Can't beat camping

In the past, I could only name one thing I didn't like about camping: discomfort. Rocks make my butt cold, logs are poky and never the right height, and in the fall, night time comes early. Eventually we get uncomfortable and head for our sleeping bags way too early. Not this year. We invested in resin stackers and as a result we had endless evenings sitting around a warm campfire telling stories and drinking peppermint tea and beer. When our trip was through, we stashed the chairs in the desert and marked their location on our GPS for our next trip.

Now there's nothing I dislike about camping. Just check out these pictures to see why we spend our vacations in the national forest over Las Vegas, a Hawaiian resort, Disneyland or anywhere.

One of our campsites in the Dixie National Forest.

We found the best campsite of the trip on the Kaibab Plateau with this view of Marble Canyon. Sweet!

Making flapjacks on our pocket rocket stove.

 

 

What you do in Utah, you can tell your friends about

We booked our trip to Utah eight months in advance so we could use frequent flyer miles. Even after that much anticipating the exhilirating hikes, the free time together, the cool, dry air and the crackel of the campfire, this trip did not dissapoint. We've made several visits to the area and there are endless trails, countless canyons and miles of national forest yet to be explored.

 

 

Andi in Peek-a-Boo canyon near Escalante, Utah.

Sometimes your back and your tummy can both touch opposite sides of a slot canyon at the same time.



The golden glow of the shimmering Aspens is always a highlight to our fall trips.

Chris peeks over the edge of a cliff at Red Canyon, not far from Bryce National Park, which we avoided because we prefer to ditch the crowds.

Return to Willis Creek

In 2009 I wrote about some slot canyons that we explored in Southern Utah. We always have such a good time in this area that we returned for two weeks of fun this fall and though we saw a lot of great, new places we also took time to backpack Willis Creek in the Grand Staircase again. The hike follows Willis Creek for about three miles and through several slots that the creek has patiently carved throug the ages. Once out of the canyon we camped on the bank of Sheep Creek in the same spot we slept in 2009. The rocks Chris had stacked for our campstove were right where he left them. We burned juniper and sage and watched as the fire illuminated the canyon wall above us with a warm, orange glow. The full moon emerged and lit the other canyon wall in its bright, white light.

The next day we tried to hike to Bull Gorge, another nearby slot that we attempted to hike down several years ago, but it required ropes. I had hoped we could hike partly up Bull Gorge instead, but we walked for hours and never found it, so it must have been further away than I had guessed. Bull Gorge: 2 Jaspers: 0 But we had fun trying.

Our memorable campsite beside Sheep Creek.

Chris walks beside a huge wall at Sheep Creek.

Just one of the gorgeous slots carved by Willis Creek.