After debating on what to do next we decided to send part of the group back out the way we came in with my cell phone to call the rangers and Sylvia was carrying a satelite signal called a Spot that is used in emergency situations to get help and they activated that. Amanda, Sylvia and Jims daughter, took over and wrapped my foot with an ace bandage that she had and she took care of me as we were seperated from the rest of the group who were up on the rock.
It was about 10:30am when all this happened and about an hour and a half later we heard a helicopter. The helicopter came in and hovered around for a while and then flew away. It was a good thing I was with my friends as they kept my mind off of my foot and we entertained each other. I was lucky because the temperatures outside were perfect and the area where I was laying was nice and sandy with a pool of ice cold water for me to soak my foot in. The helicopter came back again and as before it flew away. The third time was a charm and two of the rescue team came down and let us know that they were going to be getting me ready to lift out of the canyon but they were going to have to cut down a large pine tree that was preventing the helicopter from lifting me out safely. Apparently rescues in this area had been hampered in the past from the tree and they decided to remove it. As the medic Craig got me preped and we moved into some rock cover. The other guys started cutting the tree down. When Craig got the harness out for me to sit in he informed me that the seat is called the screamer. At that point it was apparent to me that not everyone enjoys hanging from a rope under a helicopter. At first the chopper was going to lift me from the spot where I was laying but after a failed attempt there they decided they were going to have to get me up on top of the rock I had come down to get me to a safer spot to lift from. The guys rigged up some gear and I had to climb up onto the rock with one foot and several guys pulling from the top and one Craig helping from below.
It was a bear climbing out but we did it. At that point Will, the second guy from our rescue team let me know that he would be flying out with me and gave me the instructions for what was going to happen.
The helicopter came in and we hooked our harnesses to the rope hanging down off of the helicopter and away we went. I was really bummed out that I couldnt take my camera and I didnt think anyone would get a shot of the chopper lifting us out but I was pleasantly surprised to find out later that Amanda had hiked up to the side of the canyon and had video taped the rescue.
The flight through the canyon was amazing and I was able to see parts of Zion from an angle that I will probably never see again.
We landed at the temporary rescue point where an ambulance was to pick me up. After they got me all unhooked I was able to meet the pilot and to thank all of the people who had helped. They were all great and we are lucky to have people like that out there to help us.
It was now 7pm and by the time the ambulance got there I was really starting to wear down. It had been a long day and I still had to go to the hospital where I found out I had broken the heel of my foot and I would probably need surgery. Another adventure to add to my list.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Subway of Zion
I had been wanting to hike a trail called the Subway in Zion national park. The trail is known to be a demanding hike and you have to get a permit to hike this trail. I was contacted by a friend of mine, Sylvia Boyd. Sylvia said that they had gotten twelve pemits for them and some of their friends but one person was not going to be able tho make it. She asked if I would like to go the following morning and I said, yes, that would be great!
They picked me up the following morning at 6 am. We got to the parking area for the Wildcat trail on the Kolob Platue. To get to the Subway you follow the Wildcat trail and the Subway tail splits from that trail and takes you down into the slot canyon called the Subway. The first part of the trail is not to bad but when you get to the edge of the canyon the trail drops off down a steep hillside. Within a short distance you drop down several hundred feet. The scenery is amazing and as you get into the botom of the canyon there are pools of water and I was surprised to see the huge boulders that you have to scale over to work your way down the canyon. We worked our way through some of the pools of water and across some of the boulders. We came up on the first large obstacle that was a huge boulder. From what I was told there had been several large trees that had been wedged into the rocks that would work like a ladder and gave them something to climb down to get over this rock. The heavy spring runoff had washed the trees away and so the only way down was to climb down the face of the rock or rapel down the side of the cliff wall around the rock. Some of the people in our group were trying to rig up a rope to climb down around the rock. As I was waiting a couple of the guys that were with us climbed down the face of the rock and were able to make it down within four or five feet and jumped down. I decided to climb down after them. I got down and jumped the last little bit and when I did I landed wrong on my right heel and I felt it give way when all my weight landed on it. I instantly fell into the water and before anyone saw that I had fallen I tried to hurry and jump up before anyone saw that I had fallen. When I tried to stand on my foot I knew I was in big trouble. I collapsed when I put my weight on my foot and I knew it was broken.
