Lower Calf Creek Falls

3/26/07

I was concerned as I planned my trip with hiking in country where I had no experience hiking. I read a book about desert travel which only made my concerns grow. You see, I'm a northwest girl where finding your way is a matter of following the trail through the trees and knowing where you are by the look of the trees. In Utah, I would not have these benefits, in fact the trail may just be a route marked with cairns. I would certainly need all my route finding skills. But my skills were developed here at home. Did I mention I would be pushing the limits of my comfort zone? Cactus, scorpions, rattlesnakes, flash floods, deserts.

I felt comfortable hiking in Capitol Reef - the trail was short and I was never really alone. Someone was always nearby. Lower Calf Creek Falls was another story. The hike - just over 6 miles round trip with a negligible elevation change - was certainly manageable. However, I was the first on the trail and, it being a weekday, didn't have high hopes that a crowd would soon follow. I signed in at the trailhead, grabbed the trail guide and started out following the sandy trail.

Much to my relief, the trail was easy to follow through the loose sand. My trail guide stated that the best watermelons in Boulder were grown in the sands around the creek, sadly there was no evidence of this endeavour. More historical agricultural activity was noticed later as I passed fencing for frontier calf pens.

As the trail climbed over rocks so did the cairns and I dutifully followed. Passing a side canyon, I heard a wild turkey call. Spooked me a bit as I had just been thinking these rocks surrounding me would be perfect for mountain lions to ambush me. Luckily, no cougars were seen, neither did I see the turkey, saw his prints on the trail along with lizard tracks and a few dog prints.

The canyon narrowed slightly and I was soon struck by how close the waterfall seemed - and that it seemed to be coming from across the creek where no water fell. The echoes, would I get used to those? In a land where sound in dampened by the thickness of the moss, I don't experience wilderness echoes as I had here. Within no time, I was at a pool, standing across from the waterfall as it cascades over the mossy rock. I am so used to moss that I was surprised it stood out so much to me here. But moss in an area known to me as dry was a bit of a surprise. That and the richness of the green contrasted with the yellow of the surrounding rock.

It wasn't until I reached the side canyon of the turkey that I met my first hikers on the way to the falls. I returned to my tent without incident, packed up and went on my way proud that I had made it through my first significant hike in the southwest.