HIKING IN SNOW CANYON STATE PARK

She did not entirely approve of volcano's; their
action, she implied, was disruptive like the
tantrum of a child. Rivers that overflowed their
banks were rather silly. The grandeur of mountain
ranges and the fertility of valleys she spoke with
respect. Her tone, when she described a plateau,
was almost affectionate.
from: Good Morning Miss Dove
by: Frances Gray Patton

We have a geological wonder in our backyard.
Snow Canyon State Park is the said wonder.
I'd wager that most residents of our community have never wandered the many trails that can be found there.
The Park is made up of white and red Navajo sandstone.
3 times in the last couple of million years, lava flows have seeped through its deep canyons. Because of these ancient magmatic events, the lava flows in Snow Canyon happens to be a perfect example of something called inverted topography.
What is inverted topography you ask??
Well, as I understand it, it happens when older rock sits above younger rock.
How does this happen you ask??

In a nutshell, it goes like this:
1.4 million years ago the first lava flow began. Lava erupted from vents and cinder cones that are prevalent in this area.
1.1 million years ago, another flow came through the park region and this time the lava came from/near Pine Valley Mountain.

20,000 years ago, the Santa Clara flow came through and blanketed the park with another layer of lava. THis flow came from additional vents and fissures that are nearby. This last flow went south through the canyon and covered the canyon floor.

The beautiful Navajo sandstone that protrudes from this basaltic flow, which we take every opportunity to climb, are called turtlebacks!! Love that!!! These turtlebacks are all thats left of the high ridges of the canyon that the lava flow around.

So...if I havent confused you completely...maybe this diagram will help illustrate what I had difficulty using words to describe.

(image from a great book- Geology Underfoot in Southern Utah by Richard Orudorff)

Slots Hike Revisited!!!

"I love the grim gaunt edges of the rocks,
the great bare backbone of the Earth, rough
brows and heaved-up shoulders, round ribs and
knees of the world's skeleton protruded
in lonely places."

from: Heart of the Desert Wild
by: Maynard Dixon

click on the above photo to get a better view of the Indian petroglyphs in the background.

As Im bracing myself for the onslaught of winter....Im happy to revisit these pictures of our glorious spring!! It helps to keep in mind that the winters here in sunny Southern Utah are short, very short in comparison to winters elsewhere!!!
I believe we have seen the last of the lizards for this season. They have burrowed down deep for a short winters nap.
Remember when I promised myself that I would take a geology class....
I think it may be time!!!
I never grow tired of speculating on just what geological upheaval caused this sandstone to be so beautiful!! Every hike shows off a variety of sandstone wonder!!
I've contemplated creating my own book for wildflower recogniction. All the books I have seen thus far have no concept of perspective. There are dozens and dozens of yellow flowers that grace this desert....but they range in size from a respectable sunflower, down to a speck of yellow, with barely decerable petals. A finger, a sandle or a coin would help so much in determining which flower you have the good fortune of gazing upon. Maybe someday.....

Keens Sandals Win Again!!!

Work consists of whatever a body is
obliged to do, and Play consists of
whatever a body is not obliged to do.
from: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by: Mark Twain

While hiking up a rocky trail the other day, I got to thinking about blisters.
Which comes first....a foot fetish and thus good feet?
or
Good feet...then a foot fetish to be sure the goodness lasts!?
Not sure of the answer...Im just so grateful that I have never been plagued with a blister problem.
A blister is usually caused by friction or rubbing of the skin.
The trick is reducing friction.
Here's what I have learned.
Prevention is the best medicine.
Here's some great ideas.

Blisters on the feet can be prevented by wearing comfortable, well-fitting shoes and clean socks.

Moisture wicking socks made from synthetic blends can help reduce friction and moisture on the skin of your precious feet.

Some people choose to wear two layers of socks (or a sock that is made with double layers) to aid in blister prevention.

When hiking carry a spare pair of socks. Change during your walk if your feet become sweaty or wet.

Watch for 'hot-spots' Take care of hot spots. Tape them, bandage them, change socks, change shoes.

Trusty Duct tape solves many ills- believe it or not- and the shiny back is slick enough to slide on socks and other skin. One other option is to apply petroleum jelly or talcum power before hiking to reduce friction.

