I realize that I say this almost every time, but this had to be the best trip yet! It'll be extremely hard to top this one for sure. Perhaps one of the reasons it was so good was the anticipation of the trip. Jeff, Paul, and I had to keep postponing our journey due to weather and after 3 weeks of pushing it back, we finally got a clear window of weather and made the trip down to Blanding. The drive down was pretty uneventful. The usual conversations, the usual lame jokes that are always funny, and a little education on the latest BYU horror stories from Jeff. We made really good time and even stopped in Moab for what I'm sure will become a new tradition: froyo. "Adventure's First Stop" hooked us up with some frozen yogurt as a pit stop. It wasn't really that good, but it fulfilled a craving. The only other event on the way down was stopping for a bathroom break at a gas station in Wellington that had a gigantic moose behind the counter and a girl working there who acted like she hadn't seen another living person in months. I guess they don't get many visitors there or something. But that reminds me of another really funny part of that stop! So I made it to the bathroom door first and turned the handle and started walking in when I look up to see a guy with his back to me and his pants around his ankles. It wasn't like this was a swinging door into a row of stalls, it was a first-come-first-served one room, one toilet only bathroom. For the love of all that is good, if you are using the bathroom, LOCK THE FREAKING DOOR! I gave the proverbial: "Uh, err, um..." and just turned around and walked out. It was just another awkward moment on the long list of awkward moments that make up my life's story.
We finally made it town to the trail head for Mule Creek Canyon and found our trail for the next morning's trek and set up our camp for the night on the canyon rim up above the trail. Since Jeff and Paul always give me crap about falling asleep so quickly and snoring so loudly, I pretended to fall asleep and snore and got a good laugh out of it when they believed it was real. As I was waiting for sleep to really fall upon me, I opened my SAS Survival Guide app on my iPhone and started reading about snares. That's when I found a real gem: a crusty old British guy talking about the 4 points of a good snare (strangle, dangle, tangle, and mangle)! It was HILARIOUS. And the best part was that we all remembered what he said and it stuck with us. Bloody brilliant, mate! Guess some things really are better in a British accent...
The next morning we awoke to sunshine! Yeah, while everyone at home was enjoying clouds and snow, we were basking in the glorious rays of morning sun. Determined not to get off to a late start like our last trip, we made a quick breakfast of hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, granola bars, and cider. It's only appropriate that I give a shout out to Paul on the cider thing. He brought it with us to Owl Creek and got me hooked on it. Nothing beats some hot apple cider for breakfast to start the day... or before bed at night... or at lunch time... Yeah, I'm addicted now. Word, Paul. Word.
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| Those that have cider vs. those that don't. |
We hit the trail around 9 a.m. with sun on our backs and anticipation and excitement flowing through our veins. The trail was really easy and flat which enabled us to move quickly through the shrubs and small trees before the canyon walls began to rise around us. After about 20 minutes of walking, we came around a bend to find our first ruin of the day: the House On Fire. Wow. That's about all I can say. Apparently this is quite a famous ruin and after seeing it in person, I can understand why! The several ruins build under the overhanging rock are still in good condition and the rock above them, streaked in different pigment colors, gives the impression that they are on fire! Absolutely breathtaking! Again, this is another reason why I roll with Jeff and Paul: the pictures. I'll let their lenses do the rest of the explaining.
After spending a good while at House on Fire and getting lots of great shots, we continued on up the trail. Another plus to this trip was that we never felt like we were in a hurry. The trail was only 4 to 5 miles until it ended, so we didn't feel rushed at all. This gave us more time to take pictures and explore ruins, as well as jump off of large boulders...
