Day 56 - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

I woke up throughout the morning but did not wake up for good until 10:15! I couldn’t believe it! Partly this was because I had just been where 10:15 was 9:15 and partly this was due to me falling asleep very late and waking up with my head under my sleeping bag, making it nice and dark. The campground was basically empty as I set about getting ready for the day. I made and ate two peanut butter and honey sandwiches, not wanting to be hungry on the trail, but I quite quickly regretted it, this bakery bread I got is much more filling than the flimsy, cheap stuff I usually buy! Less than half an hour later I was at the trailhead, ready to begin my hike. As we left my vehicle and walked past the truck parked beside us, a dog charged towards us barking aggressively, hackles raised and only being stopped mid-lunge by it’s lead, the small white fluffy dog beside it barking along with it. Thankfully, we were out of range by a few meters, but I was so proud of how Luna reacted to the situation. Luna has always been absolutely terrified of dogs barking and until she gets to meet a dog she sees, she convinces herself that that dog is going to come and attack as at any moment, so a dog charging, lunging and barking aggressively mere meters away would be cause for a major anxiety attack and reactivity back at the dog. However, instead of reacting negatively, Luna immediately focused on me, I could not have been happier. For quite some time I have been teaching Luna that seeing or hearing a dog is a positive thing, it means she gets treats and praise, this has moved her from being so terrified and defensive that she would bark the entire time we were at a dog park (and I mean, the entire time!) to a couple months ago when for her first time, she engaged in play with dogs she had just met and now today, focusing on me when a dog was acting very aggressively towards her. 

The trail immediately led to a wash that continued all the way to the slot canyon, which was lovely as I knew I would not become lost at all following these paths. As it turned out, the place I had parked was the parking lot for the Wave, I will not deny that I was not tempted to just go for it and try to find the Wave, but I decided to be a good, honest citizen and not. I did pass a sign for the North Coyote Buttes, I think it is Coyote Buttes South that is the Wave, I am not sure. As I entered the canyon, I saw a man and his dog up a steep rock wall, I had a short conversation with him from below and it turned out his dog had become so scared of the slot canyon that he bolted up it. I had been uncertain how Luna would react to slot canyons, but she does not mind them in the slightest, she finds them just as fun and interesting as any other hike, not at all bothered by the high rock walls on either side. We had barely gotten in to the canyon when there was suddenly a large boulder in our path followed by a huge drop. It was apparent that a flash flood had jammed the boulder along with the smaller boulders, logs and sticks in to that area and what it had left was an approximately 9-10 foot high wall. After taking a good look at it, I wrapped my arms around the boulder and slowly lowered myself, feeling for the good grips I could not see. Once settled on a foothold, I called Luna over and, although scared, she put her front paws on my shoulder and sidled her back end over until she had pressed herself against me and I eased her off the boulder. I now faced a new difficulty, in order for me to move her to the side where I could place her on a boulder to wait as I worked my way to the bottom, I had to step back away from the boulder, I took a breath and felt my way backwards, finding a foothold on a precarious boulder. After a couple seconds, this boulder gave way and I tumbled to the ground with it, hitting rocks as I went. Fortunately, I had prepared myself for such a situation so that I could be certain that Luna would stay safe in my arms and I could release her as I began to hit the ground, so she would barely feel that it had not been as smooth a ride down as usual. She trotted off, happy to be back on the ground while I stood, pain burning along several parts of my legs. I walked a short ways, then stopped and sat for a minute, letting the pain fade, checking out one of the bruises that had begun to form on my shin, then smiling at the success of being able to keep Luna comfortable the whole way down. 