Stay hydrated - Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration. Among other things, staying well hydrated will help prevent a myriad of ailments plus allowing you to perspire freely. When you stop perspiring your sweat will form salt crystals on your body increasing friction.

Everyone that knows me, know that I hike in KEENS. I LOVE Keens!! Keens have never let me down or disappointed me while hiking!!!

But if you cant be persuaded to wear Keens, pay heed to these tips for buying good hiking shoes.

Remember the following when you shop:

• Shop during the middle of the day. Your feet swell throughout the day, so a midday fitting will probably give you the best fit.

• Wear the same socks you'll wear when hiking, or bring them with you to the store.

• Measure your feet. Shoe sizes change throughout adulthood.

• Measure both feet and try on both shoes. If your feet differ in size, buy the larger size.

• Go for flexible, but supportive, shoes with cushioned insoles.

• Leave toe room. Be sure that you can comfortably wiggle your toes.

• Avoid shoes with seams in the toe box, which may irritate bunions or hammertoes.

Recommended Products

Blister Blocks, Second Skin and Spyroflex - If you have specific places that are prone to blisters you might try applying one of these prior to your walk. Note: most of the products listed here can be found at your local drug store. Look in the foot care, and shoe care areas, if they are not located with first aid products.

These items can be used as a preventative, or to provide cushion and protection after a blister has formed.

Band Aid brand Blister Blocks - This is a great product. Runners use blister blocks on their heels during long distance training. They are like a thick rubbery extra skin you apply to problem areas. It cushions and protects. They even stay on in the rain.

Spenco Second Skin - Soothing hydrogel dressing for blisters. Should be held in place with adhesive knit tape.

Spyroflex Wound Dressing - Use as both a preventative treatment against blisters, etc., or as a protection over a blister, cut, abrasion or other wound. Both of these products were recommended by ultra marathon runners.

Some hikers will apply tincture of benzoin to skin every day for a few weeks in order to toughen sensitive areas. Tincture of benzoin can be found at your local pharmacy. It is not prescription, but it is usually kept behind the counter or they may have to order it for you.

Of course others will suggest that softer feet are less likely to blister. Thats my theroy anyway...thus the foot fetish. I keep my feet soft by applying a moisturizer daily,or if Im lucky, my dear hubby will apply it for me!!!!
Body Glide- many hikers swear by it!! Its a great lubricant

Should you still get a blister, and its too painful to walk with, you may have to try the following treatment.

If the blister isn't too painful, do everything possible to keep it intact. Unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to bacteria and decreases the risk of infection. Cover a small blister with an adhesive bandage, and cover a large one with a porous, plastic-coated gauze pad that absorbs moisture and allows the wound to breathe.

Use the following steps to minimize the chance of infection. Small blisters can usually be taken care of without puncturing. Leave intact and use only steps. 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10. (Diabetics should always seek medical attention for blisters).

1. Wash your hands with disinfectant soap and water.
2. Put on latex gloves.
3. Clean the blister and surrounding area using a disinfectant soap or solution.
4. Sterilize the tip of a needle by soaking it for at least three minutes in a disinfectant solution or heating it until it glows red, then cools.
5. Make a small puncture at the base of the blister. Leave the roof of the blister attached so it can continue to protect the skin.
6. Use a gloved finger to gently push the fluid out.
7. Apply antibiotic ointment to a piece of gauze and cover the wound. Avoid drying products such as alcohol.
8. Cut a hole the size of the blister in a piece of moleskin.
9. Cover the blister with the moleskin so that the blister rests in the middle of the hole and the adhesive sticks to the skin around the blister.
10. Replace the bandage daily and check for signs of infection: heat, pain and swelling on or around the blister, pus, red streaks radiating from the blister, or fever.

Happy Trails one and All!!!

Keep enjoying the gathering of coral dust between your toes!!

Just be careful and mindful of those lovely feet!!!!

Hiking the Gila Trail!!!

