Last weekend we went camping near Goblin Valley so members of my family could go rappelling at Goblin's Lair. I was apprehensive, I have to admit. The temperatures were predicted to be in the high 90's and I was not looking forward to being really hot--and it was very hot. But we went and while the campground experience was pretty bad, I was able to help out during the rappelling and I enjoyed the hike the next day which was not as hot.
The campground experience was bad for several reasons:
1. No picnic tables and we were unprepared with any tables.
2. Horrible allergies--I stepped out of the car and immediately my nose started itching and running constantly. I was miserable. It was remarkable how bad it was just in that location and nowhere else. It's a desert with zero trees. My only explanation is possibly the wildflowers I saw nearby.
3. Biting gnats. They were not constant but we all got many bites that continue to itch several days afterwards.
Yeah, we're not going back to that campground ever.
But Goblin Valley is always cool and we also did part of the Little Wild Horse Canyon hike that is also very cool. The first activity was Goblin's Lair. I stayed with our two girls and the almost 2-year-old back at the pavilion of the state park while everyone else hiked to the Goblin's Lair. The hike was about 1.5 miles one way and it was a very hot day.
The expected time frame for the hike and rappel was about 2 hours. So when they had been gone 2.5 hours I was starting to feel a little worried. So I drove over to the ranger station and she said that some people never even find the place to rappel in so I should give them more time. Sure enough, they had a hard time finding the place. The only reason they found it was because there was a large group with some young kids doing the rappel and the kids were screaming. So they followed the screams. Once there, they had to wait for the group to finish. So their total time gone was about 3.5 hours. I was actually driving to the ranger station again when I saw them coming back.
My son and DIL took their kids down on a tandem rappel which worked well for them. It's a pretty long rappel--about 80 feet--so a 6-year-old and 4-year-old might have been terrified to do it alone. Once down, they enjoyed exploring the caves in the area. The hike back was harder. It was past dinnertime and everyone was feeling worn out. But with a little singing and encouragement, the two children made it back and were troopers. The 2-year-old was also amazing and hardly any effort for me to take care of at the pavilion.
We had dinner of taco salad at the pavilion since there were tables and I need tables to be able to cook. That turned out to be a good decision. We went back to the campground to set up our tent and the weather continued to be challenging. My nose was non-stop running and itching. A big wind came up, a few raindrops fell, and we weren't able to spend much time at the campfire cooking our s'mores. It was also late so it was just as well.
The next morning was pleasant with some clouds helping to temper the sun. Unfortunately the gnats came out while we were eating breakfast. We didn't realize they were biting gnats until later but it inspired us to pack up our tents and gear in a hurry. We were able to get to the Little Wild Horse Canyon fairly early and get some hiking in. The full hike is 8 miles round-trip. We went in about 1.5 miles in and then turned around and came back. It was just about right.
We went far enough in to see some of the slot canyon. I have to admit, I was feeling a little claustrophobic in the slot canyon and with a tragic accident happening in that canyon a few weeks ago, I was fine with not doing the whole hike. On the way home, we stopped at Wendy's in Price, had a little picnic nearby, and it was a great ending to the outing.
The campground experience was bad for several reasons:
1. No picnic tables and we were unprepared with any tables.
2. Horrible allergies--I stepped out of the car and immediately my nose started itching and running constantly. I was miserable. It was remarkable how bad it was just in that location and nowhere else. It's a desert with zero trees. My only explanation is possibly the wildflowers I saw nearby.
3. Biting gnats. They were not constant but we all got many bites that continue to itch several days afterwards.
Yeah, we're not going back to that campground ever.
But Goblin Valley is always cool and we also did part of the Little Wild Horse Canyon hike that is also very cool. The first activity was Goblin's Lair. I stayed with our two girls and the almost 2-year-old back at the pavilion of the state park while everyone else hiked to the Goblin's Lair. The hike was about 1.5 miles one way and it was a very hot day.
The expected time frame for the hike and rappel was about 2 hours. So when they had been gone 2.5 hours I was starting to feel a little worried. So I drove over to the ranger station and she said that some people never even find the place to rappel in so I should give them more time. Sure enough, they had a hard time finding the place. The only reason they found it was because there was a large group with some young kids doing the rappel and the kids were screaming. So they followed the screams. Once there, they had to wait for the group to finish. So their total time gone was about 3.5 hours. I was actually driving to the ranger station again when I saw them coming back.
My son and DIL took their kids down on a tandem rappel which worked well for them. It's a pretty long rappel--about 80 feet--so a 6-year-old and 4-year-old might have been terrified to do it alone. Once down, they enjoyed exploring the caves in the area. The hike back was harder. It was past dinnertime and everyone was feeling worn out. But with a little singing and encouragement, the two children made it back and were troopers. The 2-year-old was also amazing and hardly any effort for me to take care of at the pavilion.
We had dinner of taco salad at the pavilion since there were tables and I need tables to be able to cook. That turned out to be a good decision. We went back to the campground to set up our tent and the weather continued to be challenging. My nose was non-stop running and itching. A big wind came up, a few raindrops fell, and we weren't able to spend much time at the campfire cooking our s'mores. It was also late so it was just as well.
The next morning was pleasant with some clouds helping to temper the sun. Unfortunately the gnats came out while we were eating breakfast. We didn't realize they were biting gnats until later but it inspired us to pack up our tents and gear in a hurry. We were able to get to the Little Wild Horse Canyon fairly early and get some hiking in. The full hike is 8 miles round-trip. We went in about 1.5 miles in and then turned around and came back. It was just about right.
We went far enough in to see some of the slot canyon. I have to admit, I was feeling a little claustrophobic in the slot canyon and with a tragic accident happening in that canyon a few weeks ago, I was fine with not doing the whole hike. On the way home, we stopped at Wendy's in Price, had a little picnic nearby, and it was a great ending to the outing.
Comments
Post a Comment