mike & rhonda's latest adventure: I never fail, I succeed in finding what doesn't work

Following a shortened camper van trip (minor health issues) to the lovely Paso Robles wine region in the fall, I was keen to start a new adventure in the new year. At the end of January I drove to Kamloops to visit with my 95 year old father who is hanging in there despite some health issues of his own. We had a good visit and hopefully there will be many more. I then headed south towards southern Utah where the plan was to get in as much hiking as possible. Pocahontas meanwhile remained home to get in some more skiing with her girlfriends and to paint a few rooms in the house (a couple of January outings on my snowboard was enough to scratch my itch). She will join up with me in a few weeks, hoping that I will have had my fill of strenuous hiking by then.

I had a few glitches on the drive south, taking a few incorrect routes, a combination of trying to get out of sub-zero temperatures as quickly as possible, the fact that my regular navigator was AWOL (meaning I looked at the map once in the morning and was sure I would remember all the turns I had to make), and being fully engrossed in many interesting Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcasts. When I arrived at Zion National Park (a southern Utah favourite of ours) after 2 full days of driving, there was snow on the ground (not ideal for a warm weather hiker) and the only campground in town was closed for the winter........so I continued on to Kanab near the Arizona border for the night. The next morning I entered the lottery for one of the 10 hiking permits that would be granted for next day hikes to The Wave in Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area. If you have not heard of The Wave then you should google it to see the amazing sandstone rock formations to understand why it is a highly desired destination where they limit the daily traffic to better preserve the landscape. I was not one of the lucky winners (30 applicants even though it was a very cold time of the year) and while I had planned to hang around for a few more days to roll the dice again, I changed my mind after attempting to do a couple of nearby hikes during the day (I eventually found the Toadstool hike which was excellent, due to being in a warmer canyon). If the trails were not covered with snow they were muddy from melting snow during the daytime also making some dirt roads to trailheads difficult to access. We were also advised that the 8 mile road into The Wave trailhead was also only passable with a 4X4 at this time of year which would have meant walking an extra 16 miles just to get to the 6 mile trail, or trying to make an arrangement with another lucky winner. I plan to return again, perhaps at the end of this trip on the way home when it is warmer and my hiking partner is with me.

My next stop was the Grand Canyon South Rim. Once again however I encountered a lot of snow at the rim (one foot). While the rim path had been cleared I was concerned that the start of the paths down into the canyon would be icy (since they get enough traffic) and after learning that Phantom Ranch was booked solid I decided to move on rather than entering the dorm lottery the next morning for last minute cancellations, or attempting a one day down and back up hike which I would still like to do some day after having time to spare when I did my trip down to Phantom Ranch 4 years ago.

So at this point I am thinking quite a few things have not gone according to plan on this trip so far (or rather I have been successful in finding what doesn't work). Checking the weather forecast I noticed that Sedona was experiencing mid-teen temperatures during the day (ideal for hiking) and nighttime lows of 7-9C, so no need to worry about freezing pipes. I am now in Sedona, de-winterized the van (now fully functional) and plan to remain here for the next week. Yesterday I hiked the Huckaby Trail (12 km return from my camper van site), an up and down trail with gorgeous red rock views and the roaring Oak Creek. Today I repeated that hike after realizing that I had forgotten to re-pack my camera case in the backpack at the far end of the trail after sitting on a rock to have a snack and enjoy the raging creek. It was still there when I arrived this morning. A pattern seems to be developing here that I am not particularly proud of :-)
As a self-imposed penalty I continued my journey for several more km's with a walk into town to scout out a couple of sports bars to watch the Superbowl tomorrow, and found one that should be a blast (along with being in walking distance).

Adios for now.