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The Gulch 2010 – Day 6

Synopsis: Rest day. September 15, 2010.

This day would be a day of rest. We hung out in camp and relaxed/read/etc.; a few of us took short walks to see the sights near camp.

It was around this time that we realized how dramatically the temperature was changing over the course of each day. This day I made note of it; we woke up to 45 degrees and it maxed out at roughly 95 in the afternoon.

Pete adds: “Thank God for a rest day,” says the atheist. I needed it, and it seems everyone else needed a lighter day. I was feeling less sore in the morning, but definitely wasn’t up for much.

After a leisurely breakfast, Ben and I climbed up the hill overlooking camp for some views.

The Gulch upstream of camp. The meadow at the lower left is a dirt ridge that separates Sleepy Hollow from The Gulch for a few hundred yards above their confluence.

Photo by Ben Miller.
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The Gulch in the neighborhood of camp, which is in the rightmost corner of the trees in the canyon bottom.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Ben photographing.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Brigham Tea Bench and the mesa we circumnavigated beyond.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Me photographing the mesa above Sleepy Hollow.

Photo by Ben Miller.
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Looking upstream along The Gulch.

Photo by Ben Miller.
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Trees under which we’re camped.

Photo by Ben Miller.
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After lunch, Ben went across the canyon to the sunset viewing area and explored around a bit.

Fore to background: The Gulch around camp, Brigham Tea Bench, and the circumnavigable mesa.

Photo by Ben Miller.
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Holes worn in the rock.

Photo by Ben Miller.
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Eventually, I packed up and went for a short solo walk as well. I had seen on the map a local high point about a mile north of camp and 400 feet up; it looked like it would make for a nice little climb and a fine view.

Above the rim of the canyon, heading towards the hill I planned to climb (visible on the skyline).

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Prickly pear cactus in a small sand dune.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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The hill was indeed a nice little climb and a fine view.

Flats above The Gulch, whose cliffs are visible in the distance. Boulder Mountain is visible on the skyline.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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The entrance to Sleepy Hollow and the crack Ben explored on the first day.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Looking back towards The Gulch. The cottonwoods coming in from the left mark the side canyon we explored on Day 3. Beyond is Brigham Tea Bench and the cliffs on the far side of the Escalante River.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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I spent a few minutes on top of the hill and then headed for home.

Pinyon tree and some rocks on the flat above The Gulch.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Bee or wasp nest that Ben had found in the woods across from camp.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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More purple flowers.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Our camp from across the stream.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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There was then more relaxing and then dinner. After dinner we went across the canyon and climbed up out of the canyon to see some views and some stars.

Juniper tree after sunset.

Photo by Reid Priedhorsky.
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Me, Erin, Ben, and Russ on the summit we climbed for our night hike.

Photo by Pete Wiringa.
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Russ adds: Stargazing was a highlight of trip for me. Amazing that there were no lights/human activity as far as you could see on the horizon (dozens and dozens of miles). Wish we had a star chart to ID all the constellations, but we did a pretty good job with our collective knowledge.

Please continue reading on Day 7.

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