Utah

Preparations for this trip started proactively before hitting the road. Hours and hours of research gathering beta for the areas that we wanted to explore and some insights from friends led to a concrete feeling of confidence before arriving in Utah. Spending the time to do your research on the zones you will go to on a trip really adds to a better experience of a trip because it allows you to go into unknown areas with some feeling of knowledge. Knowing the routes one will take, what activities you want to do during the day, and having a general idea of the area you would like to camp on certain nights allows you to spend less Energy on those tasks and give you more time to maximize the limited time that we all typically have while being outdoors. Of course, there is always the beauty that can often be found from going with the flow of a day. Route closures, spending an extra day or two in order to do further exploring and experience the area on a more intimate level, or having to adjust trip plans on the fly can often reward one with experiences that They otherwise wouldn’t have experienced if one had stuck to a concrete plan.

Packing for this trip was extensive. We knew that we wanted to do a wide range of activities on this trip- wheeling, hiking, rock climbing, reading, photography, so the desire to cater to a wide range of movements in combination to it being a week long trip led to a big few days of packing/ organizing. On top of getting the truck ready for a trip in which we knew would have 150 give or take miles off road, getting supplies for the trip, we also made an effort to go through all of our individual camp bins and organize them in a way that better designated each bin to the category that it pertained to.

I think I can safely say that we both love exploring Utah. Utah has SO much to offer. This trip was our most extended trip so far; due to our schedules, we have to, unfortunately, keep them shorter typically. It did not disappoint. We headed out to St. George, Utah, then camped in (the surrounding area). We stayed here for two nights using the area as a base camp to quickly access Zion national park. It was great to have some time to get used to the new area in which we would spend the majority of this trip in. We had time to reflect upon the natural colors that paint this landscape like a canvas. The bright oranges, reds, and browns really bring this desert scene to life. The juniper trees, the cacti, and other desert flora that inhabit this area sparkle with life and create a truly alive atmosphere. If you find yourself camping and exploring in Utah, make sure you make it a point to enjoy some sunrises and sunsets. Both the inception and closure of the days in this desert landscape are truly remarkable. The stillness coupled with the fleeting silence as the area slowly rises to life with the sun is something not to be taken for granted. The day begins with the surrounding peaks and mesas being kissed by sunlight, and as the rays slowly make their way down to surface level, the warmth and energy that begins to emit from the area is invigorating. Conversely, the dusk of the day is the ideal way to bookend a hopefully amazing period of exploration. We were fortunately able to sit down and enjoy the closure of each and every day on this trip. It allowed us time not only to develop a voluminous sense of gratitude to be outside in the areas that we were in, but it allowed us time to reflect on what we had done during the day. As the last bits of vibrant orange slowly yet fleetingly slid up the mountains like rising blinds, we were blessed with great conversation that being outdoors so often produces.

Cold morning scenes- note the frost covering the truck

On our first hike, we ended up doing Petroglyph Pools to Slot Canyon, a 1.1-mile hike that leads to several pools, and about .5 to the left; you will see petroglyphs behind a wooden fence. We may have made a few too many wrong turns, but it made it into a fun detour. The second hike we did was the Emerald Pools Trail in Zion. This hike, you can go to the lower falls, which would be a 1.4-mile hike, or do the whole 3.0-mile hike that leads you to the middle and upper falls and pools. There was still snow and ice on the trail, so we ended up having to take the Grotto Trail back to the truck to make it a complete loop. The Grotto Trail added an extra 1.2 miles if you're looking for a longer yet moderate hike. Our final hike, the grand finale, was Angels Landing. Angels Landing is a 4.4-mile hike that is not for those afraid of heights. It is also all uphill until you're coming back down. It, however, is a rad hike and well worth it all. I would say try and go during the off-seasons because National Parks get extremely busy during the summertime, and you do not want to be on this narrow path with lots of people. Starting April 2022, you have to have a permit for Angels landing.

Hike recommendations in Zion National Park-

Petroglyph Pools to Slot Canyon - 1.1 miles easy
Emerald Pools Trail - 3.0 easy
Emerald Pools Trail + Grotto Trail - 4.2 easy
Angels Landing - 4.4 miles moderate/hard

We were on the complete opposite side of the road on which we should have been here- at least the view was worth it

Charlie Enjoying the narrow canyons that this area has to offer

The river that runs through Zion is truly beautiful

We woke up the following morning and enjoyed having a slow pace to start the day. We had plans to meet our friend Luke late in the morning, so we had some time to hangout and have some amazing pancakes. Our new favorite pancake mix is made from Simply Elizabeth, and we highly encourage you guys to try some of the mix. It’s all no sugar added, super easy to make while out camping, and lastly, delicious. We left the mesa that we were camping on and headed down into the town of Springdale to top up on supplies because we knew for the next few days we would solely be off road with no opportunity to replenish anything.

