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.

Coyote Gulch

At long last, here it is, the much anticipated latest wilderness adventure of theBRIGADE crew. This one had it all and I think it will easily go down as the best trip yet. You know it's an epic adventure when just the trip down is blog-worthy in itself. That said, let's get on with it...

We left after work on a Thursday and did our best to make it through Utah County before the traffic got too bad and the despair of "Crappy Valley" set in. Thankfully, we survived that part of the journey, but in our haste, we passed the last buffet for miles and that was kind of a downer when we were all craving some buffet bliss, but none could be found close by. However, this led us to an unbelievable experience. We grabbed a hold-me-over in Peyson and continued to Scipio where we found a Dairy Queen. We pulled into the parking lot right next to a green Prius that seemed to be in trouble. Before my feet could even hit the ground, I was hit by the smell of B.O. and stale breath as a man we later named "The Vulture" got in my face asking me if he could borrow our jack. It wasn't his Prius with a flat, but he apparently was "gracious" enough to offer to fix the flat for $20. The couple looked like they were pretty overwhelmed with the task of hauling the dude's (we called him "The Aztec" because he looked Aztec-ish) parents in the back seat to who-knows-where and didn't have a car jack. So we pulled out our jack, but being in a truck, our jack was too big for their low-riding car. The Vulture started getting a little edgy at the prospect of losing out on his bounty, but the Aztec found someone to lend a car jack and we started raising it up... that is until the Vulture swooped in (nice little play on words, eh?) and insisted on doing the "work." Well, that lasted about 3 minutes tops before he was too tired to turn the crank anymore. Tim got down on it and realized the dummy had put the jack in the wrong spot and was on the verge of breaking the car or the jack so we hastily threw mine under and got it up the rest of the way. It was about this time while Tim was down on the jack that Jeff nudged me and I looked up to see a lady who was in desperate need of some "support." Let's just say a "push-up" bra wouldn't work. She's needed a "PULL-UP" bra. Nasty. And can you guess who she was with? You got it, the Vulture. Of course. Well ol' Vulture was getting pretty anxious again seeing as we were doing all the work and for the unheard of price of FREE... so he decided to try to hit me up for some money. See, he and his lady friend were heading to Atlantic City and needed some funds to get there. As Jeff so eloquently put it, "I won't give you money to go gamble! But I will give you money to take a shower and get that lady a bra!" Gnarly. So the vulture flew off to swindle a different helpless person and we got the Aztec and his family back on the road. We ended up at Subway instead and shook our heads in disbelief of what we'd just witnessed. Makes for an awesome story though... and picture! Hey-ohhhh!

The rest of the trip down was pretty uneventful. We passed some awesome scenery and a way cool town called Torrey that'll be the first place I take my teardrop some day. We went over this super cool pass before dropping into Boulder and took pictures at the summit. This was Tim taking a leak at 9600 ft. above sea level. We even saw a deer standing next to a "Deer Crossing" sign. For real. That was a first. Anyway, we got past Boulder and drove another half hour or so to Hole-in-the-Rock road and turned onto dirt. We were already pretty tired by now, but Jeff took the wheel and championed the worst stretch on the trip: 32 miles on dirt road in the dark with nothing to look at. Let me just say that 32 miles on that dirt road at night is like poking your eyes out with dull toothpicks dipped in lemon juice. I'm not kidding. Glad Jeff was there. We finally made it to the trail head just after 11:00 p.m. and threw down a tarp and sleeping bags and fell asleep behind the truck under the stars.

Day 1: We woke up early to rain clouds and wind and we'd no sooner gotten dressed when it started to rain. As Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Hidalgo would say, "No bueno." So we sat in the truck and waited out the storm and it cleared off in about 30 minutes or so. We ate breakfast and started off on the trail. It was pretty barren looking country with desert as far as the eye could see. The sand and rock was various shades of red with very little vegetation. The cooler temps made the hiking much more enjoyable than it would be on a sunny day for sure. We were able to make good time and cover a lot of ground. The desert hills turned into dry riverbed which we followed until it began to turn into sandy hills and back to riverbed full of cottonwood trees. A small stream began on our right and grew wider the deeper into the canyon we got. We took a short break next to the stream and Jeff did his best Bear Grylls example of how to descend a steep slope. Let's watch:

We continued down the trail and the canyon got more lush and green the further we went. The water also got more plentiful as well. Soon we were walking next to tall red cliffs and we had to start jumping over the water to stay dry and follow the trail. Eventually, we gave up trying to stay dry or switched to water shoes. It was around this time when we met up with the first other hikers on the trip, a group of about 6 people. Jeff and I both had our tB shirts on and the woman asked what theBRIGADE was and how many of us there were. "There's 3 of us." I think she thought we were trying to be smart with her because when she asked where we were coming from and I said, "Salt Lake City area," she snapped, "NO! What trail head did you come in on?!" Apparently she wasn't have a good day. So we left them alone to be miserable and kept going.