To the eye prejudiced by the soft blues
and gray of a familiar Eastern United
States or European district, this immense
prodigality of color is startling, perhaps
painful; it seems to the inflexible mind
unwarranted, immodest, as if Nature had
stripped and posed nude, unblushing before
humanity.
from: A Century of Sanctuary
by: Fredrick S. Dellenbaugh

With the Stroke of a Pen

Zion National Park was born a hundred years ago this summer

By Lyman Hafen

A hundred years ago this summer President William Howard Taft was just getting his feet wet as chief executive of the United States. He’d gotten off to a rough start when his inauguration just a few months earlier had to be moved inside the Capitol to escape a blinding snow storm. Meanwhile, the immediate past president, Theodore Roosevelt, was off on safari in Africa, a trip underwritten by Scribner’s Magazine and the Smithsonian Institution. Robert Peary had just completed his epic journey to the North Pole, and Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, had just become the first woman to drive across the United States. With three female companions, none of whom could drive, she spent 59 days on the road in her Maxwell automobile traversing 3,800 miles from Manhattan to San Francisco. For many Americans it was probably not a summer to remember. But for those of us who hold a tender spot in our hearts for Zion National Park, it was a monumental time.

In his one term as president, Taft emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform, and strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission. He pushed for the 16^th Amendment, improved the performance of the postal service, and appointed six new justices to the Supreme Court. In the process, he managed to alienate enough of his key constituencies to assure his overwhelming defeat for a second term in the election of 1912. All in all, he was not a president much remembered a century later. And yet, for those of us who hold a tender spot in our hearts for Zion National Park, his presidency was monumental.

That’s because, on July 31, 1909, President William Howard Taft exercised his authority under the recently passed Antiquities Act. He signed an order declaring a place called Zion Canyon in southwestern Utah, Mukuntuweap National Monument. With the stroke of a pen he set aside for posterity the formidable towers of stone that stand sentinel above the Virgin River—the place we know and love today as Zion National Park. The monument’s original name “Mukuntuweap” was the name the canyon had been known by for centuries. According to a September 1872 report by Major John Wesley Powell, the Southern Paiute people who lived along the Pa’rus (the river now known as the Virgin) called the canyon Mukuntuweap, meaning “straight canyon.” There are other theories as to how to interpret the word Mukuntuweap, but regardless of what it means, it became the original name of the monument signed into law by President Taft.

During the years leading up to President Taft’s action, Americans had become more and more aware that such a place as Zion Canyon existed. The road to Zion was rough and few had actually seen the place, but an artist and writer named Frederick Dellenbaugh had opened many hearts and minds to the canyon’s grandeur with a series of paintings he exhibited in the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, and an article he published in Scribner’s Magazine in January of the same year. Indeed, the Scribner’s article introduced this “New Valley of Wonders,” to hundreds of thousands of Americans from sea to shining sea.

These and other efforts in the years leading up to 1909 played a crucial role in convincing the folks in Washington that a place called Zion Canyon was worth setting aside for posterity. For me, all it would have taken was one sentence from Frederick Dellenbaugh’s Scribner’s article. Upon confronting Zion’s great West Temple he wrote: “Niagara has the beauty of energy; the Grand Canyon, of immensity; the Yellowstone, of singularity; the Yosemite, of altitude; this Great Temple, of eternity…”

Note: Zion National Park Centennial events continue through 2009, with a special commemoration to be held July 31, celebrating President Taft’s monument proclamation. For more information go to: www.zionpark.org

reprinted here with the generous permission of the author-Lyman Hafen

A Man Hunt in Scotland!!

You can have extensive farming and
intensive farming; well, I am going to
have intensive living after this. Im
going to enjoy every second, and Im
going to KNOW Im enjoying it while
Im enjoying it.
from: Daddy-Long-Legs
by:Jean Webster

I'd like you to meet someone!!