Boys will be boys. Not too far after the House on Fire, we found our second ruin tucked up in the cliffs to our right. This one was a little more run down, but I was able to go inside and got this awesome picture of Jeff:
After the second ruin, we stopped for lunch and tried to escape the wind that had come up. We found a grove of trees that served as a nice windbreak for us while we ate. Jeff took home the "Lunch of Day" award for his tortellini and marinara sauce. It was prime for sure and he was super stoked on it. We really do eat well when we're out in the wilderness. I rocked some Mac n' Cheese, dried fruit, and grape Kool-ade. Paul nourished himself with some jerky and other goodies. After lunch, we continued up the trail surrounded by some amazing scenery. Here's a few shots:
The next ruin we encountered has to be the coolest one I've ever seen! (I know. I've said that before too.) We called it "The Fortress" because that's exactly what it looked like. It was high above the trail and we had to climb up the red rock until we found ourselves directly below it with no way up. There was a rock overhang that was about 15 feet or so above us and out of reach. There was even a piece of rope about 5 feet above the edge of the overhang taunting us, but it was no help. Even if we could get up to the ledge, there looked to be few or even no handholds for us to climb up and ascend the next 20 feet to The Fortress itself. From the strewn piles of rock, we could tell that we weren't the first ones who had been frustrated by the predicament of not being able to ascend to The Fortress. We took the best pictures we could from our distance and eventually gave up and continued on our way.
I'll admit, it bothered me and it bothered me a lot that we couldn't get up to The Fortress. I wanted to spend more time there and plan out a way to get up there. I didn't have long to be bothered, though. We reached our next stop and this one was equally cool in that I'd never seen anything like it before. This ruin was what remained of a large kiva. It looked as if it had been completely circular at one time, now missing a quarter of it in the front. There were what appeared to be ovens all the way around the inside wall with perfect symmetry and form. There were also granaries or storage structures on either side of the kiva, one of which was still in excellent condition. I would have loved to have seen this kiva in its fully functional state. It truly was a piece of innovation and art. Another thing that made the kiva ruin so cool is that it required climbing a tree to get to it! It wasn't a very big one, but it was a pretty neat way to get up to the rock ledge above. The untrained eye may have missed that little shortcut. We stayed at the kiva for quite a while, getting pictures, resting our legs, and in my case, taking a short nap!
Back on the trail again, we continued towards the end of the canyon. We found our final ruin tucked away in the cliffs to our right and as we made our way towards it, we found some great treasures! The ruin itself was built upon a rock ledge about 15 feet above the ground. As we were looking up at it taking some pics, Paul looked at the cliff face near us at ground level and found it covered in petroglyphs! There were so rad. There were petroglyphs of animals and hand prints and circles... just the stuff you read about in books or see depicted in a museum. But seeing them in real life, at the original spot where they were made, was incredible and indescribable. You can't go to places like this and not feel like you're standing on sacred ground as a fortunate guest at Mother Earth's table. Just so inspiring. And if that wasn't enough, the ground was strewn with pieces of pottery. Some pieces were even painted or had intricate designs on them! The pieces were literally everywhere. Some of the more impressive and larger shards were set out on rocks to keep them from being stepped on and making them easy for others to enjoy. Again, sacred ground.
We were afraid that we wouldn't be able to make it up to this ruin either, but Paul found a conveniently placed log in the corner of the cliff face and scampered up goat-style. Once on top of the ledge, we could see the remains of several different ruins. The elements had taken their toll on this site, but there was still plenty to see and photograph. We even got this banger shot inside one of the remaining structures! We took our time exploring the area and even found more petroglyphs carved into the rock surfaces. These had been well worn by wind, sun, rain, and snow, but were still able to be seen. What an awesome spot.
We eventually rode the log down and picked up our packs for the last leg of the day's journey. Our initial plan was to push through past the end of the trail and find a spot to climb out of the South Fork canyon, cross the mesa, and drop down into the North Fork canyon. As we continued on up the trail, the canyon walls kept getting steeper and steeper as the afternoon wore on and the sun sunk lower. We past a great camping spot in some trees with plenty of water close by and after seeing no easy way out of the canyon, we went back and decided to stay there for the night. It was a fantastic camp. Within minutes, Paul had the tent up, Jeff had food ready for cooking, and I had started a fire with flint and steel. The whole flint and steel thing is really becoming second nature now and I love it. Awesome skill to have! We ate our dinners and sat around the fire sipping cider as the darkness enveloped our camp. Jeff and Paul set up their cameras for night shots and I called it a night early and slipped into peaceful slumber...
