Vamoose Utah Feb/March 2019

VOL.5 NO.1• FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019

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Canyon Journeys

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SOUL SKIER MANIFESTO

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in Southern Utah February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 1

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February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 3

INSIDE

Experience the Canyons!

VAMOOSE

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019

SNOWBIRD

8 20

WEEKEND WARRIOR

RFINS

By Kathleen Curry and Geoff Griffin

CITY CREEKER

City Creek Canyon’s winterscape should not be missed

BRETTSHIPLEY

ANNA KASER

22

MAKING TRACKS AT MILLCREEK CANYON

DEREK EDWARDS

A canyon on the way to nowhere is a place for spirited fun

By Anna Kaser

WHY BE A SOUL SKIER?

18

28

By Chris Vanocur

As one of Ogden’s unsung sons, it’s time to give Bernard DeVoto his due.

By John Rasmuson

Only true powderhounds understand the need to chase their bliss

By Derek Edwards

26

CLIMB, SHIMMY, JUMP AND SLIDE Utah slot canyons deliver physical challenge and mental reverie

By Megan Walsh

32

BACKCOUNTRY CHEF

Rocket Fuel: Liquid refreshment to power your frosty fun

REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUCK

14

THE CHAMPION OF ECHO CANYON

DEREK EDWARDS

Canyon Hopping: Alpine delights across the chasms

By Jen Hill

ROAM WITH A VIEW

Around the Bend: Exploring Leprechaun Canyon

By Rebecca Chavez-Houck

4 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 5

VOL.5 NO.1 • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019

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STAFF PUBLISHER DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

EDITORIAL

John Saltas Pete Saltas

EDITOR COPY EDITOR PROOFREADER CONTRIBUTORS

Jerre Wroble Caitlin Hawker Ray Howze Kathleen Curry, Derek Edwards, Geoff Griffin, Jen Hill, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Anna Kaser, John Rasmuson, Chris Vanocur, Megan Walsh

PHOTOGRAPHER

Anna Kaser, Derek Edwards

PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR GRAPHIC ARTIST

BUSINESS/OFFICE

ASSOCIATE BUSINESS MANAGER OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & MARKETING

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Derek Edwards is a U of U graduate who enjoys skiing, kayaking, hiking and climbing around Utah with his partner, Liv, and Nora, their blue heeler. The dog stays home for the canyoneering and high-angle backcountry chute skiing, but Edwards hopes to get Nora tailing mountain bikes this spring.

Chelsea Neider Sofia Cifuentes, Sean Hair Paula Saltas David Adamson, Samantha Herzog Bryan Mannos Samantha Smith

Rebecca Chavez-Houck loves “glamping”

Eric Granato Jennifer Van Grevenhof Kyle Kennedy Anna Papadakis Doug Kruithof, Kathy Mueller, Mieka Sawatzki

with family and friends and discovering new places to visit, especially those of historical interest. A former Utah representative, Chavez-Houck represented House District 24 for 10 years and now writes for her blog Roam With a View.

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EDITORIAL CONTACT: Editor@vamooseutah.com ADVERTISING CONTACT: Sales@vamooseutah.com COPPERFIELD PUBLISHING, INC • COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

@vamooseutah

6 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

@vamooseutah

@vamooseutah

Megan Walsh dreams of one day being a

professional recreationalist, and welcomes any and all tips on how to get there. When she isn’t in the desert or the mountains, she’s drinking coffee and typing away at her computer—or watching Netflix.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

A

then by an avalanche and is now a ski resort.

Alta, along with Snowbird, now mine for tourism dollars and have created a new reason to experience the canyon: as recreation.

Want to know more about the Wasatch canyons we so revere? Visit the Utah Geological Survey (Geology.Utah.gov) or stop by the G.K. Gilbert Geologic View Park (9788 S. Wasatch Blvd., Sandy). Or, simply read on.

In this issue of Vamoose Utah, we celebrate canyons and the stories they tell. Our collective love of these geologic features could easily fill a year’s worth of issues. With dozens of named canyons and gorges throughout the state (and at least 13 in Salt Lake County), it was hard to choose which ones to cover. We ended up with a mostly local focus, starting with a weekend of canyon hopping as envisioned by Travel Brigade writers Geoff Griffin and Kathleen Curry. There’s some meandering and tippling in Millcreek Canyon by Anna Kaser; a whiny—er, winding winter’s walk through City Creek Canyon as experienced by Chris Vanocur, a remembrance of Echo Canyon champion Bernard DeVoto by John Rasmuson, Derek Edward’s soul-skier’s manifesto, Jen Hill’s rundown on beverages and beverage containers for outdoor enthusiasts, Megan Walsh’s bucket list of Utah slot canyons and finally, a new column by Rebecca Chavez-Houck, formerly a state legislator who is now blissfully retired from public office, about her time in Leprechaun Canyon.

A canyon is Earth’s record keeper. Its outcroppings, layers and colors help us know our place in time. A canyon feels adventurous and calming, playful and holy at the same time. Let this issue of Vamoose inspire you to find one of your own to experience.

—Jerre Wroble

XOXOXO Valentine’s Day XOXOXO

! h a u M ah! u M ah! u M XOXO Wed, February 14th XOXO

XOXOXOXOXO Valentine’s Day Wednesday, February 14th XOXOXOXOXO

s you load your ski gear and head up Little Cottonwood Canyon, think of all that had to occur in advance of your bluebird day.

First, some 850 million to 1 billion years ago, clay and sand left by ocean tides had to be deposited to eventually become the brown rocks that greet you at the mouth of the canyon and the brown rock layers along the northern ridgeline up to Snowbird.

Oceans would need to advance and retreat 500 million years ago to create the folds and faults of tan quartzite, brown shale and black-and-white limestone in the upper third of the canyon.

Molten magma would need to intrude about 35 to 33 million years ago. This igneous rock would harden into the “granodiorite” at the canyon’s head and along its eastern ridgeline. Magma would again intrude some 30 million years ago to form the granite in the canyon’s walls.

A number of strong earthquakes tens of thousands of years ago would create the slope across the mouth of the canyon. And most “recently,” an immense 12-mile-long glacier stretching from Albion Basin to the shores of what was then Lake Bonneville needed to carve out the canyon’s U shape, around 30,000 years ago.

That, more or less, brings us up to date, or perhaps a half-second ago in geological time, when prospectors, lumberjacks and quarrymen of the late 1800s and early 1900s ascended the canyon in search of its treasures.