We knew that the first arch, our target for the day, was about 7 miles in. We had gone about 4 miles when we decided to stop for some lunch and a midday nap. After refueling and replenishing, we changed into water gear and stashed our packs and started down the river barefoot to see how far we were from the arch and if we could find any good camping sites for the night. We passed several groups on our way, all of which gawked at us with our shorts and bare feet. It's funny because everyone we passed seemed to be completely covered up from their surroundings as if they didn't want nature to get on them. Pretty stark contrast to the three of us who were soaking everything in. After about an hour, we came around another bend that looked like we'd passed 5 or 6 times when we found a nice sandy beach-like area surrounded by trees. It looked like a prime place to camp for the night. Then we turned around and realized we were at the Jacob Hamlin arch! Haha perfect spot indeed. We felt renewed again and ran almost all the way back to our packs through the warm water. Here's another video:

So we picked up our gear and walked back down to our campsite, still barefoot, and by the time we got there, we were pretty spent. Nothing like a 7 mile hike with a 3 mile run in between. Gnarly. We made dinner and fell asleep pretty early that night.

Day 2: We woke up, ate breakfast, and set out early for the rest of our exploration down the canyon. We passed Jacob Hamlin arch again and the water was fantastic. It was nice and warm with soft sand to walk on so we stayed bare foot. It was just past the arch that we found the most amazing outhouse ever. Seriously it was incredible. The science that went into building that thing was hardcore. It's too much to explain. Just take my word for it that it was excellent. And I watched a lizard jumping and catching flies out of midair while Tim and Jeff did their things. Anyway, we continued down the river and the scenery was incredible. My descriptions probably won't do it justice. Just enjoy the pics.

We estimated that about 3 miles past the first arch, we found a second arch. It was epic. It's just so incredible to think that you're in the middle of this canyon full of water and greenery walking through a hole in a giant rock surrounded by 200 foot tall red rock walls. And outside of that, desert. Barren desert. It was surreal. We had lunch at the arch and I took a fantastic nap. Jeff tried to sleep as well, but the flies wouldn't leave him alone. Haha. Several hikers passed us and one mentioned that there were some pictographs on the walls about a mile ahead so we decided to continue on before we turned back. Well, we never found 'em. We hiked for almost 2 hours more and no dice. Finally, we got tired of walking and decided to play in the river before turning back. Tim showed off his Jedi skills by floating above the water and we enjoyed a great sunny day.

On the way back, my water shoes broke while we were trying to keep to the land instead of the river, so I was stuck to water travel. Tim was walking on the shore next to me and started around a bush when he jumped back suddenly. That's when I heard the "chi-chi-chi-chi-chi" as well. Sure enough, a baby rattler slid out of the bush towards us. We kept our distance, but we saw that it had a large lizard in its mouth! It was gnarly. Definitely got the hair on the back of our necks bristling, but was really cool to see.

Well we made it back to our packs and after doing around 10+ miles barefoot, my feet really started to kill me. We gutted out another 3 miles before stopping for the night and this time we were REALLY spent. We set up a basic camp and we were just wandering around the campsite after eating dinner when I had mentioned how disappointing it was to miss the pictographs. Then Jeff, with his camera out, called our attention to DIRECTLY ABOVE OUR HEADS on the canyon walls. Sure enough, there were pictographs. We tried to make out the figures through Jeff's pictures because they showed up much more vividly with the flash. I noticed the white dots around the figures and began following similar dots down the wall. That's when we stumbled upon more than we could have ever hoped for. The figures were faded, but very defined. I know we had passed this spot 4 times already without noticing them so I wonder if anyone had ever seen them before us at all. The figures depicted warriors in battle and as we studied them closer, I began to fell a very heavy spirit fall around us. Tim felt it as well and it was very eery. It was then that both of us turned behind us at the same time towards the hills and it was as if we had been there to see what happened. You could just tell that the people had been attacked from those hills and many were killed. I crossed the river to look for other signs of what had happened and only a few feet into the trees I had to stop. The feelings were just too much. It was an incredible feeling being there. I can almost guarantee that after what happened, those who survived paid honor to their fallen by drawing these pictures on the walls and then never came back again. It was intense and very powerful.

Day 3: We woke up, ate breakfast, and set out for home. We had about 5 miles out to the trail head and we were all feeling the weekend's miles adding up on our sore legs. It was a little slow going at times, but we made it out. The last stretch was completely different from when we came in. The sun was hot and beat down us relentlessly. The desert definitely is hostile. The truck was a very welcome sight and we changed into comfortable clothes for the journey home. I gotta admit we looked pretty tough and weathered when we pulled in to the gas station at Escalante. The trip home was uneventful and that's how we like it. Made good time and got back in time for dinner. What an epic trip. We did over 30 miles in 3 days. Our crew is legit. That's all I can say. Can't wait for the next adventure!