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| If you're thinking, "Hey! It looks like Jeff peed his pants..." you're right! Actually, he just spilled tea on his crotch. But it sure looks funny like he wet his adventure pants! Looks even worse trying to cover it up... |
One disadvantage to closing the evening with a hot cup of cider before bed: it's gotta come out some time and that some time is usually around 2 in the morning! Other than having to get up in the middle of the night to squeeze the lemon, it was a wonderful night's sleep. Before turning in, we'd thrown around the idea of abandoning our plan to hit up the North Fork of Mule Creek and go back down the way we came. Why? One reason: The Fortress. It didn't sit well with any of us that we never made it up to it, especially me. I thought long and hard about it most of the night and it was eating me ever since we'd left it behind the previous day. After a brief council around the breakfast fire, it was decided: we were going to infiltrate the fortress or die trying! (Okay, not DIE trying, but we weren't leaving this time until we'd abandoned all possibilities of ascending to the ruin.) We threw down some breakfast, had a good stretch, and hit the trail back towards The Fortress. We passed by the ruin with the petroglyphs and pottery and the kiva as well without stopping. Our only stop was to filter some water to refill our depleted supply. We wanted to have as much time as possible to lay our assault upon The Fortress. We had a mission, and we were consumed by it.
Once we reached the spot in the trail below The Fortress, we took off our packs and put our heads together. We had come up with a variety of ideas as to how we might reach the overhang and then climb up to the walls of the ruin, but the best idea of all seemed to be lashing a ladder together. Seeing as the trees and shrubbery were, for the most part, either very tall or very short, we were a little worried about finding anything tall and sturdy enough to reach the ledge. After a little searching, though, and a little hacking with the ax, we found two legs that would suffice. Paul and I each took a leg and rope and Jeff followed with an armful of rungs. Here's a step-by-step (no pun intended) recap of our ladder:
Seeing as I was the one who lashed the thing together, it seemed only appropriate that I should be the one to test it out, just in case. Thanks to plenty of
travois races in Boy Scouts growing up, I'm a lashing Jedi
and it was as smooth as one of Chuck Norris's roundhouse kicks. And just like that, my friends, we made it to the top of the ledge! And once we were all up safely, we infiltrated The Fortress!!! I wish I could describe how amazing it was up there. I've never seen anything like it in my life. The walls were so solid and symmetrical, the houses in such pristine condition. The view was AMAZING from up there as well. What was even more interesting was that it would be the ideal place to defend if you were ever attacked because it would be virtually impossible for anyone to get you. Like I said, amazing. There was another structure next to The Fortress that we dubbed "The Mother-in-Law's House." Haha. What was cool about that was from below it, it looked impossible to climb into. But as we pushed one person up higher, there were hidden handholds carved out of the rocks that made it easy to get up and down. We even found more pottery and corn husks scattered around on the floor as well. The three of us sat there behind the walls for a long time reveling in the moment. It was one of those moments in life where you accomplish something that you once thought was impossible. And after have The Fortress gnaw at me all night, it felt that much more satisfying to be there! We hoisted theBRIGADE flag and claimed it for ourselves!
