This time David and I simply start hiking up the draw from the Notom and Bullfrog road end of the canyon. From the road the sandy wash soon becomes a deep canyon with shear cliff walls. Some muddy stretches, some narrows, some small choke stones to climb over but after 3.4 miles we turn the corner and find a large natural arch hanging on the north cliff wall.

Beautiful!

So the Sheets Draw Arch was not a myth after all!

While Mule deer are beautiful fence jumpers, I had never seen a shorter legged Mountain Sheep jump anything. We were waiting for the event when the ram suddenly charges the fence and hits it hard head on. After much crashing and struggling the ram manages to crash completely through the wire fence. However, one strand of barbed wire was caught on one horn and he was attempting to back away to free himself. At that point we had stopped the vehicle and I was wondering how we were going to untangle the thrashing beast. However the wire finally gave way and the ram was free. The ram then bounded up the steep slope like nothing unusual had happened.

So THAT is how Mountain Sheep cross fences?

Ouch!

After staying overnight in Springdale, David and I get a good morning start hiking up Gifford Wash. We climb up the steep canyon to the top following a previously discovered trail. Descending into a bowl that drains into a side canyon of Hepworth Wash we find ourselves back where we stopped on attempt #3. This time we climb some short but tricky cliffs on the northeast side of the bowl which gives us access to a rock ramp bypassing the dry fall that stopped us last time. Nearly to the bottom of the drainage we are stopped by cliffs. By dropping into a rock crack we are able to descend past the cliffs and then use the rest of the rock ramp to reach the bottom. At this point we are exhausted but closer to Hepworth Wash than we have ever been. The day is getting shorter so we continue to descend this side canyon into Hepworth Wash. This requires about a hundred feet of ‘stemming’ hand over hand along the side of a leaning slot canyon before enjoying the relative flat walking through deep sand to the mouth of this side canyon and (finally!) into Hepworth Wash.

Here we find two sets of fresh mountain lion tracks. Cool! You gotta love any country where there are still mountain lions running around.

Now we need to decide whether we turn up canyon or down canyon to look for Hepworth Wash Arch and we are hurting for time. The map indicates that down canyon (east) has the more interesting cliffs so off we go through brush, deep sand and even some dried up swamp area. A mile later we turn a corner to finally see Hepworth Wash Arch hanging on a cliff.

Wow! It’s gigantic!

The thought of heading back the way we had come is more than we can handle. We decide to try another route we had considered near the end of the canyon. A half hour later we discover a dead end. Now we are REALLY going to have a hard time making it back before dark.

Back to the mouth of the side canyon, up the side canyon to the slanting slot canyon, up the rock ramp, the crack, then more ramp, down the short cliffs, then across and up the bowl to the top where we enjoy a brief rest to watch the sunset. We are dragging and stumbling now. We head down the steep slopes into Gifford Wash and are within a couple of hundred feet of the bottom when it becomes too dark to see. I take a best guess of where we might be able to get off the rock slope and onto the dry drainage. I dangle my feet off the end of the rock and am glad to feel the loose dirt of the sides of the drainage. Soon we are on reasonable flat ground and stumbling the last mile back to the parking lot. We even get a little help from the moon through the trees.

We use sticks to probe the ground in front of us and stumble onward, grateful to be off the steep slopes. All goes well though very slow until we reach the drop off across the wash from the parking area. Here there are several small cliffs that need to be climbed down. However, this side of the hill receives no moon light and we can’t tell where the trail is suppose to go. We stumble about blindly until we have made our way by chance down to the last cliff. Now there is either a shear drop off below us, or a steep rock face that is climbable when you can see the hand holds. To get to this point we tried lighting pages of a small notebook. That gives us about 3 seconds of blinding light to examine the route before leaving us night blind and with singed fingers. David even plays with using the flash on his digital camera to light the way. It was worth the try but it didn’t work very well.