Fabled mining towns such as Graniteville, Wasatch, Hogum, Tannersville, Central City and Emmaville are survived only by Alta, which itself was destroyed first by a fire and

XOXOXOXOXO Valentine’s Day Wednesday, February 14th XOXOXOXOXO

EVERY CANYON TELLS A STORY

TYCOON

DEER VALLEY

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 7

CANYON HOPPING

Experience local alpine delights across the chasms

Weekend WARRIOR

EMIGRATION CANYON

8 | Vamoose Utah • October/November February/March 2019 2018

T

BY KATHLEEN CURRY AND GEOFF GRIFFIN

he Wasatch Range rises in the east and dominates the landscape of the Salt Lake Valley. Beneath its granite peaks are seven canyons beckoning residents of Utah’s largest city to come out and play, to drink in the dramatic vistas, alpine scenery and outdoor adventures that are unique to each canyon. The mountains might tower above our valley, but we live out our dreams in the canyons.

Utahns like to tout the fact that 10 of our ski resorts are within an hour’s drive of Salt Lake City International Airport, but it takes even less time to access a breathtaking canyon on either side of Salt Lake Valley, each bursting with beautiful views and extraordinary outdoor activities. Here are some ways to immerse yourself in four local canyons in four days.

Thursday EMIGRATION CANYON

5807, RuthsDiner.com). Ruth’s dates back to 1930 and is one of those places that makes the very short list of, “You haven’t really lived in Salt Lake until you’ve eaten at [fill in the blank]. The best-known dish is the meatloaf, but don’t be afraid to check out the excellent burgers and killer Reuben sandwich.

Since Emigration Canyon has no hotels, consider a staycation at one of many hotels in the valley close to the canyons. Maybe try something new and unique such as Castle Creek Inn (7391 S. Creek Road, Sandy, 801567-9437, CastleCreekBB.com), which lives up to its name as a fortress. Whether you stay in one of the turrets or another area of the royal property, you’ll have a jetted tub, complimentary online movies and all-night access to the fully-stocked snack bar in the Grand Dining Hall. That’s also where you’ll find yourself on Friday morning for full breakfast service.

This is the Place Heritage Park: where Salt Lake City’s story began

SOFIA CIFUENTES

SOFIA CIFUENTES

Start your canyons weekend on Thursday afternoon at the mouth of Emigration Canyon to learn about the first settlers to come through the canyons at This Is the Place Heritage Park (2601 E. Sunnyside Ave., SLC, 801-582-1847, ThisIsThePlace.org).

Brigham Young came to Emigration Canyon on July 24, 1847, looked out over a desert valley that had only one tree and announced, “This is the place.” The pioneers turned to the canyons to get water, lumber and even the quartz monzonite to build the Salt Lake Temple. Find out more about the role that the canyons played in building Salt Lake City while touring through an entire village of pioneer-era buildings.

After leaving the park, continue up the canyon to the singular Ruth’s Diner (4160 Emigration Canyon Road, SLC, 801-582-

••••

Ruth’s Diner: an Emigration Canyon landmark

CHELSEA NEIDER

Thursday afternoon

October/November February/March 2019 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 9

••••

Friday

Deer Valley Resort

Friday

PARLEYS CANYON

Hop on Interstate 215 and then I-80 to arrive at a Utah destination known worldwide. Park City has a variety of winter activities, capped

by Deer Valley and Park City Mountain resorts.

Deer Valley (2250 Deer Valley Drive South, Park City, 435-649-1000, DeerValley.com) continues to be one of America’s premiere ski destinations with 21 lifts serving more than 2,000 skiable acres. What’s new this year is that it has joined the Ikon Pass group (IkonPass.com). Buyers of the pass can get a set 10 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

amount of days at Deer Valley along with 37 other destinations.

With more than 7,000 acres, Park City Mountain (1345 Lowell Ave., Park City, 435-649-8111, ParkCityMountain.com) is the largest ski area in the United States.

Since PCM is part of the Vail Mountain Resorts family, skiers and boarders might want to check out the Epic and Epic Local passes that give them access to Vail properties in North America, Europe and Hakuba Valley, Japan.

After a day on the slopes, it’s time for comfort food in a casual eatery away from the ac-

tivity of the resorts and Main Street.

Sammy’s Bistro (1890 Bonanza Drive, Ste. 100, Park City, 435-214-7570, SammysBistro.com) fits the bill. Both its savory chicken bowl and the “Chivito” club sandwich (pork tenderloin sandwich) earned Guy Fieri’s approval on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives but also consider the pulled-pork nachos, mahi-mahi tacos and quinoa salmon salad.

For dessert, and for more local flavor, swing by Windy Ridge Bakery (1750 Iron Horse Drive, Park City, 435-647-2906, WindyRidgeBakery.com). Since it’s only open until 6 p.m. most evenings, you might

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PressBackers.com want to stop there before dinner to pick up dessert to take back to the hotel. Whether it’s sour and black cherry pie, lemon poppyseed cake with blackberries or seasonal fresh-fruit tarts, everyone will be able to find something they like.

Park City has an abundance of hotel options, with the newest entry being Hyatt Place (4377 N. Highway 224, Park City, 435-7761234, Hyatt.com) near Utah Olympic Park.

If hotel chains aren’t your style, consider the Torchlight Inn Bed & Breakfast (255 Deer Valley Drive, Park City, 435-612 0345, TorchlightInn.com), located in the middle of Old Town Park City. The inn’s gourmet breakfast—featuring fruit-stuffed baked French toast with creme fraiche, corned beef hash with farm fresh eggs, buckwheat pancakes with Utah peach compote and more—will send you off to the slopes in good form.

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February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 11

Family fun at Snowbird Resort

MICHAEL BROWN

••••

Saturday

DEREK EDWARDS

DEREK EDWARDS

Alta’s parking lot backlit by a blazing sunset

Little Cottonwood Canyon

Saturday

COTTONWOOD CANYONS

It takes about 30 minutes to get from Park City to the mouths of the Cottonwood canyons, and from there it’s another 15 minutes to the resorts, depending on snow and traffic.

There are two options: Big and Little, and the good news is you can’t lose with either choice.

Little Cottonwood Canyon leads to Snowbird and Alta resorts. As a ski-only mountain that annually gets more than 500 inches of classic Utah powder, Alta Ski Area (10010 Little Cottonwood Canyon Road, Alta, 801359-1078, Alta.com) inspires cult-like devotion among those who choose to ride down the mountain with their feet not connected together. Alta’s theme for the winter of 2019 sums it all up: “Come for the skiing. Stay for the skiing.”