They picked me up the following morning at 6 am. We got to the parking area for the Wildcat trail on the Kolob Platue. To get to the Subway you follow the Wildcat trail and the Subway tail splits from that trail and takes you down into the slot canyon called the Subway. The first part of the trail is not to bad but when you get to the edge of the canyon the trail drops off down a steep hillside. Within a short distance you drop down several hundred feet. The scenery is amazing and as you get into the botom of the canyon there are pools of water and I was surprised to see the huge boulders that you have to scale over to work your way down the canyon. We worked our way through some of the pools of water and across some of the boulders. We came up on the first large obstacle that was a huge boulder. From what I was told there had been several large trees that had been wedged into the rocks that would work like a ladder and gave them something to climb down to get over this rock. The heavy spring runoff had washed the trees away and so the only way down was to climb down the face of the rock or rapel down the side of the cliff wall around the rock. Some of the people in our group were trying to rig up a rope to climb down around the rock. As I was waiting a couple of the guys that were with us climbed down the face of the rock and were able to make it down within four or five feet and jumped down. I decided to climb down after them. I got down and jumped the last little bit and when I did I landed wrong on my right heel and I felt it give way when all my weight landed on it. I instantly fell into the water and before anyone saw that I had fallen I tried to hurry and jump up before anyone saw that I had fallen. When I tried to stand on my foot I knew I was in big trouble. I collapsed when I put my weight on my foot and I knew it was broken.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Virgin River Gorge
I decided to go to an area that I hadnt been to for quite a while. To the southwest of St George, Utah there is a deep river gorge that the Virgin river flows through. Interstate 15 runs through this gorge and was one of the most expensive stretches of highway ever built due to the rugged terrain.
The developed camp grounds at Cedar Pocket in the gorge is rarely crowded and has some beautiful scenery overlooking the Virgin River.
There are dirt roads all through this area of the Mojave Desert and the Joshua trees and cactus are typical of the Mojave desert. The scenery is beautiful but if traveling these dirt roads you need to make sure that your carrying plenty of water and are self reliant as the roads are not heavily traveled.
There is wilflife in this desert if you know where to look and this is one of my favorite areas for getting pictures of Desert Bighorn Sheep. They are not easy to get to and the mountains in this gorge are as sharp as coral so I would recommend gloves and long pants as well as good hiking boots. The best time to visit is the spring and the fall as the temperatures are much more forgiving.
I hiked around for four or five hours but did not see the Bighorn Sheep but the wildflowers were in bloom and I did get some great pictures of the scenery from the top of the gorge.
The developed camp grounds at Cedar Pocket in the gorge is rarely crowded and has some beautiful scenery overlooking the Virgin River.
There are dirt roads all through this area of the Mojave Desert and the Joshua trees and cactus are typical of the Mojave desert. The scenery is beautiful but if traveling these dirt roads you need to make sure that your carrying plenty of water and are self reliant as the roads are not heavily traveled.
There is wilflife in this desert if you know where to look and this is one of my favorite areas for getting pictures of Desert Bighorn Sheep. They are not easy to get to and the mountains in this gorge are as sharp as coral so I would recommend gloves and long pants as well as good hiking boots. The best time to visit is the spring and the fall as the temperatures are much more forgiving.
I hiked around for four or five hours but did not see the Bighorn Sheep but the wildflowers were in bloom and I did get some great pictures of the scenery from the top of the gorge.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
North Gate Peaks
Today I went up to the Kolob platue in Zions canyon. This area is nice to hike in because there isnt as much foot traffic and there are some excellent view points from some of the trails on the top part of Zion Canyon.
I followed a trail called the Wildcat trail. This trail leads to a great view of the North Gate Peaks. The spring runoff is running very high so the stream are moving much faster than normal.
There were signs of the local elk herd all around and I was hoping to spot them so thay I could get some shots of them. The last of the snow had melted up here over the last few weeks so the ground is wet and muddy in some places.
The hike was nice and there were not more than a few othere people out. I made it to the overlook in about an hour and a half and I spent an hour taking pictures. As I was hiking out the mule deer began coming out to graze as the sun was going down. Some storm clouds began to move in and there was a drizzle of rain.
As I was driving away from the parking area for the wildcat trail I saw the herd of elk that I had been looking for. They were standing in a clearing and there were about thirty of them. The sun had gone down a while before so it was too dark for me to get any pictures of them but it was nice to get to see them.
