Utah Adventure Day 3-4: Grand Staircase-Escalante Poses Challenge

Continued from previous page marbles”)—that look like chocolate bon bons or rubber balls formed by hand–that native peoples used like marbles or balls.

At Zebra Canyon, I make it through a little ways, squeezing my way in, but then it becomes even narrower, with barely 10 inches to get through. This is much more technical, requiring real climbing skill, where you have to use your hands and legs to shimmy up the walls of the canyon and slither through. Essentially, every “step” is problem-solving a puzzle – involving seeing the puzzle in its full-dimension, thinking out of the box to use all your resources, and transfigure/manipulate/reshape your body. You need to be flexible (I’m not), have good strength in your upper body, hands and knees (I don’t), and it helps to be thin (no comment).

This is my first experience in a slot canyon, and I am intimidated. I don’t want to hold back the others or have them worry that I will be completely trapped inside (my worry), so I tell them to go on ahead and wait for them in a small wider section, enjoying watching others go through (and not return).

It feels surreal, but I can hear people laughing through the rock walls, as if embedded in the rock (it’s weird). While I wait, I watch the various techniques people use to scramble up the sides and solve the problem of slithering through. Very creative!

Canyons don’t have signs or markers. People just know where to go. In some instances we find cairns. But mostly, we just go (a tad unnerving because of the vastness of emptiness and the thought of actually wandering around totally lost, as I’ve seen in Survivor and/or Disaster movies).

Laini recalls another of Ace’s sagacious aphorisms, “Whichever way you go, that’s the best way.”

So, we find ourselves paving our own trail (that’s fun too) , walking over a vast section of slickrock - amazing white, swirled smooth mounds of rock like petrified ice cream - and find another slot to explore. This time, I scramble over boulders to get in (very proud of myself), but it doesn’t go far. Still. I did it and it gives me confidence for another day. We don’t actually find the Tunnel Slot Canyon.

We find our way to the trail we came in on (whew!), and return to the trailhead. We’re back to the Jeep by 4:10 pm, having hiked for 6 hours (6 miles).

The slots are reached along Hole in the Rock Road. And after these ambitious hikes, we continue driving on the road to Devils Garden, 13 miles south of Escalante.

Devils Garden is an astonishing sight - a whole cityscape of hoodoos and arches. These are incredibly dramatic, mysterious – not rock at all, but seem to be imbued with spirits (hence the name, no doubt). This is probably the easiest trail in the area, and is absolutely magical. There is also a lovely picnic area and bathrooms.

Back in the Jeep, Laini leads us down a wild path to the no-name hoodoos overlook that she and David discovered wild camping on a previous trip (the drive was harrowing enough, like being in an ATV). From this high elevation we look through these tower- ing rock formations to the vast expanse below. It’s tempting to camp here, but we return to our cozy cabin at Canyons of Escalante RV Park in Escalante.

Big Horn Canyon

For our second day exploring Grand Staircase-Escalante, we head to Big Horn Canyon.

I’m more prepared today for this hike and basically, go with the flow (as Ace would say).

Big Horn Canyon is a tributary of Harris Wash. It runs for three miles through alternating slickrock and sand – the first two miles are in the wash. The slots cut into the Navajo sandstone rock layers displaying an unusually wide range of colors and forms.

We follow instructions which say to park at the two blue containers, then make our way down to the river bed (exactly where do we start?) and follow Harris Wash of the Escalante River, crossing it many times (and can be hard to reach when the water is higher.)

This first part of the hike to reach the canyon is pleasant – we go back and forth over a riverbed which on this day, is mostly dry.

There are two slot canyons. The first over to the left is shorter and the hike ends when it becomes too narrow to pass through. The second one is long and the colors are spectacular. For a change in perspective, once the canyon walls open you can hike on the creamsicle swirled ice cream rocks.

Unlike Zebra, Big Horn Canyon is really easy to navigate (no need to slither up walls) – ideal for neophytes like me.

Coffee and Heart Health

BY CHARLYN FARGO

Go ahead and grab that cup of coffee or two: it’s good for lowering your blood pressure.

In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers found that drinking two to three cups of coffee every day helped maintain low blood pressure.

The study found regular coffee drinkers had significantly lower blood pressure, both on peripheral and central levels, than those who do not drink it, according to Dr. Arrigo F. G. Cicero, an associate professor in the department of medical and surgical sciences with the University of Bologna in Italy.

“Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in Italy and in the world, and its consumption has already been associated with a positive impact on human health, particularly regarding CVD (cardiovascular disease), Type 2 diabetes and a number of neurodegenerative and liver diseases,” Cicero and colleagues wrote in a press release.

Researchers looked at the Brisighella Heart Study to compare both peripheral and central blood pressure values in 783 women and 720 men who reported drinking varying amounts of coffee every day. They found that heavy coffee drinkers had the lowest systolic blood pressure, followed by moderate coffee drinkers.

Compared with those who didn’t drink coffee, people who drank two cups per day and those who drank more than three cups a day had lower systolic blood pressure. Researchers found similar trends for aortic blood pressure, aortic pulse pressure and peripheral pulse pressure.

“The results are very clear: peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in individuals consuming one to three cups of coffee a day than in non-coffee drinkers,” Cicero said in the release.

“And for the first time, we were also able to confirm these effects with regard to the central aortic pressure, the one close to the heart, where we observe an almost identical phenomenon with entirely similar values for habitual coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers.”

The study found both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee gave the same results, suggesting that caffeine isn’t the main determinant of the effect of coffee on blood pressure.

“Caffeine is only one of the several coffee components and certainly not the only one with an active role. Positive effects on human health have indeed been recorded even among those who consume decaffeinated coffee,” Cicero said in the release. “We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to counterbalance this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure levels.”

Big Horn Canyon is magnificent. Nature puts on a fantastic display of colors, patterns, swirls and shapes. You can imagine how the ancients got their inspiration for their art. Walking through, it feels like you are the ball in a psychedelic pin ball machine.

This hike reminds Laini of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You Will Go.”

And I think to myself, how is this canyon not more popular!?! In fact, for the most part, we are completely alone – not a soul around (in contrast to Zebra which seemed to draw lots of people, despite its difficulty). It makes it all the more surreal when a couple does pop up in our space, bursting the reverie.

The hike altogether is about six miles – absolute perfection.

We are back in the car at 2:14 pm, and head out to drive to our next stop, Glen Canyon, via the Burr Trail, a scenic byway.

Information at Escalante Interagency Visitor Center, 755 West Main, Escalante UT 84726, 435-826-5499, www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/utah/grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument .

Another visitors center is at 745 US-89, Kanab, UT 84741, 435-644-1200.

Also, www.utah.com/destinations/ national-monuments/grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument/

See more photos: https://goingplacesfarandnear.com/utah-adventureday-3-4-grand-staircase-escalante-poseschallenge/

© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com

.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS

Crossword Answers