The signature tram line at Snowbird Resort (9385 S. Snowbird Center Drive, Snowbird, 801-933-2222, Snowbird.com) is also a way to let the nonskier or boarder in your party enjoy the winter wonderland. The Snowbird property also comes complete with a pedestrian village and multiple lodging and 12 | Vamoose Utah • October/November February/March 2019 2018

dining options that make it a great place to stay on a cold night.

Snowbird’s Cliff Lodge (801-933-2222) has become justifiably well known throughout the years as a place to rest after a day on the slopes. Guests can opt for one of 30 different treatments at the Cliff Spa or hop in the heated outdoor rooftop pool and three hot tubs open year-round.

For dinner, The Aerie (801-933-2160) on the Cliff Lodge’s 10th floor features a fireplace, live music and a wine selection that you can sort through on an iPad. The dinner menu is highlighted by house-smoked trout cakes, cornflake-and-pistachio encrusted chicken and elk meatloaf.

If you choose Big Cottonwood Canyon, you’ll be on the road to Solitude and Brighton. Ski Magazine recently referred to Solitude Mountain Resort (12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, Solitude, 801-534-1400, SolitudeMountain.com) as, “The best bestkept secret of the Cottonwoods.” Solitude likes it that way, since it prides itself on its laid-back atmosphere.

At Brighton (8302 S. Brighton Loop Road,

Brighton, 801-532-4731, BrightonResort. com), they emphasize, “It’s all about the snow,” and the numbers reflect that. Sixty-six runs are spread out over 1,050 acres of terrain accessed by six chair lifts, and skiers can drop nearly 2,000 vertical feet from top to bottom as they glide through more than 500 inches of annual snow fall.

You can make a night of it in Big Cottonwood Canyon at Silver Fork Lodge and Restaurant (11332 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, Brighton, 801-533-9977, SilverForkLodge.com) Located just three miles from Brighton, the lodge’s free shuttle runs back and forth between the properties. Open since 1947, the lodge’s seven guest rooms will take you back to a simpler time since you’ll find no telephones or TVs in them. You’re also just steps from the restaurant where the dinner menu features naturally tender, melt-in-yourmouth Piedmontese steak.

Breakfast is complimentary, so on Sunday morning, you’ll want a plate of Silver Fork sourdough cakes, made from an extra sharp sourdough starter that’s been at the restaurant for more than 50 years.

It’s hard to turn down to a late

Your reward for working up a sweat? Pastries at Beaumont Bakery

afternoon Nordic ski jaunt at

ANNA KASER

Millcreek Canyon

••••

BEAUMONT BAKERY

Sunday

Sunday

MILLCREEK CANYON

Finish off your weekend by leaving the Cottonwood canyons and traveling north on Interstate 215 before exiting at 3900 South.

Head north and turn up Millcreek Canyon Road. Millcreek Canyon (SLCO.org/parks/ millcreek-canyon) is jointly managed by Salt Lake County and the U.S. Forest Service and is known for its cross-country ski (and snowshoe) trails (see “Millcreek Magic,” p. 14).

There is a $3 cost per vehicle per day.

Five miles up the canyon, the road is closed

to vehicles from Nov. 1 through July 1 at the Maple Grove trailhead. The closed section of the canyon road is then groomed for both skate and classic ski tracks. For those in seach of an overnight adventure, the Big Water Yurt at the end of the canyon road—four and a half miles beyond the winter gate—can be reserved through Salt Lake County from December to April.

After a morning of burning calories in the canyon, you’ll want to stop in at the new Beaumont Bakery (3979 S. Wasatch Blvd.,

Millcreek, 801-676-9340), open til 3 p.m. on Sundays. Enjoy breakfast and lunch with a mountain view, plus to-die-for pastries and croissants. Try the baked French toast or the turkey and avocado sandwich on toasted cranberry spice bread.

Whether it’s recreating or relaxing, the canyons surrounding the Salt Lake Valley are nature’s cathedrals, places we go to commune with nature where we experience rejuvenation. Find your own canyon and let it revive your spirits.

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 13

Millcreek Canyon Road becomes a serene snowy lane in winter

MAKING TRACKS AT MILLCREEK A canyon on the way to nowhere is a place to make your own fun

T

STORY & PHOTOS BY ANNA KASER

o say that Salt Lake is a canyon explorers’ paradise might be the understatement of the year. With our surrounding Wasatch Range and Oquirrh Mountains, many a Salt Laker can spy a canyon out their back door. From City Creek, Red Butte, Emigration, Parleys, Millcreek, Little and Big Cottonwood to Corner, Butterfield, Harkers and Bingham canyons, residents flock to these inviting crevasses to cool off on hot summer days. But when the snow starts to fly, hikers shy away, unless the canyon is on the way to another city or a ski resort.

Millcreek Canyon is a different animal.

It keeps to itself. Its entry point is hidden in an East Bench neighborhood, marked with maybe the smallest sign I’ve ever seen.

You’ll find a few cabins and homes here, as well as a wedding venue and a charming restaurant. The rest is nature—hikes and trails at every turn. Far from loud and commercial, it’s hidden and modest. And in winter, it’s even quieter, attracting devotees of peoplepowered sports such as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Traveling up the canyon’s well-maintained road, it’s obvious there’s much cold-weather fun to be had. Don’t have enough money for a lift ticket? Hike to a small downhill ski run in Millcreek such as Burch Hollow. If you favor Nordic skiing, Millcreek’s groomed trails are the perfect way to kick and glide the day away. Simply start where the canyon road is 14 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

closed to maintenance and ski up, and then down, the slight incline. However, for more off-road skiing, access other marked trails from the main canyon road.

If your dog has cabin fever as much as you do, bring your buddy along for the ride. Millcreek welcomes canine companions which, on odd-numbered days, can even travel the trails off-leash.

Simply Snowshoes After researching online, and in favor of simplicity, I decided my first foray into Millcreek as a winter explorer would be on snowshoes—admittedly intimidating for a first-time experience. Luckily, there are guides to keep novices like me on their feet.

Utah Mountain Adventures (801-5503986, UtahMountainAdventures.com) and Wasatch Adventure Guides (435-200-4885,

UTAH’S BACK COUNTRY GEAR CHOICE

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 15

WasatchAdventureGuides.com) offer guiding and instruction in Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and even split-boarding, all popular Millcreek pursuits.

To rent snowshoes or Nordic skis, check with the University of Utah Outdoor Adventures Rental Shop (801-581-8516, CampusRed.Utah.edu/programs/outdooradventures) Canyon Sports (801-322-4220, CanyonSports.com) and Sports Den (801582-5611, SportsDen.com), all of which offer thifty deals, from $9-$13 a day.