Across the wash from us is the parking area and a rest room. Suddenly a vehicle turns into the parking lot and parks in front of the rest room. People start getting out and heading for the rest room. The vehicle is still running and using the headlights to light the rest room area. The entire far side of the was is lit up but our side is pitch black. David and I start yelling to the people in the vehicle but they can’t hear us because of the vehicle engine. As people begin to get back in the vehicle, one person leaves the vehicle and walks over to the edge of the parking lot closest to us. He can hear us yelling. They turn off the vehicle and we are able to hold a conversation across the wash. At first they thought we were pulling a joke on them — “You want us to drive over there?” Then we are able to make them understand that it would be helpful to us if they could turn their vehicle so that the light shines across the wash. The vehicle is turned and suddenly our entire hillside is lit up. We were sitting on the edge of the drop off that was the trail and with the light we could easily see to descend to the bottom and climb up the other side to the parking lot. We thanked them for saving us and collapsed in my SUV.

In spite of our best efforts, we slept in warm beds in Springdale that night.

Along the way we find a rock pool teaming with very large fairy shrimp but almost no animal signs are found in this area. No arch either. Strike two for this arch. However we are narrowing the area that it can be hiding in.

In the end, it was another nice day to hike and enjoy the surroundings, away from people, computers, responsibilities and the general confusion of every day life. Hiking southern Utah is escapism for me. It recharges me and gives me a different perspective of “that other life” I live.

We do some day hiking in the Sheets Draw area of Capital Reef National Park looking for Sheets Draw Arch. The canyons are much larger and rougher than I expected. I get REAL nervous when my daughters are near the cliffs so it wasn’t a “relaxing” day for me.

Then unexpected rain showers drive us out of the area before we can locate the arch. We head back to Utah Valley a little earilier than planned.

Strike one looking for this arch.

I take the family on vacation to Illinois. We stop near Quinter Kansas to photograph a natural arch in the Chalk Pyramid area.

Amusing.

It must be terrible to live in such flat country.

There are lots of camel tracks in the area but we never get to see any. Apparently the camels are left over from a camel expedition effort that has their ranch and headquarters in that area. Camels are allowed to run free because the terrain will keep them fairly confined anyway… unless they swim the Green River.

Camels? In Utah? Sure — why not?

While there was a lot of open and beautiful country out there, it really wasn’t “arch country”. The trip was a good chance to see some new country though.

In fact, after three days of Arch Hunting in that part of Utah — no arches to report at all.

Another reason this is one of my favorite areas to visit is that David and I have family ties to the area. My grandmother was a Moosman whose Grandfather settled in the Escalante and Boulder area. Many Moosmans are buried in the town cemetery and many local features are named after family members.

Escalante is also one of the most remote towns in Utah. If you find yourself in Escalante, it is because you are headed there and not because you are passing through on your way to somewhere else. In Escalante, stores and shops close at 5 PM and by 9 PM not even the couple of cafes are open. (You can starve to death in Escalante if you don’t plan ahead.) 

David and I drove down the Hole-in-the-Rock (always badly washboarded) road to the Egypt jeep trail which takes us to the trailhead so we can hike off the plateau down to the Escalante River. We choose to take a side trail which takes us to Fence Canyon where we can take pictures of the class B natural arch located there.

We then continue down to the Escalante River and then south along the river to Neon Canyon. Just before the mouth of Neon Canyon there is a nice panel of Indian petroglyphs which I have to visit.

We then hike east up Neon Canyon for just over a mile until we reach a large pore off where the stream has drilled a natural bridge in the sandstone. Below the hole is a swimming pool sized splash pool. This is grotto is call The Golden Cathedral and it is magnificent!

Wow!

That’s all. Just Wow!

Neon Canyon and the natural bridge of the Golden Cathedral is best appreciated in the afternoon when the sun strikes the large splash pool under the bridge. The sun rays are then reflected back on the dark canyon wall in a dazzling display of light. Hence the name Neon Canyon.

This is nature’s magic at it’s best!

Unfortuneately, we soon had to leave to go to another magical place called “Home”. This required a LONG hike up and out of the canyon. This was an unusually long and hard slough with the last half mile all up a very steep slope. It was a real gut-buster which left us feeling a little ill at the end of the day. Another twenty or so miles driving down a badly washboarded dirt road didn’t help any.

I try for some pictures at Double Arches but the torch only visits the North Window area just across the parking lot.

Oh well. I’ll just have to wait for the next World Winter Olympics that comes to Utah.

I drove around the park taking winter pictures and headed for home again. These winter days are really short!