This week, I was out trying to learn a little bit more about Nelson Mountain, with the ultimate goal of climbing to the rim. Unfortunately, the road to the lower slope wasn't suitable for driving. I had to walk instead. I used up my two-hour time allotment merely walking to the base of the mountain. I'll have to go back later when I have more time. (But probably in the winter because it is already too hot.)
There are a few places where The Homestead does a poor job of shedding snow, ice, and water. One of the worst locations is in the corner of the front porch. The run-off there tends to hit one of the living-room windows. Probably the simplest solution is to maintain the window every year or two. But, being lazy, I have left it for many years. Now it has reached the point where glue is required to repair the storm.
EDO will soon finish high school. Today, she asked me to make a few pictures for her graduation announcement. We went to one of our favorite side canyons in Bowery Creek and wandered up and down with the camera. This was perfectly normal. The only issue was that EDO's spring-like costume was somewhat out-of-step with the weather: Another winter storm. The snow was not deep, but it was chilly on bare toes.
On Thursday we were out driving around along the southern end of Capitol Reef between Bullfrog Creek and Halls Creek. We stopped on Big Thompson Mesa to walk along the rim of Halls Creek canyon, just on the edge of the park. Remarkably, we noticed a small weakness in the canyon wall with some hiking boot tracks going up and down. We stopped for a sandwich above the drop, and then decided to try it.
All three of us made it to Halls Creek. Given the lateness of the hour (2p) and the steepness of the climb, VSO turned back immediately. We figured it would take her at least an hour to reach the rim. With EDO, I explored some of the slickrock side canyons and water slides for about another 90 minutes. We turned back at 3:30p and made it to the Chev by 5p.
It is not impossible to have snow in the middle of April, or even in May. But, it has become unusual, especially to get six inches or more. As winters have become shorter, warmer, and drier in southern Utah, I have started to note that we often have temperatures near 80F in April. Not today. The overnight forecast is for temps in the teens, and we may even receive another batch of snow.
I don't know that the winter sports are finished for the year, but the conditions for scrambling in the canyons have suddenly turned favorable. Yesterday, EDO and I navigated up one of our favorite washes in Center Creek. There were several dry falls to climb. The first, above, contained a rotting ice block at the bottom. The second, below, required a Houdini move through a tangle of Rocky Mountain juniper and white fir.