We met Luke at a gas station on the way to the start of our 150-mile-off road route. After some hugs and conversation about his 4 AM start to the day, we headed off with a sense of excitement that adventure inevitably brings. After driving a few hours, we finally made it to dirt, and the true start of our route. We aired down, and after another almost two hours of driving on the trail, we made it to camp. Oftentimes when doing big driving stints, the day runs away from you like a desert hare. This day was a big day of driving (especially for Luke, who logged nearly 11 hours of driving that day). With that being said, we still arrived in camp with multiple hours of daylight left that allowed us to settle in and have repeated conversation about how special of a campsite this was. We spent the remaining areas of the day taking in the scenery, exploring around camp like little children, and setting up. This was a truly blissful afternoon and an awesome way to start the leg of the trip that we would be together with Luke.

We woke up the preceding morning to a one of a kind sunrise. The start to this day was one of the mornings that will forever be in our mind bank marking a true highlight of our travels. It was so unfathomably blissful waking up to the sunrise and lazily watching the orange glow envelope the habitat that we were occupying. Sitting there drinking yummy coffee we watched this landscape explode into life around us. We spent the morning hanging out, sharing experiences, ideas, and discussing the plans for the next few days. This camp spot we found is hands down the most surreal spot. When overlanding and camping in general, it is so fun to experience so many different sceneries in such a short amount of time. The area we were in on that morning would be very different from the area we would camp in the night! After a few hours spent bouldering on some rocks we saw on the way in, we started the trail to find our next campsite.

The driving stint of this day was a long one. It was almost five hours total spent driving, and while we love to spend as much time off roading as possible, it does take a lot out of you being locked in for that long. Near the end of the day we were excited at the idea of being in camp shortly. We had one last trail to get down that marked our campsite and some dinosaur tracks to inspect. This last trail descended down into a canyon like a sweeping sidewinder and the scenery drastically changed around us. It was clear that this trail weaved its way through a fairly active riverbed. As we dropped in elevation and as we crunched our way over snow patches and boggy mud sections, the unspoken aura within the group was that this trail was more than likely going to be impassable to our end destination. While in the valley, we ended up getting out of the truck for a minute and it was so gorgeous down there, the flash flood that had gone through prior had frozen over in most areas and it was a giant half frozen river. We ended up having to turn back because we were not trying to see how deep this frozen river could potentially be, that is not a battle we wanted to lose. If you’re familiar with camping, road trips, etc. sometimes things don’t go according to plan but it is a part of the journey and it will be a good story someday!

This is where we unfortunately were forced to turn around -note the iceskating rink river

It was super cool to check out this canyon while it lasted!

As Charlie and Luke’s tempers began to be susceptible to the increasingly long day, we initiated the task of backtracking our efforts to the T in the road that would allow us to head back to civilization the following day. This passage of the day was one of those periods during a trip that is your classic type 2 fun. As the boys navigated their way on this trail racing the sunset to camp, with every turn, the ever fleeting hope of a campsite seemed to keep escaping. As we continued to drive, the road conditions deteriorated, and the freeze thaw sections of the trail had finally warmed enough from the day to become extremely muddy before freezing again in just a few hours. We finally found a secluded campsite just off the road nestled in a tight knit group of juniper trees. We quickly set up camp, got a fire going, and sat down to eat dinner just as the last bits of orange light that since entering Utah we had become entranced with finished their last kisses on the surrounding peaks. We nestled into our camp chairs and set about getting as close to the fire as possible as the temperature swiftly dropped. As the conversation flowed and the fire danced for us, Luke brought out his copy of Everett Ruess’ “Vagabond for Beauty”, and from this book he read to us the passages from which the young Everett wrote when he rambled through the same uninhabited areas in which we were currently in nearly a century before. We were unaware of the story of Everett Ruess prior to this trip, but his story is very interesting. During his short 20-year-old life, he became obsessed with the natural wonders of the American west, and dedicated the end portion of his life to exploring these areas with his pack of donkeys, writing his adventures and observations down as he traveled. He disappeared in 1934 while traveling through the same area of Utah that we were currently exploring, and to this day, no one knows exactly what happened to him. It was fascinating to think about Everett’s story and relate his words from his time period to the trip that we were currently on; comparing and contrasting ideas, thoughts, and observations. One of the coolest parts of having a built off road vehicle is that it allows you to get to places that are off-the-beaten path, which in result, are able to maintain a level of natural state. It’s a privilege to be able to see these landscapes relatively untouched since creation, and as stewards of the land, it’s our responsibility to make sure we limit our impacts on these landscapes as much as possible to ensure they stay the way they were intended to be.

As our thoughts drifted off and the temperature continued to cascade, we retreated to the warmth and comfort of our down quilt palace aka the GFC. As we lay snuggled in our Hoverquilt from Aeronaut Outdoor, welcoming the warmth it was bringing to us, we reflected on a challenging, yet blissful day that hard work always results in, we fell asleep with a sense of building gratitude for the life that we live, the playground that God has laid our for us to explore, and the opportunity to share these experiences with truly amazing people.

