Attending a four-day teaching workshop in the far off land of southwest Montana, a little late summer time before the Fall quarter tornado, and access to a 45mpg road warrior seemed like enough motivation to embark on a Montana road trip. Of course there would be nowhere near enough time to properly explore the area so careful planning ensued. I did the best I could to balance large amounts of driving with interesting stops and places to stay along the way, and to balance the touristy need-to-see stops with some places a little further removed. We particularly sought out the things we are starved of in southern California- waters both hot and cold. It would also be my first time to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Glacier national parks.
7 states (3 new)
5 hot springs (all new)
4 National Parks (3 new)
4 packrafts
2 Montana friends visited
1 workshop successfully attended
Despite frustrating last minute packing, I managed to get us out the door and on the road by 4:30am. Vegas traffic was pretty much a non-event at the time we passed through and soon found ourselves driving through the Virgin River Gorge. The river was in a rare flood-state (excellent for packrafting) from a localized thunderstorm the previous night and took everything I had to stay on track for our original plans instead of tearing the car apart for packrafting gear and an uncertain attempt to hitch through the gorge.
After gearing up in St George we pulled off the highway and drove through the quaint Mormon town of Kanarraville, access to Kanarra Creek, a short Navajo Sandstone slot canyon featuring a few small waterfalls. I heard it was like a mini Zion Narrows and had wanted to go for years but it was always a little out of the way. It was something like 11am when we arrived, perfect timing for a short walk and a lunch. Refusing to pay the $10 parking for the hikers lot, we parked in the center of town and took the extra five minute walk of shame through town and to the trailhead. Lots of people hiking, lots of them slowly with kids. My patience was challenged multiple times, but the few short sections we got to walk devoid of people certainly made it worth it. The day was already warm and sweaty but the cool narrows and cooler water was just right.
What started as an unassuming valley spilling out on I -15, cuts steeply and narrowly through Navajo Sandstone above. Deep and in some places sinuous narrows, and we hit the golden light just about right. The two waterfalls with ladder/rope bypasses were sites of annoying log jams (read: tourist and child jams; log jams would have been much preferred), but the rest was nice. We had lunch above the second falls in relative solitude before returning the way we came.
I do not think I would ever have the need to visit the canyon again, but it was the perfect stop to break up a long day's drive. We drove on to Spanish Fork and detoured up into the hills for a short evenings backpack to Fifth Water Hot Springs, another place that had been on my visit-list for years.
No comments:
Post a Comment