Last Days in Virgin

Our two weeks here have passed quickly. On our last two days we biked part of the JEM trail, which we can access by riding from our site and going up nearby Sheep Bridge Rd.

The section we rode is the easier lower portion that goes right along the edge of the Virgin River canyon, although there were quite a few rocky places where I had to walk the bike.

The river had more water than we’ve seen, due to the two days of rain we had earlier in the week.

Yesterday we took a nice easy four mile hike on some other nearby bike trails, including parts of  Dead Ringer, More Cowbell, and the JEM. If you make it up a gnarly section you get to ring the cowbell.

The trail you see the biker on was a little too on the edge for my level of biking comfort.

We were walking one mesa below Gooseberry Mesa, another great place to hike or bike. The possibilities are endless around here.

Jim, Chris, Bobbie and Mark.

Last evening everyone came over happy hour, along with our Airstream neighbors up the road, John and Charmaine. We met Charmaine four years ago while doing laundry at the Escapees park in Coarsegold, CA, and she recognized our Lazy Daze and came by the other day. It was nice getting to meet John, too. We had lots to talk about, as they are also into hiking and biking. It was a fun ending to our stay here in Virgin, but it’s time to move on.

And an update on our Japanese neighbors, shown here doing their morning calisthenics just outside of Chris’s door. (We have lots of windows, it’s hard not to look. ) Turns out they are climbers, and yesterday attempted this climb up Moonlight Buttress in Zion. We’re impressed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo_j7YoIib8&app=desktop

Chris spoke with them this morning and said they made it halfway up, but are attempting it again on Monday. They have been gone most of the time and are very quiet while they are here, so it hasn’t been a problem with them being so close.

Next stop, Boulder City, NV.

No-Owl Canyon and Bad Etiquette

Mark and Bobbie discovered this area a couple years ago, another unnamed canyon to explore west of the small Zion tunnel. They found an owl along the way, so they dubbed it Owl Canyon. After a steep, sandy climb down it’s a fairly level walk for a bit.

Then we came to this spot where some of us needed a boost and encouragement to make it up. I hate having a panic attack so early on in a hike, because then I worry about how I’m going to get down on the way back.

Luckily the scenery was a distraction from my worrying, and except for a few places, it was fairly easy hiking.

Another tricky spot.

The maples have really changed over the 11 days we’ve been here.

There were a couple times when I thought I might be joining this poor guy.

Recent rains and deep pools made for some difficulty getting around the water in places. After throwing in some rocks for stepping stones, Chris managed to get across but I had already decided this was my turn-around point. Mark followed Chris but had a slip of his foot, which resulted in an unintended split and a painful strain.

But of course he kept going.

Mark then tried to help Bobbie across but her legs weren’t long enough, so she and I turned back. They didn’t get too far before coming to another major obstacle that was impassable so we were glad we didn’t follow them.

I noticed this interesting place in the rock wall that reminded us of a fossil.

Much to my surprise, getting back down the places I could barely get up turned out to be easier than anticipated. More photos of us crawling around can be found on Box Canyon Blog. 

And no owls were seen on this hike, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t hiding out in the trees.

Here’s a photo of our new neighbors, a Japanese couple who squeezed in between Chris and us as we were coming back from a walk this afternoon. Definitely bad boondocking etiquette, especially since there are plenty of other places they could have camped where they would have had privacy and not invaded ours. Chris gave up trying to communicate with them and was kind enough to move his truck, which was parked where their van is, because they were going to drive around the back of our rig to get to this spot anyway. Mind boggling.

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Candy Cliffs and Hoodoos

It was Utah Education Association school break last weekend, and we learned the hard way back in 2014 that the schools are closed on Thursday and Friday and many families go camping and hiking.  On Friday Chris suggested a lesser known hike to an area called the Candy Cliffs in Dixie National Forest near Leeds that might avoid the crowds, which turned out to be a great idea. There were maybe 7-8 vehicles at the trailhead, but once we walked the sandy trail for over a mile and got out on the rocks, we were able to head off to where we had the place to ourselves.

After a big climb up to a high point it was time for a break.

Not a bad lunch view.

We decided to try and make a loop instead of having to retrace our steps.

There were several places we could not descend due to the steepness. Well, maybe Mark could, but I sure wouldn’t even try.

We did find an easy way down to some strange looking rock castles.

Then we had to get back up, then down, then up and down again.

Lots of colorful sandstone formations.

Luckily we managed to find a way back to the main trail without having to go back the way we came, since my knees were really not looking forward to that. If you find yourself in the St. George/Hurricane, UT area, this is a fun place to do some off-trail exploring in a beautiful location without the crowds of Zion.

On Saturday Jim, Chris and I took a late afternoon drive up to the Kolob Terrace section of Zion to play around in Hoodoo City, just past the Hop Valley trailhead. We were happy to see the small parking area empty. From there it’s an easy half mile hike to the hoodoos where you can pick your path up the slickrock to get to them.

Climbing up the formations gives great views of Hop Valley below.

We found several arches in the rocks.

See the turtle on top? At least that’s what it looked like to us. This is a fun place for an easy, scenic hike.

On the way home we came across this cow and her cute little calf on the wrong side of the fence.

We’ve had thunderstorms and rain the past couple mornings but it cleared up yesterday afternoon so we drove into Zion after the weekend crowds left and took a walk on the paved Pa’Rus trail, which can be accessed from the visitor center parking lot.  We always walk this trail at least once when we come here and never tire of it.

Last night’s calm before the early morning storms.