Backpacking in Utah

Last night I returned from 3 nights in Utah. We rented vans and drove 6 hours up to the Valley of the Gods, a smaller version of Monument Valley. We spent one night there, where I, for the first time in my life, enjoyed my own (rental) tent.

The next day, we split into 3 groups and seven of us plus our director Darryl, his wife, and two adorable children headed off for Grand Gulch, UT. While Darryl and his family moved at their own pace, the seven of us quickly maneuvered down the canyon's gulch. With limestone walls hundreds of feet above us, a sometimes stream, more often a stagnant puddle lining the path, and beautiful Anasazi ruins in the canyon walls, it was easy to pass the day hiking under the hot sun until the shadows grew tall enough to start the evening chill. Pottery shards were abound at the ruin sites and as a testament to the canyonland backpacker spirit, they were displayed together rather than stolen from the sites.

On the first night, we set up camp by a "spring" which took 5 us ten minutes to find, walking along the river bed, looking for a trace of water. Mountain House dehydrated foods have revolutionized camping food. I ate lasagna in meat sauce that night, with a chocolate cheesecake dehydrated dessert that could hardly be rivaled in NYC.

On the next day, Darryl and family took a short cut out and we continued on to do 12 more miles. Worried about not finding more water, we sent a strike team ahead to set up camp by late afternoon and were pleased to find a lively length of steam. Unfortunately, both of our pumps would end up failing by morning. Nevertheless we were sufficiently replenished by the gifted training of our two DO students who did osteopathic manipulations on all our tender points.

Then on day 3, we lost the trail just as we were climbing the rocky path out of the canyon. A second strike team of us scrambled straight up the rock wall with our backpacks on, while the other half turned back to look for the trail. Fortunately, I found the trail head and we managed to pull two of the girls, backpacks first, over the canyon rim. As no one was there to meet us, we found the van, I located the hidden keys, and we stole the van off to meet the group back at Grand Gulch. After a quick admonishment for our independent leadership skills in procuring the van, we drove off through Monument Valley to the Four Corners - which closed at 5 pm so we broke in and had a great time playing twister on four states at the same time.

It was a terrific 24 mile-hike, filled with blisters, scrapes, and one twisted ankle, and a wonderful bonding experience for the seven of us.