Once we had made it back down from the ledge, we disassembled the ladder and Paul took it upon himself to dispose of it by throwing the pieces off of a cliff. Haha. We climbed back down to our packs and ate lunch. While I was up in The Fortress, I looked down at the trail below us next to the shallow stream and told Jeff, "I really wish that was deeper. I'd totally go swimming right now!" Well, after Jeff finished eating, he walked a short distance towards the trees at the edge of the rocks we were eating on and came back and asked, "You still want to go swimming?" Hidden from were we were sitting and from The Fortress above, was a deep pool of water left over from the runoff that was surrounded by the rocks 15 feet above it! We all stood above the pool, guessing at its depth and imagining how cold it was, seeing as there was still ice around the edges o
f it. Jeff fashioned a spear and threw it into the water and it came out okay (the spear I mean). We went down to the water's edge and decided to it really was deep enough to jump into. Jeff looked at me, "You really gonna do this?" I looked at him, "Heck yes I am!" I think all three of us could tell by my tone that I was really just trying to talk myself into it! Seeing as Jeff had the only pair of shorts from his zip-off adventure pants, we decided we'd both jump in those. Naturally, we settled the decision on who would go first with Rock-Paper-Scissors. I won, and because I didn't want to put on wet shorts, I decided to go first. We set everything up right: a fire at the water's edge, Jeff filming the jump with the point-and-shoot, and Paul taking an action shot with his camera. I climbed up on the rocks, made sure the film was rolling (because there's no way in heck I'd do it without documentation), rubbed my hands together, and jumped...
When my head finally broke the surface, I was wide-eyed, gasping for breath, and full of LIFE! What a RUSH! I was so stoked as I came out of the water! What an amazing feeling!!! The funny thing was that after I was out, I wasn't really that cold. I just felt GOOD. The fire wasn't even necessary. I got myself dried off, passed the wet shorts to Jeff (which for sure helped me realize I was right to go first), and he climbed up for his turn...
Even as I think about it now, weeks removed, I can't help but smiling. What an awesome experience. I'm so glad I did that! I know I'll never forget this day the rest of my life. The setting couldn't have been more perfect. Middle of no where in the desert canyon of Southern Utah, The Fortress in the background, frigid waters of March, with theBRIGADE crew. As I said in the video, "This is how we do it!" We gathered up our stuff, extinguished the fire, and continued on down the trail. We made it back down to "House on Fire" and Jeff and Paul took a few more pictures. We decided that we'd go the rest of the way out to the truck and possibly head into North Fork of Mule Creek since there was still sunlight. We made it about
50 yards when Jeff realized he'd left his knife back at the pool. One thing about me and Jeff, we love our knives. It wasn't an option to leave it. So we hiked back up the trail and eventually found a good campsite where we left Paul to set up camp while Jeff and I hiked/ran back up to retrieve his knife. It wasn't bad at all, especially without our packs. We made good time and found his knife lying in the grass. Success! When we made it back to Paul, he had a fire going, tent set up, and it was a welcomed sight. We enjoyed our last evening in the canyon the same way we enjoy every evening outdoors: great conversation, great dinner, and great friends. Oh, and hot cider, of course! The night was beautiful and Jeff got this really great night shot:
We awoke the next morning, had breakfast, and packed up. It seemed like we were at the trail head in no time at all and we loaded our gear into the truck and started back home.
On our way back to Blanding, we decided to take a quick detour at the Butler Wash ruin. It is located right off of the highway and is a more established touristy ruin. There is a short one mile or so hike on a well established and marked trail, complete with benches if you need to take a breather. The view of the ruin is quite spectacular as you're looking over a lush canyon to the other side where a "complex" of ruins is tucked under an overhang. Further down the canyon there are even some more small ruins. It was a pretty cool spot and definitely worth the stop. It also looks as though there is a hiking trail leading up the canyon to the ruins which you start at a hole in the fence near the highway. We'll have to check that out another time.
The trip home was smooth and we didn't hit any rain until Suck Valley. Jeff slept the entire way... well, he TRIED sleeping the entire way, but didn't have any luck. (He doesn't sleep much on these trips like some people do, apparently... Hey-ohh!) I even made it home in time for a delicious dinner! It was great to see the family again! It's never easy leaving them, but it's always great coming home... What an amazing trip! I still can't believe the places we were and what we saw there. What a blessing to be able to go out and enjoy places like that tucked away in the beauty of God's creation. Like I said in the beginning, it will be extremely hard to top this trip!