The community at Snowshoe Utah (SnowShoeUtah.com) provides advice on everything from safety to trails, and even offers $5 snowshoe rentals. Popular snowshoeing trails in the canyon include Porter Fork, Desolation, Church Fork and others.

Peaceful Planet Even in the more trafficked areas of the canyon, especially on the canyon road just beyond the closed gate, Millcreek remains surprisingly quiet and peaceful. Despite icy patches of snow, dogs running off leash and people nimbly skiing by me, there are astoundingly few collisions.

Beyond the closed gate, the canyon road continues for about four and a half miles, with a slight yet persistent incline and a small stream that parallels the road for your listening pleasure. Being among the trees in 16 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

While known for hosting special occasions, Log Haven is also a casual stop for après-ski bites and brews

Dinner in the Canyon Travel Brigade writers Geoff Griffin and Kathleen Curry concur that the perfect way to end a Millcreek Canyon weekend is by having Sunday dinner at a canyon classic. Log Haven has been a gathering place in the canyon since it was established in 1920.

The combination of a historic log mansion, beautiful views and fine dining makes it a go-to spot for a night out. Their extensive wine list can be paired with dishes such as Korean-fried cauliflower, clams and Spanish chorizo or grilled bison.

winter is delightful, and I found myself constantly looking up, distracted by the canyon’s beauty.

After a somewhat exhausting hike, I was tired yet invigorated by the fresh mountain air. Millcreek is popular for these short outings and just the spot to start or end your day.

You can also drive up after dark and experience a snowy evening in the canyon, including moonlight snowshoeing and Nordic skiing, though on those nights, it’s best to stay on the road or very near it.

Warm Spirits Once back at the closed access gate, Log Haven (6451 E. Millcreek Canyon Road, SLC, 801-2728255, Log-Haven.com), hailed as one of the most romantic restaurants in the country, is only about a half-mile down the road and is just the spot to end the day. Log Haven might have the reputation as a fine-dining cabin on the hill, but the restaurant and its intimate bar are open to all canyon lovers, even those in ski clothes. “There is no dress code here,” Brenda Gomez, Log Haven’s longtime bartender, says.

Gomez says that Log Haven’s cozy charm makes it ideal for an après-ski bite and drink.

“I wouldn’t work somewhere that I didn’t like,” she says, which might explain why she’s been working the bar for almost 12 years.

Gomez will even mix something up spe-

cially for you if you ask. Manager and coowner Faith Scheffler recalls many times when Gomez quizzes patrons about the liquors and flavors they like and then creates a specialty drink for them. “Brenda is a great mixologist. People really remember the drinks she makes. They take that experience with them,” Scheffler says.

Gomez also mixes monthly specialty drinks, from a hot-buttered rum to an Old Fashioned and even virgin options such as her Blackberry Fizz. Gomez’s personal favorite is the Bitter Sweet, made with Jameson Whiskey Sour and bitters and then shaken.

To finish it off, red wine is floated on top.

Pair it with an after-ski bite such as the alpine nachos, the brownie tart or bread pudding, if you’re craving something sweet.

Gomez acknowledges that in winter, patrons might be deterred by the snow. “People think it’s hard to get here. But the fresh snow is beautiful,” she says. “And they keep the canyon [roads] very clean. We’ve even gone down and picked people up before. We’re all about accommodating the guest.”

It’s hard to improve upon sharing a drink and a meal with a friend at Log Haven—especially after a day of getting worn out by skiing or snowshoeing. “People are always welcome here,” Gomez says, with a warm smile while sitting next to Log Haven’s crackling fire.

Bartender Brenda’s favorite: The Bitter Sweet

Brenda Gomez, mixologist extraordinaire

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 17

MARRIOTT LIBRARY - THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

Bernard DeVoto, writer, historian and conservationist

USDA FOREST SERVICE

THE CHAMPION OF ECHO CANYON

NARA

Pulpit Rock, at the mouth of Echo Canyon

18 | Vamoose Utah • October/November February/March 2019 2018

As one of Ogden’s unsung sons, it’s time to give Bernard DeVoto his due

BY JOHN RASMUSON

L

et’s begin à la Jeopardy. Category: Utah Literati. Here are five prompts: One of his history books won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948; another, a National Book Award in 1953.

He was a recognized authority on Mark Twain.

He was the greatest conservationist of the 20th century, according to Wallace Stegner.

He wrote a monthly column, The Easy Chair, in Harper’s Magazine for 20 years.

The first of his nine novels, The Crooked Mile, drew upon his experience growing up in Ogden.

If you answered, “Who is Bernard DeVoto?” to all five, yours is an impressive sweep. Take a well-deserved bow! Not one in five Utahns even recognizes the name of Ogden’s accomplished man of letters.

That he is not widely known might indicate a deliberate rejection born of the caustic essays that he penned about Utah and Mormonism early in his career. “Civilized life does not exist in Utah,” he wrote. The place is populated by “ruddy, illiterate, herd-minded folk” whose discourse is confined to “the Prophet, hogs and Fords.”

DeVoto was born in Ogden on Jan. 11, 1897. The town, Stegner has written, was split by “Homeric conflicts between the railroaders and

the Mormons,” and DeVoto considered himself collateral damage. In seeking revenge, he disparaged the dominant religion in print: “These people are not my people, their God is not my mine. We respect, hate and distrust each other.”

“Benny” DeVoto graduated from Ogden High School in 1914. He spent a year at the University of Utah and then transferred to Harvard. Although a born-and-bred Westerner, he eventually adopted New England just as Stegner had done with Utah. “An apprentice New Englander,” DeVoto called himself. Although he was grounded in the Wasatch Front, “New England gave him a second belongingplace,” Stegner wrote.

He was a literary triathlete—novelist, journalist, historian. As a respected historian, his focus was the Rocky Mountain West. As a journalist, he practiced what Stegner called knight-errantry. DeVoto sallied forth from the pages of Harper’s and other national magazines to fight the fire-breathing dragons of the age—Sen. Joe McCarthy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and the House Un-American Activities Committee. He wrote about censorship, civil liberty, isolationism and conservation. He was a champion of national parks and public lands, and he battled the ranchers who

coveted them as grazing grounds for their sheep and cattle. He was also instrumental in stopping the Bureau of Reclamation from damming the Green and Yampa Rivers in Echo Canyon. Without DeVoto, Dinosaur National Monument would have shared Glen Canyon’s watery fate.

His death in 1955—a year before Edward Abbey went to work in Arches National Monument and the year Terry Tempest Williams was born—ended a career that was “flawed, brilliant, provocative, outrageous … often wrong, often spectacularly right, always stimulating, sometimes infuriating, and never, never dull,” Stegner wrote in The Uneasy Chair, his 1974 biography of DeVoto.