I followed a trail called the Wildcat trail. This trail leads to a great view of the North Gate Peaks. The spring runoff is running very high so the stream are moving much faster than normal.
There were signs of the local elk herd all around and I was hoping to spot them so thay I could get some shots of them. The last of the snow had melted up here over the last few weeks so the ground is wet and muddy in some places.
The hike was nice and there were not more than a few othere people out. I made it to the overlook in about an hour and a half and I spent an hour taking pictures. As I was hiking out the mule deer began coming out to graze as the sun was going down. Some storm clouds began to move in and there was a drizzle of rain.
As I was driving away from the parking area for the wildcat trail I saw the herd of elk that I had been looking for. They were standing in a clearing and there were about thirty of them. The sun had gone down a while before so it was too dark for me to get any pictures of them but it was nice to get to see them.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Zion Canyon
I decided to take the afternoon and drive up to Zion to take a short hike today. I decided to take a trail that I had never hiked before that follows the stream that runs along the bottom of the canyon below the tunnel. It really isnt much of a trail. I think that most of the traffic along it is the mule deer that live here. There is a large bridge constructed of sandstone that is amazing. As I was hiking and stopping to take pictures I surprised several times to have deer come out of the trees and come right up to me. Its something that still amazes me that the deer here have become so acustom to people that they will walk within reach of you. That makes for some great photo ops! There is still a lot of spring runoff coming down through the canyon due to our severe winter in the upper mountains. I followed the trail up about a mile but could not go any farther due to the stream running so high. I was able to get some great shots.
Theres nothing like a good hike in this beautiful country to blow off some steam and clear your mind.
Theres nothing like a good hike in this beautiful country to blow off some steam and clear your mind.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Grafton ghost town
I went out to one of my favorite spots today. It is a small ghost town called Grafton. There are several homes still standing and a sandstone schoolhouse that has been redone by a local preservation group. There is a small cemetary and it is very interesting to read the headstones of the people who are burried there. Some were killed by indians, some by floods. It is a beautiful setting with its green pastures with the sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon as a backdrop. I never get tired of photographing this place as I always find something new or different conditions to photograph the things that I have allready photographed in the past. As time goes on you will probably see many posts about this place because of my love of it.
If you have ever seen the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid then you have seen Grafton. The bicycle seen was filmed here and still looks much like it did in the movie with the exception that the home they were in for the movie is no longer standing.
If you have ever seen the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid then you have seen Grafton. The bicycle seen was filmed here and still looks much like it did in the movie with the exception that the home they were in for the movie is no longer standing.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Capitol Reef
We arrived in Capitol Reef National Park in the afternoon stopped to look at some of the sights. As you come into Capitol Reef there is a small cabin that was built in 1882 by a pioneer family named the Behunins. They were a family of 10 that lived in this tiny one room home with a dirt floor. The mother and father and two youngest kids slept in the cabin and the other kids slept in a dugout in the cliff behind the cabin.
As you drive into the park there are some great petroglyphs all along the walls so make sure you stop and check them out. The park has some great apple orchards in it and there are large herds of mule deer that live here all year. The park has some great camp grounds in the orchards that would be beautiful to stay in during the spring or summer. The deer are always there and it ads to the scenery.
After spending the rest of the day looking all around and getting some great pictures of the park we headed to the town of Torrey to find a place to stay for the night and to get a bite to eat. Since it was the off season most of the motels were closed and only two restaraunts were open. We found a small pizza place that had great food and after some good food we got us a room and called it a day. The next morning we found that it had snowed which made for a scenic drive home through Escalante and Bryce National Park. We had covered quite a bit of territory in the last week and had the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places that our country has to see. I cant wait for the next adventure!
As you drive into the park there are some great petroglyphs all along the walls so make sure you stop and check them out. The park has some great apple orchards in it and there are large herds of mule deer that live here all year. The park has some great camp grounds in the orchards that would be beautiful to stay in during the spring or summer. The deer are always there and it ads to the scenery.
After spending the rest of the day looking all around and getting some great pictures of the park we headed to the town of Torrey to find a place to stay for the night and to get a bite to eat. Since it was the off season most of the motels were closed and only two restaraunts were open. We found a small pizza place that had great food and after some good food we got us a room and called it a day. The next morning we found that it had snowed which made for a scenic drive home through Escalante and Bryce National Park. We had covered quite a bit of territory in the last week and had the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places that our country has to see. I cant wait for the next adventure!
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