With that descent behind us, we continued on, hoping that there would not be another obstacle like that to face. For a short while there were frequently mid sized boulders to climb over, then drop down from, but most were small enough descents that Luna didn’t need help on. We seen reached a large clearing where there were two other entrances to slot canyons, I headed right, certain that the slot canyon to my left would lead to the Buckskin Gulch parking lot. There was a nice number of people on the trail, not so many that it was disruptive, but enough that I didn’t feel too secluded. About an hour from the trailhead we began coming across puddles. I was thankful for the kind souls that had positioned rocks in the puddles so that one could cross with dry feet. There was one puddle, however, that stretched perhaps 20 feet and although there were a few stones to walk on, there were not nearly enough to cross without getting ones feet wet. I rolled up my pant legs and waded in, the water went to just above my ankles, although occasionally a foot would slip down through a branch  in to a deeper area, I was glad I had kept my shoes on rather than attempting it barefoot as there was a lot of debris in the murky water. There was water covering the rock walls a little ways ahead, before it became fairly dry again. The rest of the hike was quite uneventful, although very fun and beautiful. The group of 3 people my age that I had run in to a couple times as I passed them while they ate lunch, then they passed me when I took a snack, decided to turn around and they were the last people I saw for a long time. Soon after they had turned around, I came across some huge boulders in my path and, after scouting out my route over them, had to, again do some climbing, Luna whimpered, but placed her paws on my shoulder and sidled in to me with her hind end, leaning in to me and basically trust falling in my arms, I’ll admit, it makes me feel good when she puts that kind of trust in me despite being so scared. We continued on, it was a little more challenging than it had been for much of the hike for a little bit, then it was back to fairly even terrain. I walked for perhaps an hour more, uncertain how long the slot canyon was and when I should turn back. Once I reached another puddle that stretched farther than I could see around the bend and looked fairly deep, I decided it was time to head back, it was around 1:40 pm, so that would give me a good amount of time to get back in the daylight as I had walked for 3 hours thus far. After taking a moment to sit and admire the colourful rock, I headed back. I eventually heard and saw a group of 3 young guys ahead and paused to give them space and take some photos as I had just entered a particularly beautiful area. Despite trying not to catch up to them, I passed them at the puddle, then continued on, their voices that echoed off the canyon walls fading away. Sooner than I thought, I reached the clearing. I stopped for some water and an energy bar, then quickly left as I could hear the 3 others catching up to me. I arrived back at the boulder and stick wall and did it ever look high! I was able to get Luna up without too much trouble, then threw my pack up so it would not be a hinderance. From my foothold, the boulder was still so high that I could just see over it and it was fairly narrow between the boulder and the walls, it was a daunting sight. I brought to my mind’s eye the rock climbing I had done in Texas and searched for good handholds on the other side of the boulder. After a couple false starts, I was able to get a good grip and hoist myself up on to higher ground. Relieved, I continued on, soon out of the canyon and back in to the wash. All in all, I spent around 6 hours on the hike and would have walked approximately 12 miles. Luna was happy as could be and seemed ready to put another 6 hours in. Shortly in to entering the wash this morning I had allowed her off-leash for the rest of the hike, there weren’t that many people and I was pretty sure she was allowed to be off-leash, there had been no signs saying otherwise. 

We headed back to the campsite and we both ate our suppers before heading in to the car for the evening. I read for awhile before getting to photos and my blog. I have not yet decided where I shall head tomorrow, I need to find my wonderful map!



The lighting was quite terrible for photos in the slot canyon, but I took many!

Beginning our hike.

It looks like a much easier climb in this photo, I assure you, it was quite straight down and difficult!

Where's Luna?

It seems Luna has learned how to pose like a human. So happy my self-timer caught this moment! 

Oh hi there.

The face of pure excitement over a stick about to be tossed. 

We sat in this hollow to have a snack and some water.

One of the ponds we went through.

The contrasting black and red rock.

Check out her muddy paws!

She loved looking up at the canyon!

The puddle we stopped at.

Almost finished the hike. Right behind her is the entrance to the slot canyon that leads back to the Buckskin Gulch Trailhead, to her right is the entrance to the slot canyon that leads back to the Wire Pass Trailhead, the one we took.