If you set out in search of more answers to the question, “Who is Bernard DeVoto?” a visit to his hometown will not be helpful.

His house at 2561 Monroe Blvd. has been supplanted by the sprawl of an elementary school. No one in the tourist office or the library has ever heard his name. Ogden High School’s commemorative plaques don’t include one for him, and the school library owns none of his 21 books. To find a memorial, you must drive 500 miles to Idaho.

There—on Highway 12, 42 miles west of Lolo, Montana—an old-growth stand of Western Red Cedars on the Lochsa River was dedicated in 1962 to Utah’s celebrated “conservationist and historian of the west.”

Perhaps it is time for Utahns to reconsider the cold shoulder turned on the man Stegner called “the most distinguished writer who ever came out of the state.”

DeVoto tried to make amends decades ago by recanting his criticism of Utah. His selfimposed exile from Ogden, which began at age 25, caused him to re-evaluate his first

USDA FOREST SERVICE

NARA

Death Rock at Echo Canyon

belonging-place. His denigration of Utah was “ignorant, brash, prejudiced, malicious and what is worst of all, irresponsible,” he concluded in his 50s. Nevertheless, his contrition fell on deaf ears. DeVoto’s legacy was sown with salt even as the sins of others like Edward Abbey were forgiven.

You would expect Ogden to favor reconciliation. It is no longer the rough-andtumble railroad town that gangster Al Capone steered clear of. It has cultivated a “mountain-to-metro personality,” its website explains. The change seems a welcoming development for DeVoto, himself a mountainto-metro scholar and writer. Who’s to say that Ogden would not profit from another bronze statue on 25th Street? A DeVoto Center at Weber State University? A plaque in the library of Ogden High School? An exhibit at Dinosaur National Monument? Is there no place of honor for a 20th Century “public thinker” in a post-truth age?

Besides public thinking, DeVoto was an environmentalist before the word was coined.

His activism stands him in good stead with like-minded Utahns in 2019, a validation of Stegner’s belief that his articles would be instructive to future generations. His issues, tenacious as Bull Thistle, are their issues.

Sixty years later, water is no less valuable in the drought-prone West; wilderness is no less threatened by agents of commerce; politicians are no less venal, and no less than $11 billion is needed to fix the maintenance problems at Bryce, Arches and the rest of the national parks.

Good fortune has given Utah a landscape like no other. Even with the integrity of the state’s public lands in jeopardy in 2019— even as dams, pipelines, coalmines, ATV tracks and oil wells have tireless promoters— DeVoto is as instructive as Stegner hoped he would be. “One cannot be pessimistic about the West,” Stegner wrote. “This is the native home of hope.”

Who is Bernard DeVoto, then? A distinguished Utah native whose legacy ought to be a source of hope—and pride.

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 19

CITY CREEKER

BY CHRIS VANOCUR

A little stretch of urban wilderness, City Creek Canyon’s winterscape should not be missed. But dress warmly

T

he epic Western Jeremiah Johnson was released in 1972. Starring Robert Redford, it tells the tale of a solitary soldier heading off into the wilderness to be a mountain man. As we learn in the film’s opening ballad, Johnson heads for the hills, “betting on forgetting all the troubles that he knew.” Filmed in various Utah locations, Redford’s character initially struggles, especially in his first winter alone.

It was with this mindset I set out for a cold City Creek Canyon hike in early December.

I fancied myself a lone and stoic mountain man braving the elements for some unknown and higher cause.

This canyon is special to me. I live just a

20 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

few hundred yards away and walk there often. It is a familiar and comforting place.

When I’ve faced big life or career decisions, the canyon has provided me quiet and space to think. I’ve even considered spreading my remains there after I vamoose from this life.

But my City Creek Canyon memories are mostly from the warm weather months. The snow and the cold have always scared me away. This time, though, a winter adventure called out to me. I drew inspiration from this line early in the Jeremiah Johnson film, “The ghostly stories about the tall hills didn’t scare him none.”

Now, in the film, Redford relies on the advice and guidance of Bear Claw, a grizzled mountain man. Luckily, I have a friend

(without bear claws) who lives in the Memory Grove hamlet adjoining City Creek. He frequents the canyon often, regardless of the weather. He told me, “Winter hiking in City Creek offers more solitude—and I am often in a deficit of solitude. I find the sky, light and vistas from the hilltops more dramatic in the winter.”

City Creek Canyon also offers something truly unique: Location, location, location.

Situated (roughly) behind the state Capitol and the Avenues district, I am continually amazed at how near the canyon is to downtown Salt Lake. Sometimes, when I think of the close proximity between buildings and nature, I am reminded of New York’s Central Park. One minute you are surrounded by ur-

“

I didn’t encounter any eccentric Western characters on my journey, nor did I marry the daughter of a Native American chief or adopt an orphan. But I did see a Millennial vaping.

“

ANDREW SMITH

—Chris ‘Lizard Eating’ Vanocur

ban trappings and then, just steps away, you can find yourself communing with nature.

This sense of solitude is magnified in the winter. I passed only a handful of hikers, bikers and joggers on my journey. I felt almost as if I had the canyon to myself. Without the distractions of a madding crowd, I was able to focus more keenly on things like the sound of rushing water or animal footprints in the snow. Just as the movie proclaims, a true mountain man is able to leave his life behind.

In the film, Redford kills, skins and eats many mountain creatures. I did not. However, as I came around a bend, I did see a woman staring into a thicket. She turned to me excitedly and said in a foreign-sounding voice, “Mink! Mink! Did you see the mink?”

But, sadly, I had only briefly seen a flash of something brown and furry. Without Jeremiah Johnson’s trusty .50 caliber Hawken rifle or my iPhone camera to snag it, the animal’s exact identity will forever remain a mystery.

Two miles into my City Creek Canyon hike, my mountain man intentions met reality. Although heavily layered, the cold eventually got to me. Reluctantly, I turned around and headed back to base camp. Unlike Redford in the movie, I didn’t encounter any eccentric Western characters on my journey, nor did I marry the daughter of a Native American chief or adopt an orphan. But I did see a Millennial vaping. So, there’s that.

I set out on this winter adventure hoping to summon forth and embrace my inner

Jeremiah Johnson. I yearned to lose myself in the austere December beauty of a nearby and beloved canyon. And, for a spell, I did just that. I was able to see one of my favorite places cloaked in its winter apparel. But it wasn’t long before I realized I was less mountain man and more nebbish neophyte.

