Backpacking...Southern Utah - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Quisqueyano · 03-13-2008, 09:06 PM

I need help planning a trip. My son is 10 years old and in great physical shape. I want to take him backpacking for the first time in the next couple of months. I want it to be an experience that blows him away and really gets him excited about outdoor activities. But I don't want it to be too rigorous that he hates me forever. So I need suggestions for a good 3 to 4 day trip in Southern Utah. I have never backpacked there so I have no idea where to go.

il Padrino Ute · 03-13-2008, 09:14 PM

Boulder Mountain. Specifically, Calf Creek. The upper and lower falls are easy enough hikes and it is beautiful there.

And the drive between Torrey and Escalante along SR 12 is something that both you and your boy will never forget.

ERCougar · 03-14-2008, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Boulder Mountain. Specifically, Calf Creek. The upper and lower falls are easy enough hikes and it is beautiful there.

And the drive between Torrey and Escalante along SR 12 is something that both you and your boy will never forget.

I'll second Calf Creek here.

Quisqueyano · 03-14-2008, 02:49 PM

Sounds great. How do I find the trail head?

Jeff Lebowski · 03-14-2008, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quisqueyano

Sounds great. How do I find the trail head?

Drive to Torrey and just past Torrey you will take the Boulder Mt turnoff. Drive over the mountain (stop and enjoy the scenery on the way, it is breath-taking) and you will end up in the town of Boulder. Take the road that goes out of the SouthWest corner of town (the main highway). In a few miles, you will be on a narrow backbone with a steep drop on both sides. The canyon below to your right (west) is Calf Creek. The road will drop into the canyon and you will see the parking lot at the trailhead. You can't miss it.

You won't be doing any camping in Calf Creek. It is just a fun hike. It is three miles each way. Wear your swimsuit under your clothes of just be prepared to get wet. You will want to take a swim in the pool at the base of the falls.

bigpiney · 03-14-2008, 03:27 PM

If you are going to be down in the Calf Creek area, you should make a trip and go see Peekaboo Caynon and Spooky Gulch.

http://www.utah.com/multimedia/movies/spooky_gulch.htm

Jeff Lebowski · 03-14-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigpiney

If you are going to be down in the Calf Creek area, you should make a trip and go see Peekaboo Caynon and Spooky Gulch.

http://www.utah.com/multimedia/movies/spooky_gulch.htm

Looks like it's part of Coyote Gulch. I haven't done Coyote yet, but I hear it is great.

http://www.americansouthwest.net/slo...ch/canyon.html

Say what you will about Utah, it is a wonderful place to live if you enjoy the outdoors.

il Padrino Ute · 03-14-2008, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Say what you will about Utah, it is a wonderful place to live if you enjoy the outdoors.

Yes it is. I would live in Escalante if I thought I could make a decent living there.

There is no place like Garfield County.

Levin · 03-16-2008, 12:51 AM

Since this is your first time hiking in Southern Utah, you may want to hit some of the better traveled places. I think a 10 year-old would get a thrill out of:

(1) Zion National Park
-Angel's Landing
-The Narrows, from the TOP to the BOTTOM, not the other way. It is a 13 mile hike, but not strenuous. You're in the water for about 9-10 miles of the hike. After seeing Zion canyon from the bottom, I found it amazing to see the Virgin river from the top, where it is just a creek among meadows, and then to follow it down as it carves its way through the red rock, the walls gradually getting higher and higher.
-The Subway -- an incredibly fun hike; swimming, jumping, ducking, climbing, etc. It has it all.

(2) Bryce
-For sheer beauty, this one's hard to beat. A few nice hikes in the canyon too.

il Padrino Ute · 03-16-2008, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Levin

Since this is your first time hiking in Southern Utah, you may want to hit some of the better traveled places. I think a 10 year-old would get a thrill out of:

(1) Zion National Park
-Angel's Landing
-The Narrows, from the TOP to the BOTTOM, not the other way. It is a 13 mile hike, but not strenuous. You're in the water for about 9-10 miles of the hike. After seeing Zion canyon from the bottom, I found it amazing to see the Virgin river from the top, where it is just a creek among meadows, and then to follow it down as it carves its way through the red rock, the walls gradually getting higher and higher.
-The Subway -- an incredibly fun hike; swimming, jumping, ducking, climbing, etc. It has it all.

(2) Bryce
-For sheer beauty, this one's hard to beat. A few nice hikes in the canyon too.

Good suggestions here, Levin.

03-13-2008, 09:06 PM	#1
Quisqueyano Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lehi Utah Posts: 320	Backpacking...Southern Utah I need help planning a trip. My son is 10 years old and in great physical shape. I want to take him backpacking for the first time in the next couple of months. I want it to be an experience that blows him away and really gets him excited about outdoor activities. But I don't want it to be too rigorous that he hates me forever. So I need suggestions for a good 3 to 4 day trip in Southern Utah. I have never backpacked there so I have no idea where to go.

03-13-2008, 09:14 PM	#2
il Padrino Ute Board Pinhead Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the basement of my house, Murray, Utah. Posts: 15,941	Boulder Mountain. Specifically, Calf Creek. The upper and lower falls are easy enough hikes and it is beautiful there. And the drive between Torrey and Escalante along SR 12 is something that both you and your boy will never forget. __________________ "The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it." - Chuck Shriver "This is now the joke that stupid people laugh at." - Christopher Hitchens on IQ jokes about GWB.

03-14-2008, 02:49 PM	#4
Quisqueyano Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lehi Utah Posts: 320	Sounds great. How do I find the trail head?

03-14-2008, 03:27 PM	#6
bigpiney Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Big Pine , CA Posts: 842	If you are going to be down in the Calf Creek area, you should make a trip and go see Peekaboo Caynon and Spooky Gulch. http://www.utah.com/multimedia/movies/spooky_gulch.htm

03-16-2008, 12:51 AM	#9
Levin Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,484	Since this is your first time hiking in Southern Utah, you may want to hit some of the better traveled places. I think a 10 year-old would get a thrill out of: (1) Zion National Park -Angel's Landing -The Narrows, from the TOP to the BOTTOM, not the other way. It is a 13 mile hike, but not strenuous. You're in the water for about 9-10 miles of the hike. After seeing Zion canyon from the bottom, I found it amazing to see the Virgin river from the top, where it is just a creek among meadows, and then to follow it down as it carves its way through the red rock, the walls gradually getting higher and higher. -The Subway -- an incredibly fun hike; swimming, jumping, ducking, climbing, etc. It has it all. (2) Bryce -For sheer beauty, this one's hard to beat. A few nice hikes in the canyon too.