Our first trip of the season is already over, and plans are underway for our next drive over the mountains to Utah. Our recent trip was just over two weeks in southeast Utah and vicinity, most of it near Hanksville. The weather cooperated with us for the most part. It was warm for most of our trip, we barely saw rain, but the wind did blow, strong on some days, as it always seems to do in the spring. Nicolai and I began our trip with 10 days of exploring west of the Dirty Devil river. Based on recommendations by Doug, Frank, Mike and others, and previous experiences, we explored the area in and around Angel Point, Cedar Flat, Little Egypt, and of course down Poison Spring Canyon. Much of this area was new to us, and it was all very exciting for both of us, with something interesting around every turn in the road and every corner of the canyon bottom.
Of course we drove down to the Dirty Devil River. No trip to the area is complete for us without visiting the ford. It was running at about 200 CFS when we took a look at it at the end of March. It has been steadily dropping since then; today (May 6th) it is at about 65 CFS. At this rate we’ll be dragging when we put in toward the end of the month (our next trip is a 10 day float on the Dirty Devil). There were a lot of people taking advantage of the high flows when we were there. At the ford/take out there were 5 trucks the day we drove all the way down. We saw one kayaker a few days before that while on a hike down to the river in a side canyon. We also drove most of the way down to the take out near Hite, on Sheep Springs road. The road was in terrible shape, washed out along nearly every drainage. It took us about 45 minutes to drive about 2/3 of the way to the take out at which point the shovel work and rock moving required to continue wasn’t too appealing. But for all I know it could have been perfect around the next corner all the way to the take out. We did ask a ranger at Hite if it would ever be graded or maintained and she thought it very unlikely. She didn’t know the condition of the road further down.
Geology and North Wash Canyons
We spent lots of time on this trip looking over the geology of the area. The Little Egypt road gives you some great views of the Henries, as well as a good look at the Entrada formation and its interesting hoodoos- the same you see at Goblin Valley state park. We found lots of interesting rocks and minerals near the Entrada hoodoos, many of which we still need to identify. We found something that looks like gypsum, or maybe quartz, but is probably some evaporite mineral. It was in the form of plates about 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch thick, to me appearing foliated vertically (if I have my terminology correct). Our guess is that much of what we found weathered out of the Henries up above.
Nico making his way up one of the Irish Canyons.
On the way out of the area we stopped for a day down North Wash for some canyoneering in the Irish Canyons. Nicolai dove right in- literally. No sooner had we snapped our helmets on than he was nearly out of sight up the slot. We came in from the bottom since it was just the two of us, and went as far up as he could safely climbing with me spotting and giving him a push up from behind. It turned out to be the most exciting part of the trip for him, and he is already planning on our next visit there after we finish on the river in early June. Since it is usually just the two of us, we are hoping we can tag along with a group at some point, have someone for belay, and come in from the top.
A chopper we found in the bottom of one of the Irish Canyons while canyoneering there. The scale is in centimeters. We photographed the chopper, and put it back in place.
A New Boat
After North Wash we made our way south through Shiprock and over to Bloomfield and Aztec. Our primary purpose for the drive south was to visit Jack’s Plastic Welding in Aztec and pick out our new boat. We had a very informative visit with them and I think at this point have decided on the Cutthroat 2, the 24 inch wide version with 19 inch by 14 foot tubes and a 9 1/2 foot frame. It seems like the perfect boat for our favorite floats- the San Juan and Green Rivers for example. It can also be fitted with a motor mount, something that will come in handy for a trip from Bullfrog up the Escalante (a trip that is in the planning stages). After Jack’s we stopped in at Aztec Ruins National Monument for a few hours and looked over the reconstructions there. It is a worthwhile visit, and is easy to get to as it sits right on the edge of town. If you are in the area and have even half an hour, the Great Kiva must be seen- it is the largest reconstructed kiva in existence.
Aztec ruin. Note the lines of greenish sandstone visible. It is unknown exactly why the builders chose to include the line as the whole structure was plastered over and it would not have been seen.
News From the Region
On our trips we will often regroup, and cleanup, with a hotel night. Blanding is one location where this often occurs and the Sunset Inn is our usual choice, an easy one at 25 dollars a night! On this trip we found it under new management with lots of changes going on. We did not stay this time, but found out that there are upgrades in the rooms as well as on the outside. The price has increased to 43 dollars a night (still a bargain) and the name has changed to the Stone Lizard. On our way through Blanding we had a late breakfast at Yaks Diner. It is worth mentioning as it is the only diner in town and has cheap, fast, hearty American breakfasts. It is on the north side of town right on the highway.
Leave No Trace
Anyone who has read a few of my posts knows that I often mention Leave No Trace principles (some of you may be getting tired of it). But I feel I have good reason- I’ve been going into the wilderness all my life, and have found campsites, for example, that are absolutely disgusting- with firepits full of broken bottles and half-burned beer cans, trash all around, and toilet paper blowing in the breeze on the sagebrush. Whenever I encounter a site like this I do my best to clean it up. I often leave the bush with more trash that I have picked up than I have made myself.
Nico starting our nightly fire in the fire pan.
I have also encountered many absolutely perfect and pristine campsites, places where previous campers have been as diligent as I try to be about cleaning up and leaving the place untouched for the next person to come along. My personal rule is to always leave a site cleaner than I found it. I have been teaching these principles to my son since his very first trip, and they have become the norm for him. As a final comment on LNT, since we started floating rivers about 8 years ago now, we have carried our river fire pan along with us in the truck. During that time we have only made our fires in the fire pan, packing up the charcoal and ashes the next morning with our trash. I feel it is a great way to minimise our impact and leave our camps just a little bit cleaner.
For more information on Leave No Trace principles, visit the LNT website. For more about who we are and our adventures in the Utah desert, visit the Desert Explorer website. Photos from the trip are posted on the Desert Explorer Picasa page.
Desert Explorer 
Love this post. Nico looks like she is active and having fun. She is a very lucky girl.