Once upon a time, in my past TV reporter life, I got to interview Robert Redford at Sundance, but apparently none of his Jeremiah Johnson vibe rubbed off on me. Lacking his old-school perseverance and adaptability to ever-changing hardships, I was ill-prepared for the sheer coldness of my adventure. Such is the saga of a mountain man. As the movie’s ballad cautions, “The story doesn’t always go the way you had in mind.”

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 21

WHY BE A

Soul Skier?

Only true powderhounds understand the need to chase their bliss STORY & PHOTOS BY DEREK EDWARDS

Revelers gather on the top of Alf’s High Rustler for a 2018 High Boy pop-up party

22 | Vamoose Utah • October/November February/March 2019 2018

M

y infatuation with Little Cottonwood Canyon began six years ago, when, after skiing and working in Park City, I sought more of a challenge. I turned my focus to the Wasatch Front, and to Alta Ski Area specifically.

For the past three winters, I worked as a chef at Alta’s Watson Shelter, perhaps the longest continuously running skier hospitality project in the United States. My work commute regularly included a few untouched pre-public ski runs and the occasional late-night snowcat tour, where I’d find myself in the original bastion of North American steep skiing.

I was blessed to be surrounded by the people who are the engine for Utah’s formidable ski industry. They shovel snow, wash dishes, drive into early morning blizzards and put up with all manner of churlish tourist behaviors throughout the winter to spend as much time as possible in Utah’s absurdly beautiful Wasatch mountains.

Different than the holiday crowd and weekend warriors, these are the “soul skiers.” You know the type: They moved to Utah from the East Coast years ago when even the best Vermont glade skiing could no longer satiate. They can tell you intimate details about every major couloir line in the range, yet somehow they’ve avoided mainstream ski-media attention. This is the cult of powder 8s, dawn patrols, cliff-jumping telemarkers and never-trained town race winners.

These are the people who will drive to Jackson or Taos multiple times during the winter yet choose to maintain their family residence in Salt Lake or Ogden because they know the sacred truth: that Utah is God’s own ski country.

Utah claims “The Greatest Snow on February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 23

An empty Wildcat Lift turns during a surprise April 2018 snowstorm

Earth.” Yes, there are years where precipitation better favors the Sierras or the San Juans, but what makes Utah snow so special is not its average 500 annual inches at 8 percent water content, but the cult of powderhound die-hards that power Utah ski culture.

The 100-plus ski days per-season crowd in Utah isn’t merely an extension of the modern global ski culture: It is the original.

Hidden Vistas That Stagger the Mind Most soul skiers will tell you about crafting a lifestyle based around adventure rather than profit. What they won’t tell you are the challenges of doing so in a state that rewards conformity and public modesty—traits antithetical to skiing as a lifestyle.

But spend enough time on the chairlift and the skin track, and the story becomes clear: Utah’s raddest, baddest ski terrain—some of the best in the world—remains under wraps due to this puritanical strain. Utah’s mindset repels radicals and creates a barrier to entry for the hard-send, aggro hippie set that helps push the sport’s progression forward.

It is a testament to this state’s geography that so many ski bums have chosen to handicap their lifestyle to pursue their craft here! (But in the process, it helps keep our epic powder stashes very well concealed.)

The vision of these die-hard skiers transforms the backdrop of Salt Lake’s humdrum and grind into an explorer’s paradise. It is not just snow: It is snow that inspires adventure 24 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

travel in dangerously tight chutes, through silent aspen glades and toward hidden vistas that stagger the mind with beauty, vertigo, and self-discovery.

We’re the Lucky Few The invitation to peek behind the curtain rewards those who embark on a human-powered escapade to the top of a less-trafficked, unmarked inbounds run or a beginner backcountry area. The appeal is immediate and addictive.

The obsession’s early stage is characterized by the stalking of used-gear shops in Millcreek and later leads to sightings of the afflicted at certain trailheads at 4 a.m. and Molly Green’s or the Peruvian Lodge bar around dinnertime on the same day.

It culminates with the realization that one’s life is just going to be moving along with the weather and the changes of season instead of following the wishes and pleas of well-meaning family and friends who want you to advance a career.

For the moment that we occupy this space, we’re the lucky few.

Toward the end of his 1943 book Being and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre speaks of skiing and the philosophy of ownership; the amazing thing about skiing is that, much like music, participation is related to aesthetic possession. The only way to own a beautiful moment is to actively pass through it. Accepting this immediacy as a fact of life is the

driving force behind the whole endeavor of the skiing world.

Everyone taps out eventually, whether due to failure of the body or other demands of life, and knowledge of this bittersweet fact is the fuel for the soul-skier’s passion. Our time here is short, and we need to chase our bliss, or it will never be ours. To hell with the physical and cultural strain! “Be here, now” is the mantra of the late hour.

A beautiful side effect of the absurd collective dream of sliding down snow as a raison d’être is that almost all Utahns possess immediate access to living this dream—should we wish to take the plunge. Thanks to the community of tenured soul skiers who call it home, Utah is the perfect mountain laboratory for any aspiring soul-skier, with the perk of being a world-class ski tourism destination. The measure of any community is its dedication, and Utah skiers possess so much of it that they have historically transformed and defined the modern version of the sport.

Anyone can learn to enjoy sliding on snow to the point where they understand its importance as a uniquely transcendent experience. For those of us who heed the call to travel as far as we can down this particular dream road, it is hard to express gratitude for Utah’s mountains and its ski pioneers. And for the rest of you, I hope you’ll at least have your interest piqued enough to extend your glance up the canyons into a gaze.

Do you feel like we do?

Liv Cella shreds High Rustler moguls on Alta’s season-closing day in spring 2018

Onlookers gather on Punk Rock to watch hot doggers at Frank (2017)

February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 25

BACKCOUNTRY

ROCKET FUEL

Liquid refreshment to power your cold weather jaunts

BY JEN HILL

NATURAL LAW APOTHECARY PERFORMANCE BOOSTING TEA BLENDS

Custom blended teas are both delicious and sure to please the winter palate. Natural Law’s Coconut Bus, for instance, is a blend of rooibos (pronounced, roy-boss), honeybush, coconut and vanilla bean. A favorite cold-weather tea recommendation from Marinda Bowen, co-owner and medicinal herbalist, she describes it as being rich, warm and gently sweet. Their handcrafted Travelers’ Tea consists of English Breakfast, rubbed with cinnamon, sage, thyme, licorice, rosemary and winter savory and helps to boost both cognition and circulation, which is beneficial for those outbound on skis, snowshoeing or simply stargazing on Main Street. In addition, medicinal tinctures, plants and bulk herbs are available at their store in downtown Salt Lake City that’s open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

CUSTOM TEA BLENDS, $4 AN OUNCE 619 S. 600 WEST, SLC, 801-613-2128, NATURALLAWAPOTHECARY.COM

26 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

WASATCH NECTAR RAW HONEY WITH ELECTROLYTES

Wasatch Nectar is Utah raw honey with added electrolytes in a convenient on-the-go packet.

