially with all the snow that was covering the red rock and frozen waterfalls and ice formations. We made our way down into the canyon carefully, jumping from boulder to boulder at times, sitting and sliding other times, and even removing and lowering down our packs. It was about this time that I remembered how the description of this trail on the websites we had read were described simply as "rocky." That definitely was an understatement. It was very slow going and we had to use extra care as everything was more slippery than usual.

As we moved down deeper and deeper into the canyon, we reached a 30 foot overhang that held our first Anasazi ruin. This has to be the coolest one that I've ever seen to date. As I said, it was tucked under a huge overhang that would have been an incredible waterfall during the runoff. Again, it was difficult finding a way down as the rock cairns and trail was covered in snow, but we made it. We spend quite a while at the dwelling, looking at the multiple structures that were part of the the site. As we were taking pictures, I looked up on the wall above us and saw a large panel of hand prints about 10 or 12 feet above the floor. It was so awesome. Some were more faded than others, but I was able to count at least 30 of them in different sizes lining the wall. You can't help but wonder how many people or even how many generations once lived in this spot, carving out a lifestyle in what at first glance would be a very barren wilderness. After spending more and more time around these areas, however, it doesn't seem so barren after all. And being in this spot, I could really appreciate the beauty that surrounded this dwelling. Definitely one of the coolest spots I've ever been.

  

The temperature had been climbing steadily as we rested at the Anasazi ruin, and our peaceful revelry was abruptly interrupted as a huge chuck of ice fell from the overhang above and crashed down right in front of us. It was about that time that we decided we'd better getting moving. We were still too near the rim and we felt vulnerable as we skirted the cliff walls, taking turns so two could watch above while one scrambled to the next safe zone. Nothing of serious consequence happened, but we were happy to get to the canyon floor and have more open space around us.

We felt like we were making decent time as we moved down the canyon and stopped shortly for a snack. The day couldn't have been more perfect for hiking as it was warm and sunny enough to feel comfortable, but cool enough to keep your body from sweating a lot under the heavy packs. The scenery was absolutely amazing and we passed several more frozen waterfalls and rock formations. The trail got more difficult to find, however, as we moved into the more narrow part of the canyon with taller walls. With less direct sunlight, the snow became deeper and the trail disappeared completely. We were left to blaze our own trail and try to pick our way through tall weeds, rock ledges, and tall trees. This is where we lost the most time, and the most energy. We climbed up on a higher ledge to rest and looked at the map. While we knew we were moving slow, we thought we'd still make it to the confluence by nightfall. The canyon opened up again shortly thereafter and we were able to pick up our pace.

Around 2:00 or so, we stopped for what was intended to be an nice lunch, but quickly turned into a disappointing break. The trail had cut back on itself and took us back north along another deep drop further into the canyon. Upon consulting the map, this was the spot we thought we had passed over an hour before. Clearly we were moving slower than we thought and we realized we wouldn't make it to the confluence by dark. So we decided to keep moving until we found a good spot for the night and make the most of it. We dropped down into the bottom of the canyon and continued south for another hour or so until we found a  nice sandy spot near the canyon wall near the stream bed. It turned out to be a fantastic spot to camp, with plenty of wood and water. Other than Jeff sitting in a cactus, it was prime conditions for sure! (Huh? Oh yeah, Jeff somehow went "cactus butt" on us and I had to dig out the spines with my knife. No big deal. We're professionals.) We enjoyed the rest of the evening just sticking around camp telling stories, taking pictures, and enjoying being outside.

Picking cactus spines out of Jeff's rear.

As a quick side note, I have the growing suspicion that the other guys, Jeff especially, don't enjoy sleeping by me outside anymore. Ever since Dark Canyon when I had the greatest 13+ hour sleep of my life, I've been a rock star at sleeping outside. I just kinda let my body go and I slip into what I call the "RAD Sleep Cycle" (like REM sleep, but more rad, ya know?). Anyway, that night was another RAD Sleep night. I'm pretty sure I was asleep before they had even zipped up their bags and I guess I was snoring pretty good as well. Amber says I don't snore at all, unless I'm really tired. But I don't know what their problem is because I slept great! Didn't wake up once and felt amazing in the morning. Jeff and Paul seemed a little grouchy the next day. Haters. Let a playa play, let a sleepa sleep!

