Day 63 – Speed Demon

Dixie National Forest to Calf Creek Recreation Area – 36 miles

Yesterday started near the top of the pass on Hwy 12 in the Dixie National Forest.  The temperature was pretty mild, so I slept in and took my time waking up.  I was really groggy for some reason.  I packed up and was on the bike by 10 am.  The altitude combined with the cloud cover kept it nice and cool.

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I had a little more climbing to do before I ghit the summit.  I stopped at the National Forest Info Center shortly after I got started.  The older couple who were staffing the info center were super nice.  I refilled my water.  They had muffins and some coffee so I stayed for awhile and chatted.

I left and finished the climb to the summit.  Incredible views of the Waterpocket Fold and surrounding mountains, valleys, and desert.

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It was all downhill from the summit, literally.  I was super stoked to start the descent and the views were incredible.  With grades As steep as 14% at times it really got the blood and adrenaline rushing.  I topped out at 55 mph, a new record for the trip!!
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Shortly after exiting the forest I was in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  Incredible canyons with steep walls, the road was on a thin ridge that fell off to either side with no guard rail.IMG_3215

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I decided to make it a short day and stop at Calf Creek Recreation Area to hike to a desert waterfall.  Lower Calf Creek Falls was about a 3 mile hike through a canyon that passed some petroglyphs and ancient Native American granaries.  The beginning of the hike was hot, but eventually it became shaded form the canyon walls and cooled off.

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The falls were awesome.  Almost too cold to swim in for long, I set up my hammock and hung out for awhile.

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After getting some leg cramps I decided it was time to hike back out.  When I got back to my campsite I made some potato and ham soup and corn for dinner.  Yum!

2 Comments

  1. Glad to hear you made it to the falls! We were discussing your ride as we were driving up the pass.

    • Calf Creek Falls was awesome! Super refreshing swim. Hope you guys had a good rest of your trip!

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