Formulated for athletes, Wasatch Nectar is suitable for anyone in need of a delicious, healthy boost of energy. Add it to a healthy snack, stir it in tea, or enjoy it by itself. Created by a registered dietitian who loves honey, Wasatch Nectar packets are a health-conscious alternative to processed sports-nutrition products on the market.

ORIGINAL, 12 COUNT, $24 COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, UTAH, 801-917-4261, WASATCHNECTAR.COM

G

et stoked with these get-yourself-outdoors items that are not quite personal rocket fuel, but close enough. Any skibum, festival goer, or 007 would love throwing some or all of these sporty items into a backpack, jetpack or handbag to keep up with the pace, take refuge from freezing temps, and fully experience “the best snow on Earth” our state of Utah proudly and uniquely has to offer.

STOKED ROASTERS 100 PERCENT ORGANIC “TAKE IT OUTSIDE” INSTANT COFFEE

First one out, last one standing. Jax Mariash, top athlete, ultra-marathon runner, and founder of Stoked Roasters has quickly joined the active, positive vibe of Park City. Only 100 percent certified organic coffee beans are roasted in small batches in Hood River, Ore. Coffee packets are easy to tear into, offering Mexican dark brew and Columbian Arabica medium roast, which dissolve beautifully in hot or cold water. Tear it open, pour it into 8 ounces of water, use your packet as your stirrer, and boom! Enjoy an excellent cup of coffee anywhere.

BOX WITH 8 SINGLE-SERVING READY-TO-GO PACKETS, $9 268 MAIN, PARK CITY, 435-602-3721, STOKEDROASTERS.COM

REI YETI RAMBLER INSULATED WINE TUMBLERS

Double-wall vacuum insulation keeps your wine from freezing on the slopes, even in subfreezing temps! This set provides two tumblers that can also keep a delicately spicy and sweet fermented grape libation warm. Yeti tumblers are shatterproof, making your descent down double black diamond slopes slightly less stressful. Whew, well at least the wine is safe.

10 FLUID OUNCES, PACKAGE OF 2, $50 REI.COM

October/November February/March 2019 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 27

CLIMB, SHIMMY, JUMP AND SLIDE A winter’s visit to Utah slot canyons deliver physical challenge and mental reverie

I

remember the first time I visited the Utah desert. Mom and I were traveling to Georgia for my new job as a flight attendant and decided to make a road trip out of it. We arrived in Moab on our second day, and as we drove up the switchback road to the Arches plateau, I struggled to absorb the magnificence of the landscape.

Every visit since reminds me of my first experience. I turn to deeply philosophical questions about the passage of time, the ability to survive in some of the planet’s harshest conditions, and, of course, our place among it all.

If Utah’s deserts are the hype of articles and travel blogs, Utah’s slot canyons are the literal hidden gems, with miles of waterswept cavities and aggressively contoured walls reaching, sometimes, 200 to 300 meters toward the sapphire sky above.

With summer temperatures in the triple digits, visiting Southern Utah in the moderate winter months offers more opportunity to explore these bucket-list worthy slot canyons.

TOM KELLY

Moonshine Wash, in the San Rafael Swell, is a favorite nontechnical slot canyon close to Salt Lake City

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BY MEGAN WALSH

Discovering a slot canyon feels a lot like capturing magic. For history, chockstones (boulders wedged in the crack), and red, orange, and maroon sandstone, head to Moonshine Wash in the San Rafael Swell, the closest non-technical slot on this list to Salt Lake City. Moonshine Wash, just 25 miles south of Green River earned its name after locals stored illegal beverages within the canyon walls during Prohibition. Cairns lead the way to the beginning of the slot and dogs are welcome—although, booties and a harness are advised for maneuvering the steeper chockstone drops.

As the crow flies, Little Wild Horse Canyon deepens about 50 miles west of Moonshine, but by car it’s roughly a two-hour drive. Dimpled sandstone and layered strata walls push in and out of the narrow riverbed of the canyon, only 5 miles from Goblin Valley State Park. Hikers will scramble over and under moderate chockstones along this short 1.8-mile hike, which can connect to Bells Canyon for a longer, more scenic 11-mile hike.

CREATIONLAW

KWIKTOR

At the desert’s edge: Goblin Valley State Park

Little Wild Horse Canyon’s easily explored narrow passageways make it one of the most popular hikes in the San Rafael Swell February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 29

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Peek-a-Boo Canyon near Escalante takes you through sandstone arches and eye-popping red and purple rock

THE DYE CLAN G. THOMAS

Little Death Hollow (near Boulder, Utah) is part of Grand Staircase -Escalante National Monument

Zebra Slot Canyon, near Escalante, is a short canyon, named for its striped walls

JOHN FOWLER

Further south, in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, sandy and rocky riverbeds ground the hueco-filled narrows of Little Death Hollow. There are two Death Hollow canyons in Escalante, the shorter of the two being Little Death Hollow at 4 miles. Little Death Hollow can be combined with Wolverine Canyon and Little Brown Bench for an extensive, 26-mile backpacking loop which travels down to the Escalante River and back.

Roughly two and a half hours from Little Death Hollow, across red dirt roads (and a brief stint on Utah State Route 12), white paintbrush strokes wind along the walls of Zebra Slot Canyon, a short and narrow channel near Escalante. The trail is easy to lose in Harris Wash, so a map and compass secure a straightforward adventure. Use caution as water levels can wax and wane in Zebra, sometimes reaching up to stomach level.

Just 20 miles down the road from Zebra slot canyon, a 3.5-mile two-for-one slot canyon hike exists with moderate obstacles and a few tight squeezes. When traveling up Peek-a-Boo Canyon and down Spooky Gulch, hikers will encounter fewer obstacles for a three-hour trip. One of the more notable aspects of the Peek-a-Boo trail are the sandstone arches within the slot. You’ll feel like you’ve entered a labyrinth.

BLM

Buckskin Gulch near the Utah/ Arizona border is the longest slot canyon in the United States

Near the Arizona/Utah border are two stunning and notable slot canyons to round out this list: Buckskin Gulch and Wire Pass Slot Canyon. If you can only make it to one slot canyon, choose Buckskin Gulch–the longest and deepest known slot canyon in the world. At 21 miles, an entire day is required to hike this canyon point-to-point or bring backpacking gear for a two-day adventure.