The following morning started with the beam of a headlamp and lantern allowing the crucial aeropress routine. After brewing two cups for the two of us and enjoying them in the comfort of our bed while waiting for the sun to bring the crisp morning air out of the teens, we set about packing down camp. A little while later and after packing down and having some morning oats, we set off on the trail to the end of our route. This final sector of our route was a truly amazing one. We got to experience so many different stages of geography in two hours of driving. From winding canyon scenes, to abandoned mining sites, countless horse stables, sheer granite cliffs, and beautiful mountainous plains, it was a very fruitful run. After reaching the main highway and airing up our tires, we made the trip back towards the Zion area. We enjoyed driving all the way through the park and once again getting the opportunity to marvel at this beautiful canvas of a national park. After gathering some necessary supplies in town, Luke took us out to a campsite that he knew of, and we enjoyed one of the nicest afternoons of the trip. We arrived with many hours of light left, and the sandstone campsite that we found ourselves on provided a very warm platform to lazily hangout for the day. We spent the remaining hours of the day cleaning/organizing from the past few days, taking camp showers, drinking coffee, reading, watching the slackliners nearby play on their line towering hundreds of feet over the canyon floor, and generally just soaking in the current day and the previous days before. We closed out yet another day with the perfect ending of a fire and a beautiful sunset. As we put out the fire, we said our good-byes to Luke, who would be heading back home extremely early that following morning.

starting a new book while the afternoon fades away

As we woke up in the morning Luke was long gone and we had a quiet start to the morning. We made our favorite camp breakfast to date. Purely Elizabeth pancake mix with hemp and chia seeds, blueberries, bananas and you cannot forget the RX vanilla almond butter on top. This was our third day making pancakes for breakfast. Hot, delicious pancakes with a spectacular view are unmatched. After we packed up, it was time for a long hike. We headed back into Zion national park, but first we needed to have a pit stop at a great coffee shop located right outside Zion, FeelLove Coffee. Heading into the park, surprisingly, wasn't too busy. We parked the truck and hopped out heading to the trailhead for the Grotto Trail which then led us up miles of switchbacks. The trail was the beginning of Angels landing, the iconic Angels Landing. Once you finish the steep switchbacks that just keep going up and up, you first pass through a small section where you have to be silent because of the Mexican Owls that are sleeping within the area. Once we kept hiking up the never ending switchbacks we encountered ice on the trail. It is so different from hiking and exploring national parks in the winter time. As we maneuvered past the ice with neither of us slipping on it we made it to the beginning of the chains on Angels landing. We discussed if we wanted to do the hike or not and we both made a deal that if either of us had any unsure thoughts of the hike, the heights, or the people we would turn back. We admired this hike from the bottom, in disbelief that this was a hike. Then we packed up our hiking poles and Charlie led the way up. The first portion was unreal, you’re on the end of the cliff of red rock with waves in it with one chain on one side and a steep ledge on the other. After the first portion of the hike we stopped at what we thought was the top. We pivoted and realized that we had only gone about .5 and had another .5 to go, but the next .5 was a straight up narrow trail with steep ledges on not just one but both sides now. We kind of gave each other a look because we weren’t sure if it was going to be extremely icy and we didn’t have spikes. After we stood at this point for another ten minutes we made the decision to just go slow and steady and make our way up. Thankfully there wasn’t too much foot traffic, so in terms of waiting for people to pass us and let us pass it was minimal. On the trail we ran into some ice, but if you’re aware of it and stayed on the non-icy portion it was just fine. The trek kept going up and up until we finally hit the real top of Angels Landing. Let me tell you, you feel like you’re on top of the world. It was a 360 view of Zion National park and the Virgin River that has caused the erosion and continues to carve and shape Zion. At the tippy top, we enjoyed lunch before heading down. During lunchtime we were accompanied by furry friends, chipmunks. It was getting later in the day and so we didn’t stay up at the top for too long. As we made our journey back down, the chains were easier going down than up. We got stuck at one point because of people coming up while we were headed down. Once we got to the switchbacks we hustled down them. It felt like a race against ourselves. Finally making it back to the truck, both sweaty and hungry we drove back into town stopping to grab a bite to eat so there were less dishes to do that night. Devouring a delicious pizza and getting wraps for dinner was an excellent decision. Another great decision we made of the day was getting a hot shower. Feeling refreshed we headed back to camp stopping for firewood on the side of the road for our last night at camp. As the moon rose above the mesa behind us and the sunsetting in front of us, the colors were so bright and vibrant, and changing within the minutes we enjoyed our last meal around the fire. This night was so quiet and what felt like just the two of us at our camp spot made it a perfect way to end the day.

The morning routine aided by the comfort of a hoverquilt

One could look at these views for a lifetime

Breanne on her way up to angels landing.

As we headed home from probably the most fruitful trip we’ve had to date, there was an overwhelming sense of simple gratitude. Gratitude for the life that God has blessed us with. Gratitude to have gotten the time to go explore such a unique, untouched, and raw place of the southwest. Gratitude just to simply be engrossed with a sense of adventure for the previous six days. It would be quite some time before the fullness of this trip would settle in, but as the miles back to home slowly reduced, we drove that Gray Tacoma home content. The vibrancy of Utah filled us up with an exuberance of happiness and refreshed us to return to our lives waiting for us at home. The endless expansion of the highway allowed us a time to reflect internally and provided a perfect contrast to the busyness that inevitably ensues back in the normal routine of life.

Sierras

Open Trails Open Minds