Hike For Health

It’s too beautiful of a night not to get out into the woods – not too hot, not too cool - just right. Ambling over hill and dale, I jump over fallen trees, dodge scratchy branches and watch for ankle-twisting woodchuck holes – a natural obstacle course if you will.

This is excellent exercise, not just for the heart and muscles, but for coordination and mental alertness as well. It occurs to me that hiking like this is a great activity for overall fitness, one that just about anyone can do at their own pace. And this is not to mention being given the privilege of beholding some of Mother Nature’s finest while doing it - lush foliage, gorgeous wildflowers, magical encounters with our forest friends, heartbreakingly beautiful birdsongs and the incomparable sweet and oxygenated fragrance of the forest to mention a few.

If it’s been a while since I last visited one of these sylvan cathedrals, I start to feel disconnected from the world around me. But as soon as I enter the woods, I’m renewed, at once both in touch with the cosmos again but freed of its challenges and problems, at least for now. Surrounded by forest, I am somehow incapable of worry.

When I see or hear that another one of these sacred places is being scalped and bulldozed in favor of a few who would profit and/or to support an ever soaring human population and its crushing footprint, I get sad. Once a forest ecosystem has been obliterated, it will be a long, long time (if even ever given the chance), until it returns to its former glory - certainly not in our lifetimes.

Sadly, every last scrap of woods that I grew up exploring in as a child is long gone. With suburban sprawl pushing out further and further, forestland is disappearing at an alarming rate - so I hike that which remains whenever I get the chance. Developers don’t seem to have learned what I have in this life: money in itself cannot bring happiness – I’ve been both well-off and poor – but a simple jaunt in the woods can. I’ve never not felt better, physically, mentally and spiritually, after a hike than before. I hike for my health!

Coming soon: Desert Daze - A Southwest Adventure: Part Twenty

Desert Daze: A Southwest Adventure (XIX)

Part Nineteen: Canyon Squall

I am told that there are some incredible hikes in the contorted landscape that is the Waterpocket Fold, but for now I only have eyes for a warm bed and shower and it’s already mid afternoon. I add this area to my getting-very-long list of places to get back to, to settle in and explore at length – there’s so much out here to explore - I hope I live to 100 (yes, I’ll still be hiking, albeit maybe a little bit more slowly)!

For now though, I must keep my weary eyes on the road as it twists and turns through Long Canyon. Suddenly, I find myself in a snow squall and the road an icy sheet. I better put the truck into 4-wheel drive. Oops, I don’t have 4-wheel drive this time - I’m so used to having it both at home and on these adventures that I forgot momentarily that I don’t have it on this trip.

Warily creeping down the slippery canyon road, the truck slips and slides but I manage to stay out of the ditches. As I slowly descend in elevation, the squall diminishes and finally disappears and I am once again on dry pavement. Relief.

I cross a bridge over a small, but energetic stream coming out of the cliffs above; it looks intriguing. I pull over to investigate. As I get out of my vehicle, a group of cattle eye me warily, then snort and crash away into the lush undergrowth. They must love it here, I think, lots of vegetation to eat (and trample) and plenty of water to drink (and befoul.) I hope that the people living and exploring down stream from here realize these cattle are up here fouling the waters, Guardia is a nasty thing, causing long-lasting diarrhea and dehydration.This creek (and several others I am about to cross) are tributaries to the Escalante River, meaning that the water of the Escalante is definitely not safe to drink.

I finally reach the tiny town of Boulder (Utah, population: 178.) Not finding suitable accommodations here, I decide to head south to the town of Escalante (population: a whopping 818 persons.) To get from Boulder to Escalante, one must drive the “Million Dollar Road”; a section of Scenic Byway 12 that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and completed in 1935 (paved in 1971) providing the first year round access for automobiles to this isolated pocket in southwestern Utah. Before then, mail and supplies were carried to Boulder by mules and pack horses over Hell’s Backbone or the Boulder Mail Trail, both hazardous routes.

One segment of this route, over ‘The Hogback’ is, in my opinion, the scariest section of paved road in Utah. (I have to qualify this statement with ‘paved’ because there is no shortage of scary and even downright terrifying unpaved roads throughout Southern Utah for the truly adventurous.)

There is little margin for error when driving ‘The Hogback’ section; it’s a narrow, winding road with steep drop-offs down into Calf Creek Canyon on one side and Boulder Creek Canyon on the other starting just feet from the sides of the road. The views are incredible, but, unless you’re a passenger, don’t even be tempted to glance at them while driving; instead, wait for a pullout where you can safely drink in the expansive panoramas of sandstone country surrounding you.

One of my favorite places in the area to visit is Calf Creek Falls (pictured above), a 126-foot cascade in a lush, enchanting grotto with a deep pool surrounded by shade trees. It’s quite a contrast to the thirsty country around it. On the way to the falls, large pictographs can be seen high up on the opposite canyon wall – but what I want to know is just how did they get up there to paint them, they must be at least 50 feet up?

Next: Red Rock vs. Bryce Canyons