Beware of nighttime desert temps, though, which often drop below freezing. Whichever way you decide to experience this canyon, secure a permit ahead of time, and don’t forget to look up! The contours of the sandstone create a fun-house mirror effect, bending and curving into and out of one another.

Finally, long walls of sandstone stretch 3.5 miles into the Wire Pass Slot Canyon.

The sandy riverbed widens, narrows, and includes a short scramble about 7 to 8 feet tall–which is manageable, especially in the winter when flash floods don’t often threaten the landscape. Use stemming techniques to maneuver the drop for easier passage.

An abundance of slot canyons cleaves the Southern Utah landscape, and it’s often only a matter of finding them. So, grab a map and compass, and set off into the desert.

Is Hiring AN ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Responsibilities include: Selling print and digital advertising to local and some regional businesses.

Email your resume to jennifer@cityweekly.net February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 31

Around the Bend

Roam with a View

BY REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUCK

Leprechaun Canyon, near Hanksville, is a fun and easily accessible slot canyon

32 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

T

DANIEL LARSON

Exploring Leprechaun Canyon

he idea of navigating one of Utah’s slot canyons has long terrified me.

Even before the movie 127 Hours sent me over the edge (pun intended), my moderate claustrophobia and less than lithe shape (what if I get stuck?), kept me from going near one.

Even still, I was intrigued by photos my husband, Martin, showed me after he trailblazed through these sandstone snakes over the years. The striping on the walls, the stones that change in the shadows, and the curves, contours and textures shaped by erosion and time were breathtaking. Still, I hesitated.

About a year and half ago, he convinced me to join him and some friends in checking out Leprechaun Canyon (CanyonCollective. com), located off Highway 95, some 29 miles southeast of Hanksville. “It’s easy,” he said.

I’d fallen for that promise before and was apprehensive.

Our friends convinced me that they’d save me if the trail became too challenging.

I also read up on the trail and location ahead of time … always a good idea, regardless of one’s level of hiking skill.

As to where we’d stay, we had several choices of campgrounds to choose from.

Goblin Valley State Park (StateParks.Utah. gov/parks/goblin-valley/) is an hour from the trailhead to Leprechaun Canyon. There’s also the more primitive Sandthrax Campground (FreeCampsites.net), just beyond the canyon’s trailhead if you want to stay close.

My husband and I also love Green River State Park (StateParks.Utah.gov/parks/ green-river/) with its large trees that offer plenty of shade, its ample space between campsites and its modern hookups and showers. There’s even a nine-hole golf course if that’s your cup of tea.

Only an hour and a half away from Leprechaun Canyon, Green River State Park’s

REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUCK

The trail offers a balance between wide slickrock spaces and narrow slot openings

central location allows us to kayak on the Green or Colorado rivers, visit the ghost town of Sego, take in the rock art at Thompson Springs or even drive into Moab. This is where we ultimately set up camp for this trip, and our friends were kind enough to shuttle us to the trailhead, even though there is a small parking area off Highway 95, east of mile marker 28.

We visited in October, and the weather was perfect (the weather is usually great for fall or spring hiking). Leprechaun Canyon is also dog friendly—something we look for when we hike. The nontechnical part of the trail takes about two hours, just right for a morning hike.

Technical climbers have multiple options in the three forks beyond the hiking trail. For those wanting a more leisurely hike, you’ll find plenty to enjoy. And, for claustrophobes like me, the trail offers a balance between wide slickrock spaces to explore and narrow slot openings. For first-timers, it’s a great

place to experience a slot canyon.

There was one sizable boulder that I had to navigate, but our friends helped me scale it.

We saw a variety of ages and abilities of hikers; I’d feel comfortable taking younger kids on the main trail as it’s rated “easy” on most hiking websites.

Over the years, spending time in the outdoors has become a passion for me. As a new columnist for Vamoose, I’m looking forward to sharing the outdoor adventures that I experience with my husband, Martin, and our border collie/co-pilot, Kihei, as we explore Utah and the West. My hope is that you’ll find our travelogue helpful as you plan your own journeys.

I honestly never thought I’d love “glamping” as much as I do. For readers who only know me as a (recently retired) state legislator, bumping into my alter-ego—the traveler, lover of pine and lake, and roastedmarshmallow connoisseur (they’re delicious dipped in Bailey’s Irish Cream)—might come

as a surprise.

My husband loves camping, but he likes “real” camping: backpacking for miles on end to set up a tent in the middle of the Uintas and fly fish there to his heart’s content.

When our kids were little, we’d car camp with a large six-person tent and a bunch of storage bins filled with juice boxes, graham crackers and camping supplies. But that experience got old as I—and my back, knees, and hips—also got older.

Truth be told, warmth, beds that aren’t on the ground and flushing toilets are much more my style. So, in 2012, we embraced a new form of “camping,” in a 24-foot, Class C Winnebago View. While traveling the open road, we often learn things we wish we would have known about ahead of time. I began to keep notes and started my blog, Roam With a View, (RoamWithAView.tumblr.com/) to share tips with other campers.

I’m hoping that sharing this companion column with Vamoose readers will help those February/March 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 33

of you who make campgrounds your home away from home.

In enjoying the wilderness, I am always mindful of my role as a steward and advocate. I was taught these principles by my parents who were active in Latino social-justice issues. Advocacy is what redirected me from a career in journalism to one in nonprofit management and eventually to Utah’s Capitol Hill.

My love for the outdoors and travel cannot be separated from my desire to advocate. That’s why—even though I’ve retired from elected public service—I’m actively involved as a national advisory board member for Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors (HechoOnline.org).

At HECHO, we “work to protect our healthy watersheds, clean air and robust wildlife habitats so that we can continue to enjoy and practice centuries-old cultural traditions that depend on these open spaces.”

Most recently, my HECHO board colleagues and I have been countering the attacks on public lands, such as the setbacks to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments and fighting to make the national Land & Water Conservation Fund permanent.

So, I ask you to come along and join me in enjoying Utah’s great outdoors and historical sites. Not only that, but I hope you’ll take the time to advocate for preservation of these amazing places. Maybe we’ll see you on the road, at the campground or hiking the trail at Leprechaun Canyon.

DANIEL LARSON

Lucky Dog: Leprechaun Canyon is a dog-friendly trail

34 | Vamoose Utah • February/March 2019

Rebecca Chavez-Houck loves “glamping” with family and friends and discovering new places to visit, especially those of historical interest. A former Utah state representative for House District 24, she now writes for her blog, Roam With a View.

LAST LOOK Alta Ski Area celebration

COURTESY OF VISIT JACKSON HOLE

Photo By Derek Edwards

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