The Problem

The problem with travel, is you never end. And once you travel, or spend time outside, it just makes the list of 'Places to Go' longer. Not that I'm a list person, in fact at work I actively rebel against it, but the places in my head just keep compounding. Places that rank on the remoteness scale. There are only a few in this entire country ya know.

The internets just fuel the problem. Although, I'm not sure it's a bad problem. Unless staying at home in the familiar and optimizing that experience is the goal.

Vermillion Cliffs National Monument is one such area, remote yet famous. Back in February, I made the inaugural trip up as a quick survey. Superbowl Weekend, perfect time to be outside, when so many are inside. After getting a glimpse of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch, I was hooked.

Made some plans with friends from work, and a trip was on the docket. We took Friday off, so we could have a full day of exploring in the canyon and some fun poking around the area. The target became a developed campsite (Stateline CG), mainly for the accompanying picnic table since I’m with people who know how to eat!

Our plans include a meet up sometime Friday afternoon as we’re taking two vehicles. Todd and I get there early afternoon, taking a leisurely drive and stopping at the Glen Canyon Dam. We do some collecting of firewood, anticipating a good evening around the campfire, and the possibility that one of us may have OCA, Obsessive Campfire Adjustment syndrome.

Friday night ended up being a little late, as our camping partners missed a turn and showed up once the night had progressed. But that was the whole point of the day, easy going and slack plans, just enjoy the ride so to speak.

Breakfast made the morning accelerate and once at the Wire Pass trailhead, saw just how many other people were heading down Buckskin Gulch or toward The Wave. Completely different parking lot compared to Superbowl Sunday.

The wash down to Wire Pass requires little physical effort, mostly requiring concentration on the path, not the colors and layers all around.  

Once inside the slot, there are all kinds of reminders of past weather “events”. 

 
We do a snack break at the confluence of Wire Pass slot and Buckskin Gulch proper. 

Once we start down Buckskin Gulch, it becomes bigger than I had expected

And with more texture

Geologic oddities indeed.

We spent a little over 4 hours hiking, turned around after we decided we really didn’t want wet muddy feet. Also, remember that whole thing about eating? Well, we had 5 different cheeses, some pears, apples, and prosciutto as snacks, and a grand stew of lentils (of which an ancient sold his birthright for a bowl) to attend. Oh, and a little game playing at our most friendly of picnic tables.

Once headlamps become necessary, the fire is started and the smoke from the junipers channels a little Abbey, games stop and real conversation begins. Well, that and s’mores. A full moon, full day of activities, and evening full of conversation leads to an excellent sleep. Just what was desired.

Good Weekend.

Good friends, good food, good campfire. More to come.

The fire. The odor of burning juniper is the sweetest fragrance on the face of the earth, in my honest judgment; I doubt if all the smoking censers of Dante’s paradise could equal it. One breath of juniper smoke, like the perfume of sagebrush after rain, evokes in magical catalysis, like certain music, the space and light and clarity and piercing strangeness of the American West. Long may it burn. - Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire.

Stories

Telling stories impassions people, causes action. Action that leads to more stories, and so the circle continues. Lately, I have read a number of adventure stories. It started somewhat with semi-rad and lead into Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley and Abbey’s Desert Solitaire and most recently Brendan Leonnard’s The New American Road Trip Mix Tape.

These stories lit the adventure fire and led to a road trip plan. This plan was to pursue some photographic endeavors and visit a place I had lived close to for 13 years but never explored. So, in the spirit of the New American Road Trip Mix Tape, I loaded up a combination of bluegrass from Elevation Outdoors and headed north. The trip contained a tour of the hot button engineering achievement called Glen Canyon Dam, winter camping at the White House Campground, and a quick tour of Wire Pass slot canyon.

At the base of the dam:

Looking out over Lake Powell and back towards the dam. 

And as Samwise Gamgee said, that storm rolling in may start to dampen my spirits. The precipitation wasn’t nearly as impressive as the clouds.

With places to go and daylight waning, I made my way across some desert to Stud Horse Point. I was able to see and be around the Superbowl trophy early! 

Fortunately, the desert saw snow the day before. The loose sugar sand was a challenge for my two wheel drive truck. But the desert cooperated and I followed the words of Horace Greeley - “Go West young man”. The Rim Rock Toadstools await. 