Anyway, we got up, had a great breakfast sesh, filtered and filled water bottles, and headed back up the trail the way we had come. The weather was substantially warmer on day 2 than the day before and the snow was melting fast. We moved back up the canyon, this time having more luck following the rock cairns and the trail. As we approached the spot where we'd stopped to look at the map, we were hugging the left cliff wall and moving steadily towards the top. Jeff was in the lead, followed by myself, then Paul. As we got closer, the trail became a little more difficult to follow and the cliff more sheer and steep. We started to doubt the integrity of this "trail" but we could see the edge and it looked as though we could make it to the top without any problem. That's where we ran into a problem.

Again, Jeff was in front and less than 10 feet below the top, he got stuck. From where I stood, it looked like he could reach the top without any issue, but from where he was, there was no way up or down. Somehow he'd made it up enough that he couldn't make it back to where I was, especially with his heavy pack on. With nowhere to go, Paul went back down the trail and came up around us following the way we went the previous day. It took time to take the longer route and Jeff was holding on that entire time with very little space to move or rest himself. By the time Paul was above him lowering the rope, Jeff's legs had begun to shake from being stuck in the same uncomfortable position for so long. It's times like these that your mind and body start to do their own thing and it's a struggle to keep calm and focused. Even tying a simple knot can require a lot more thought than usual while trying to keep a level head. I climbed up below Jeff and helped him get his pack off and secured to the rope, allowing Paul to pull it up. Without the heavy pack on, it was a lot easier for Jeff to tie himself off and work his way to the top. When my turn came, I sent up my pack and then ascended to where Jeff was. I can not for the life of me figure out how he got there with a pack on. Again, it looked so accessible from down below, but when you got to that point, there was nowhere to go. I tied myself off and they pulled me up.

As we sat and rested for a few minutes, Jeff and I pondered how we'd ended up in yet another interesting situation. It's not that we mean to find ourselves in precarious situations, sometimes they find us. It wasn't that we were in serious danger by any means, but it was a time to extend ourselves and use our skills to get out of a tough spot. In the end, we just have to be stoked that once again, we've proven ourselves and our skills and made it out okay. It's learning, it's lessons, it's experience... it's LIFE. And this is why I love being out in the wilderness with Jeff. We've been through a lot together, and this cliff was just a small part of the great whole that we've been through. Now adding Tim and Paul and others to our group, our crew is tight. This is the stuff that makes theBRIGADE more than just t-shirts and snowboarding fame aspirations. Like Jeremy Jones said, "Your crew is the most important part... Maybe you need your boy to rip his shirt off his back and wrap it around your head. Who knows?" I'm so stoked for my crew!

We made good time the rest of the way up the canyon. As I said, the trail was much easier to follow and we were able to see how far off the beaten path we were on the way down. We stopped again later to enjoy the sun, remove some layers from the heat, and eat before ascending back up to the ruin. With some time to kill, we stopped below the Anasazi site for a while. Jeff and Paul took pictures and I took a nap. Haha. This is another reason why being with Jeff and now Paul is great: they take amazing pics. I like to snap a few myself and enjoy the angles and stuff, but these guys with their cameras make it an art form. Again, our crew is TIGHT.
 

Jeff captures me during the nap sesh.





Saying goodbye to the ruin.

After Paul nearly had an ice chunk fall on him (hit within 5 feet!), we decided it was time to head out. We scaled up the boulders until we were looking down once again on the ruin, then climbed back up and out of the canyon to the rim. By the time we reached the truck, we were wet and covered in red mud. The increasing heat had quickly turned the pristine white wonderland into a potential red mud pit. We threw our gear in the truck and spun and slid our way back up the road. Even in 4 wheel drive we had to an interesting ride out, but we made it without incident. We pulled into Blanding and helped ourselves to some Subway. There was a girl's volleyball team there that was giving Paul eyes like he was a fresh meatball sub. But Jeff and I looked so trail-worn and tough that they kept their distance. (Actually, maybe it was the smell...) Anyway, made it back safe and sound and ready to go again! Prime adventure to be sure. Disappointed at first that we didn't make it down where we wanted to, but who had the stones to hit up Owl Creek in the middle of January?! Nobody but us.