Category: Utah Spring Fling

On Tuesday, we set off to do the narrows of Round Valley Draw.  Getting in requires descending a pair of vertical drop-offs using rock climbing techniques.  Our friend Brett, an accomplished rock climber, had no trouble chimneying down the first drop. 

He had a short length of rope with him and offered to belay the rest of us down.  The only problem would be if we got blocked in the canyon and had to actually come back up this way.  My policy is to never get myself into a situation that I can’t get out of. 

When we were down at Devil’s Garden a few days ago, an elderly woman hiked across one of the natural arches. 

Across the span, the woman got on top of a small dome and froze, totally afraid to go back.  She ultimately had to be rescued by an accomplished rock climber. 

I didn’t want to be stuck down in a narrow canyon and have to be rescued.  When the option to hike around to the canyon’s exit and hike up the narrows, I was all for it.

We followed a trail up on a bench hoping this was the Round Valley Draw exit route.  Along the way, we passed beautiful scenery…

…and spring flowers…

…but we never did find the right trail.  We turned back and headed for another set of canyon narrows to explore.  Our replacement objective was the Cottonwood Canyon Narrows, which offered a no-brainer trail to enter and exit.

The narrows are only about a mile or so long…

The walking was easy and the walls picturesque…

…and we were even treated to some wildflowers in the more open sections of the canyon.

Best of all, unlike that elderly lady stuck on the natural arch, we needed no assistance to get out of this canyon.

So far, all of our canyons we’ve hiked have been dry.  Hackberry is not.  For this hike, we needed to don our water shoes.  (Try to not notice the knee scars in this image.  Of the six legs pictured, four have medically implanted, bionic knees.)

The lower end of the canyon offered towering sandstone walls hemmed with cottonwood trees…

…with the occasional rock spire to admire…

…and only a few minor obstacles to negotiate.

Our goal was to make it to Frank Watson’s old cabin about a four mile hike from the trailhead.

The hike out with the afternoon light painting the desert varnished walls proved to be just as mesmerizing as they were on the hike in.

Reaching canyon’s end, all that remained was a 25-mile drive down a somewhat graded road to get back to camp and waiting brews.

The first time I ever visited Utah’s canyon country was in the early ‘70s.  A hiking group to which I belonged offered a backpack trip into Escalante River country near Escalante.  To get to the trailhead meeting place, I took a shortcut up a 40-mile dirt road through Cottonwood Canyon.

For our last day at Kodachrome, while Dianne would go do a canyon hike with our friends, I would solo drive the Cottonwood Road to its terminus at U.S. 89 and back again.

Departing at the crack of noon, I decided to drive straight through and save my photo taking for the late afternoon return.  I wanted to make sure I had time to make the detour to the abandoned Pahreah townsite and the nearby old movie set where films ranging from “Desperados” (1943) to “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (1976) were filmed.  The two lay off another road a few miles up U.S. 89.

Back in the ‘70s, some old buildings still remained here.  On this trip, the best I could find was an old rock wall and an cemetery filled with a number of identical, unmarked headstones.  If there is anything more remaining, I didn’t see it.

I returned to the Cottonwood Road, keeping the camera handy.  Here are a few shots of scenery along the drive:

On Friday morning, we packed up the trailer, said goodbye to our friends and drove back toward civilization.  Our final night in Utah would be spent at Fremont Indian State Park near Richfield.  It offers full hookup sites in an intimate location.

Our 2023 Utah Spring Fling began with a drive to see some ancient Fremont rock art.  As a fitting finale, a few small panels of Fremont Indian petroglyphs decorate the rock behind our campsite.

To our Chicago friends who had never been to Utah before, I promise that next time, we’ll show you pictures of the pretty part of Utah.