"Death or Agony"

We are going to have to change our plans (such as they were).  Utah is an amazing place, with so much to see and do, that we can't bear to leave too soon.  By way of example, we left Escalante last week, heading for Boulder (30 miles up the road) but didn't even get that far. We were waylaid by the temptation to visit Calf Creek Falls, entailing camping at the trailhead for a 7 mile walk up a delightful gorge alongside a little stream brimming with brook trout. It was very different from the mountain hikes of recent weeks and the girls couldn't believe there was no uphill section.

We rewarded ourselves with our first meal out back in the States - brunch at the Boulder Mesa Restaurant. This consisted of all the eggs, bacon and pancakes we could have wished for, together with excellent local travel advice.  Despite occasional snow showers, we followed the lady's suggestion to go down the Burr Trail, expecting to return after the tarmac ended and before the infamous 'switchbacks'.  However, we threw caution to the wind and we safely descended into the Waterpocket Fold to find ourselves, unexpectedly, in the Capitol Reef National Park. 

Most excitingly, we had our first glimpse of Mount Ellen (the highest of the Henry Mountains). Enjoying prevarications not possible on a short holiday, we holed up for the night in a lovely, if chilly, spot, probably 10 miles from any other living soul, whilst deciding whether to turn left or right!

The next morning, we decided definitely to go right... then left... then right again. We used to be decisive, but now we aren't so sure!  After finally plumping for the ferry crossing at Lake Powell, we found the out-of-season, lake-in-the-desert resort all too uncomfortable, and turned around - changing our minds one last time.

 

We spent a night with hot showers, etc in Moab, before heading off to the Canyonlands National Park. The highlight of our three days there was a long trek around the Syncline Loop, somewhat extended after some misleading cairns. The girls became quite excited at the prospect of an unplanned wilderness sleep-out... until we re-found the trail!

A little reluctantly, we left the expanses of Canyonlands for the nearby Arches National Park, one of the busiest in America. Despite applying the 100yds rule (90% of Park visitors never venture more than 100yds from their car) and choosing the longest possbile trail, we turned out to be never more than 100 yds from 90 screaming school kids!  Nevertheless, the scenery was pretty scenic...

All of this 'slickrock' gave us ample opportunity for scrambling, which both girls loved.  The title of this blog  arose when Francesca was walking along a narrow fin and looked down one side to find a 300ft drop. On seeing the mere 20ft on the other side, she sighed and declared "Well, its death or agony".  Thankfully there was no cause to find out, but some of the other hikers were a little perturbed!