Setting up camp in the dark is not much fun. Especially with a completely unfamiliar campsite and plans of star trail photography. With that in mind, I left the Toadstools even though exploration beckoned me.

I was able to do a little scouting for location, collect some firewood, the type Abbey describes as the “sweetest fragrance on the face of the earth” and set up camp. With long shadows over the area.

It’s at this point in the story that the day winds down into thinking.  My mind really didn’t have opportunity to wander with the planning of each event. Now however, I wait for the stars to come up. With nobody around. Zero people. Only the Paria River in the distance and the crackling of juniper. Solo camping isn’t familiar to me yet. I was just a little, um, weirded out. So I made some tea. That helped. Whew.

Stars - lots.

That clear night let all the heat out of the area. Well, technically it wasn't absolute zero, but it was at a level of cold that overcame any claustrophobia about pulling the drawstring on my sleeping bag tight enough not to see out.

In the morning, the water in my mug started to form ice in about 20 minutes. And my contact lens saline was the consistency of ketchup. 

The coffee and blueberry/buckwheat porridge tasted fantastic.

Up next was quick tour Wire Pass and Buckskin. More Magic. With a little geologic oddity thrown in.

The entrance:

And the slot:

A trip to magical lands. And a ride down a rutted, washboarded House Rock Valley Road. Worth it? You bet.

Alpine Loop

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky


It really was a silly trip. Wake up early to drive. Arrive in Durango. Wake up Early to drive Alpine Loop. Go back to Durango. Wake up semi-early drive home. 3 day of “driving”. But away from home, so we could go back. And see life a little differently.

The drive across northern Arizona always fascinates me. It beckons to come and visit. Distant volcanic spires, and red sandstone cliffs stretching to the horizon north of Flagstaff. All on display as you enter the Colorado Plateau. But on this trip, the red lands will need to sit in respite. Durango is the destination. Aspens and their golden colors in the high country await.

San Juan Backcounty provided the jeep rental, Mobius Coffee provided the “unction” to do something. Our intention to do the alpine loop stopping in both Animas Forks and Old Carson. The road from Silverton to Animas Forks is quite pleasant with a few little distractions. 

In Animas Forks, we explore the foundation and remains of the Gold Prince Mill, the restored Duncan/Walsh and Gustavson’s residences, and a view that would make for some drafty middle of the night runs…

The Duncan/Walsh House was refurbished in Aug 2013. (link)

We head out of town, following for awhile a group of UTV’s and their dust. They continued up towards Engineer Pass, which meant clearer air heading towards Cinnamon Pass. You see, the jeep has removable windows. 

The valley we came up

and the one we head down

American Basin greets us with a little snow up high. Of course, all of this is “up high”.

The road takes us on around to Henson, a little ghost town recently donated by the mining company to Hinsdale Co for historical use. I saw a photo from this perspective some time ago, thinking the little house was an outhouse. Talk about performance anxiety.

The old Rose Lime Kiln stack sits not far off the road. 

Near the top of Engineer Pass, there is a mine and boiler. This may or may not be part of the Hough Mine, which was in the process of being reclaimed, albeit, higher on the mountain. That’s a pretty large chunk of steel, to not have a name.

The Wind was transporting moisture and it was afternoon, which in the mountains usually means to thunderstorms. Even though the mileage was short, the anxiety level was high in the vehicle. The driver (me) was on the inside of the road, looking uphill, while the navigator (the wife) was on the outside looking at a column of air approximately 1,100’ high from the meadows right outside her window. The engineer in me said “you know, I think the distance between ground touches would increase until we stopped in that meadow down there”. The Navigator wasn’t impressed with my grasp of physics and the equations of motion. Acceleration, first derivative of velocity, second of position with respect to time. 

Yes positionally our displacement was small, but the views grand. It was afternoon, and as such the aspens were backlit and stunning. Yellow against the evergreen, with the town of Silverton in the distance. Radiant.

Most excellent trip - recommended highly.

Helpful resources:

Zia Taqueria in Durango, excellent tacos

San Juan Backcountry Jeep Rentals in Silverton - right in town for pickup

alpine loop link

colorado past