©
Joe Berardi books are available at amazon.com
Day 4 (Feb 12)
My goal today was to hike Swett Creek Canyon that crosses
under a bridge at highway UT-276. Entry near the bridge looked too challenging for
me and I looked for an easier entry point by driving further south on the
highway. I noticed a single car pullout with foot prints heading perpendicular
from the road. According to my map Milk Creek wasn’t that far away and it is a
tributary to Swett Creek. I headed for Milk Creek and followed some foot prints
and found an occasional rock pile. The terrain was easy hiking on Slickrock and
through small sandy washes with a few small rolling hills along the way. At
Milk Creek there was a short but fairly sharp drop through the jagged Slickrock
into the creek. There were only 2 rock piles in the area, enough for me to find
an entry point but I was concerned about my return. The creek bed was loaded
with rocks varying from an inch to about 10 inches. These worn smooth grey
rocks were everywhere in the streambed and I bent over to grab one and it
didn’t move. I attempted to pick up another rock with the same result. These
weathered worn smooth grey rocks were partially submerged into the sandy creek
bed but most of the rock was sitting on top of the sand. After about four
attempts I decided to start kicking the rocks looking for loose ones. I finally
found some that would move and made two rock piles. The first one was on a two
foot high boulder in the creek bed and another on the red slick rock of the
jagged canyon wall that had to be climbed to get out. This second one had grey
rocks sitting on red rock making for a good color contrast that would be easily
seen on my return.
I started heading downstream (left) and realized several
things, first the ground was frozen solid causing the rocks not to move and I
wasn’t leaving any foot prints in the frozen sand. I soon learned that walking
on all of these small rocks was going to be tedious and a trip hazard where I
had to constantly watch where I was going to place my next step. Shortly after
hiking in the Milk Creek I came across a rather large boulder of about 10 to 15
feet filling most of the creek bed but easily walked around. I made a mental
note that this boulder was near the exit point and looking around it was the
only large boulder in site making it a unique landmark. I had my handheld Garmin
GPS unit and was marking waypoints but I wanted a backup plan. I was carrying
my Tamrac photo backpack that was fully loaded with food for several days, two
fluid containers (water, Gatorade), backcountry tools and a DSLR. I was also
carrying a mid-size tripod in its own carrying case. Although I was a little
light on the fluids the temperature was near freezing and I figured it should
be enough for an all day hike. I would have been carrying twice as much fluid
for a summer hike. I could see patches
of snow all around at the higher elevations.
I was ready for a long hike but wasn’t planning on going to
Lake Powell either which would take me
more than one day but I just wanted to get acquainted with the canyon and
return with some photos and GPS coordinates. I was carrying a second camera, a
point & shoot, an Olympus TG-830 and this was my first trip using it. This
camera cost about $200 but it has a special feature other than being a weather
proof camera, it has a GPS and tags the photo files with the GPS coordinates.
This is a great benefit of knowing where a photograph was taken but adds to the
complication of using so much equipment at the same time since the DSLR is
still being used. The creek had developed into a narrows as I continued hiking
and now I come across another large boulder of 10 to 15 feet with numerous 2 to
3 foot choke-stones clogging the path around it but still an easy obstacle to
get around. Milk Creek streambed continues to be littered with an infinite
number of small grey rocks making each step tedious. I’m kept busy taking
photos with 2 cameras and marking waypoints with 2 GPS devices. I got an early
start so I’m mostly walking in the shade with the sun partially hitting the
left (west) canyon wall. I finally decide to set up the tripod so I can make a
self-portrait of me hiking in the canyon. Even though I researched Swett Canyon
on the internet I try not to learn too much about other people’s hikes to
prevent bias. I want this to be a spontaneous adventure not an AAA trip tick.
As it is I already started the hike via Milk Creek which wasn’t in my original
plan. With my atlas and GPS I know exactly where I’m at so getting lost is not
an issue. I finally come to a fork in the canyon; going left will take me back
toward the highway but up Swett Creek instead or going right will follow Swett
Creek east toward Lake Powell.
I head east after verifying my bearings. Even
though I’m in another creek, the canyon walls and streambed pretty much looks
the same. There seems to be an infinite number of small grey rocks making the
hiking tiresome. Again I set up the tripod for another self-portrait but this
time it is in Swett Creek. This is a partially cloudy day and much of the time
I’m hiking in the shade either because of the direction of the canyon or the
clouds blocking the sun. This part of the canyon is constantly changing
directions. I hike through a distinct narrows but the nature of the canyon is
slowly changing into a much wider canyon with a wash running through it and
consuming a smaller amount of it rather than running from wall to wall. I come
across several small patches of snow and eventually attempt a snow break only
to find the snow frozen solid. Eventually I decide I’ve seen enough, take a
break and start heading back. Now I’m
thinking about the fork in the canyon and wondering if I could hike up Swett
back to the highway which would be shorter and find an exit point. I would walk
along the road to finish the hike to return back to the truck. I shoot more
photos along the way and make it back to the fork. I continue heading up Swett
to see what is there instead of returning the way I came.
The narrows continues
on for awhile when the canyon starts getting narrower and transitions into a
slot canyon. I’m getting really excited about the slot and set up the tripod
and start taking more photos with the DSLR and tripod. Even though this is a
sloping slot canyon the streambed channel has narrowed down to only a few feet
and the canyon walls made of smooth sandstone has good color. Eventually I come
to a choke-stone obstacle a little bigger than I can handle by myself. If I forced it I’m sure I could have overcome
it but I didn’t want to risk injury so I headed for the fork so I could return
the way I came. Between the large boulder near the exit point and the
contrasting color of the rock pile I made it easy for finding the exit point my
way back and I didn’t use the GPS on the way back. I like testing my
navigations skills and use the waypoints only when I have to. It was a great
hike and I was thrilled to hike the upstream part of Swett where the slot was a
hidden treasure.
I’ve dry camped for three nights and two days of hiking has
made me tired and ripe. I was ready for a motel and a shower and headed for
Hanksville. Although a very small town it is the only choice around for base
camp. I called my wife since we haven’t been in contact for a few days and she
did an internet search and I ended up at Whispering Sands Motel which had very
nice rooms with furniture and since it was off-season the rates were very
reasonable. I ate across the road at
Blondies restaurant and had a great hamburger with fries.
No comments:
Post a Comment