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| Canyoneering | 3.60 Miles |
540 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 3.60 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 540 ft AEG | | 30 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | My first time ever to West Clear Creek...And this one has been on my list pretty much since I joined HAZ and saw the pictures....  Brian finally got a little time off and wanted to do a Backpack somewhere with Water...It was going to be this or Fossil Springs, but since you aren't allowed to Camp near the Creek at Fossil, this became the Destination... 
Set-Up
I am so glad that I did those Water Hikes with Ken a few days before...I learned a few things that would really help me on this Trip...I knew that if I truly wanted to get into Canyoneering, that I would need Boots/Shoes that would give me traction and confidence on Wet Rock...Ken helped with that...Confidence is fully restored!!! You Rock Ken!!!: app : I also needed to figure out how to keep things dry, but at the same time, keep it simple...I figured that out over the Weekend too...Brian and I took cheap inflatable mattresses, in case we wanted to use them as Rafts, and then they could "double" as our Sleeping Pads...But we never broke them out for use as Rafts...The Dry Bag inside of the Backpack worked perfectly...It keeps enough air in it, even with compression, that you are going to float... I also took out some Stock in Ziploc Freezer Bags so I could put things in some of the Pack Pockets for accessibility and still keep them dry...Nothing got wet the entire Weekend, although I'm glad I took extra Ziplocs with...And the Camp Flip Flops worked perfectly for increased Water resistance for Paddling... 
Day 1
The Drive
Holy buckets!!!  Sure am glad I suggested to Brian that we take his Jeep!!!  I think Brian got more of a Workout from the drive in, than he did actually Hiking/Swimming!!! Wow!!! I remembered Todd's Log from awhile back and it really made me wonder if my Escape could even do part of this Drive...After having seen it, there's no way in h*** I wouldn't even attempt the first mile in my Escape! I wouldn't have even attempted it in my Stock 4WD Grand Cherokee which only had about .50 inches more clearance...Wow!!! FR142 is in lousy shape...I would have almost had to park clear out at the Highway...FR142 was almost the worst of the 3 roads that you drive in, to get to the TH...Brian's Jeep is not lifted, but he has bigger tires on it, so it gave him more clearance than a completely Stock Jeep would have...He still hit bottom a couple of times...My suggestion for people wanting to drive in there??? Minimum: 4WD with Lift...And you better forget it if you have just street tires on it...There are a ton of Tire Cutting Rocks in there too...With the exception of a few, rare spots, that entire Drive after you leave the Highway, was just downright gnarly... It took us 1 1/2 hours to go 6 miles...We ended up taking a Break, just from the Drive.... You and the Jeep did good Brian!!!  The one really cool part of the Drive in, was seeing a couple of young, bull Elk, in Velvet, after we turned off the Highway... 
The Hike
The views from topside of the West Clear Creek area are incredible. The thought of going down that was a little daunting... But the Downhill ended up being about as steep as what I had just done going down into Christopher Creek Gorge, so I actually did really well, especially since I was better prepared with shoes that actually had some Traction...Made pretty good time getting down to the Creek, but Brian and I were both pretty warm by then, so the idea of getting to "Swim" this Hike, sounded very cool indeed!!! And it didn't take long to get to the first Swim, and they just kept coming after that...This Creek is so totally cool...The White Box was incredible!!! I so wish I could have taken some pictures swimming through there...I actually rigged the Camera inside two Ziplocs and had just stuffed it down the front of my shirt. (That's the first time in my life, I've ever had to stuff anything down there...I became like a Triple F or something, but it stayed dry...  ) When I was swimming though, it still just would have been too much of a pain, to try to get it out and get some shots and keep it dry...I've decided that a Waterproof Camera is just going to be the only way to go on Trips like this...I swam backwards, half reclined, with the Pack making an excellent flotation device...In that position, the Views were stellar!!!
Brian had marked a Waypoint where Todd and Jon had Camped on their Trip. It's about 1/2 mile before the Gardens...After all of the Swimming and Boulder Hopping, we made it to the Camp...It took us a lot longer to get there than I would have thought, but it's probably par for the course, since neither of us had ever been here or quite done a Hike like this before... We got Camp pretty much set up and decided to hit the Gardens today instead of waiting until the next...Actually made good time to the Gardens, especially since we were no longer lugging our Packs with...
The Hanging Gardens....Wow! What can you say??? AmAZing!!! And we hit it right too, with both the waning Afternoon Sun and the fact that the Columbines were Peaking!!! Too bad I didn't have my "Good Camera"...  But I'll never forget seeing it, ever...It was just too Gorgeous!!! We spent some time here, just soaking it all in, it was hard to leave...Paradise Found...
Went back to Camp, did the normal Camp routine and hit the Sack...
Day 2
Got Camp packed up and took off for the TH...We made much better time going back, probably because we now had it down pat and were familiar...Took a Break at the bottom before starting the hot, steep climb back up...Still made good time going up and got to the Jeep a full hour before our set time...I won't bore you with more details of the Drive out...(Somehow, the Road didn't improve overnight... ) But, Brian made it out with Jeep and Tires still intact...
Have to put a note in here...I noticed that when we were at the Jeep, both coming and going, that the Gnats were a little irritating...I sprayed at the Top both coming and going...What I didn't know at the time, was apparently the no-see-ums were so bad at the Creek...I had no idea that I had become Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner for so many... If it flies and bites, it loves me, and unlike Poison Ivy, I tend to have an above normal reaction to insect bites...Today, as I write this, I am one giant Gnat Bite...Major...Wow! So, I guess right now anyway, if you're prone to getting bit, even if you don't "see" them,  spray, spray, spray!!!
Final Thoughts
What can you possibly say about a place like this??? Other than, when am I going back??? Brian, thanks for the awesome company and for driving!!! You were great!!! Another incredible area that I hope to be able to return to, again, again, and again... |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Spotty Wildflowers except for at The Hanging Gardens, where the Columbine was substantial!!! |
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| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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