This is Flora and she's a guest at the Ridge for the next few weeks.
Shes a dream guest.
She has a smile that will light up any room.
She has taken to our program- "hiking is fun!!!"
She loves life!!
She is full of youthful exuberance!!
And....she may be my newest hero!!!
You just gotta love women who takes their destiny into their own hands in hopes of making dreams and wishes come true!!
First I have Lynley, my sweet cousin, who left the southern comfort of her home and her family and friends. She left the lush greenness and humidity of the south for our hot, dry, red rock tundra, without nary a soul of acquaintance!! (except us)
And now I've spent some time with sweet Flora, and heard her story.
Its worth sharing.
Here we have a 30something girl who had an epiphany of sorts. She has come to realize that sitting in a high rise office for 62 hours a week, just wasnt getting her what she wants the most.
And what does she want the most you ask????
TRUE LOVE AND FAMILY!!!
Eastern Canada has been her home, and the man of her dreams didnt manifest himself there...so she has decided to go where her "ideal" man may be. Shes doing her best to stack the cards in her favor.
Flora will soon be casting off to distant lands, where the men are red-headed, freckled,and tall and handsome!! This dear woman has quit her job- bought a one-way ticket to the bonny land of Scotland where she has already landed a waitressing job-"what better way to actually meet people!?"
She's taking a month to be with us at the Ridge, "to kick her butt into shape and to do some "me" time." She signed up for a significant duration of intense physical activity...for herself!! I think shes already learned to love hiking!!
So I suppose....
Im not ashamed to admit that I'm am a little envious. The adventures of youth havent lost their appeal. Traveling, change, and the unknown are all things that have appealed to me!! This beautiful young lady has the world at her feet. Shes taking control, and not resolved to just complaining about what's not right in her life. Shes got Girl Power, and is doing something about it!! I feel certain that all of my 'girly' readers will be wishing her the very best in her new adventure. Some of us will even be jealous....
YOU GO DEAR GIRL!!!
May the red-heads stand up and take notice!!!

Stay tuned for the 'Adventures of Lynley' as well!!

(I'll need to be sure to recommend THIS movie to Flora before she goes!! And this fabulously entertaining PBS mini-series called Monarch of the Glen!!! So fun!!)

Do you have a favorite red-head?

HIKING AT SAND MOUNTAIN

If the desert is holy, it is because
it is a forgotten place that allows
us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that
is why every pilgrimage to the desert
is a pilgrimage to the self. There
is no place to hide, and so we are found.
from: Refuge
by: Terry Tempest Williams

Its been over 2 years since I've had the opportunity to hike in the deep, delicious sand at a place we lovingly call "Sand Mountain."
It was my chance in introduce its beauty to my son and and to dear friends and new owners of Desert Cliffs Resort and Spa!!
I strapped on my beloved hiking sandals and waited in sweet anticipation to get moving. I felt confident that the trail would look familiar and be all that I remembered it to be.
The first half of the hike went well. I got us easily down to the green, vibrant Virgin River. This is the only hike in our repertoire that involves flowing water!! There's something special about a river flowing through a desert!!
But then....to find my way back....was another matter. We were never lost per say....but I came out somewhere wholly unexpected!!! What does this mean??
I get to go back and do it again!!! Before I attempt to take a guest out there...I have to be sure!!
Shucks!!! I'm gunna do it again!!! Wanna come??!!

Hiking shoes required!!
Coral dust inevitable!!

Zion Park In the Rain!!!

The Utah deserts and plateaus and canyons
are not a country of big returns, but a
country of spiritual healing, incomparable
for contemplation, meditation, solitude,
quiet, awe, peace of mind and body. We were
born of wilderness and we respond to it more
than we sometimes realize. We depend upon it
increasingly for relief from the termite life
we have created!
from:Heart of the Desert Wild
quote by: Wallace Stegner

Nick introduced us to the hike known as "Many Pools"

The weather was unusual-and helped to fill some pools that had dried out in the heat of the summer.

We stumbled upon some Indian paraphernalia that had been left behind after some sort of ceremony had been preformed the evening before. Interesting. Wish I could have been a fly on that wall.

The power of wind and rain, water and ice-evident everywhere one looks in our glorious Park.

see....MANY pools!!!!

Sprinkle a little water...on a hot thirsty desert...voila!!!! Flowers!!!

Oh the tenacity of a cedar tree!!! Holding on for dear life!!! Or is that a pinon pine!!?

Hiking the trails with good buddies from around the country....makes life all the better!!!

Lookie that....Im not the only crazy that loves hiking sandals!!!

Pine Creek Canyon....never will see the likes of me!!! Its a safe bet!

Wet, red, coral dust is fine by me!!!