Calf Creek Falls

Calf Creek Falls

On Wednesday, November 4th, Ellie and I headed out for Wayne County to go hiking with friends from Kamas. We drove up through Richfield, then down through Loa to Torry. We met Kevin and Cindy and Jeff and Martha at the Best Western and had dinner and a good visit before turning in for the night. We did watch the Yankees win their 27th World Serries victory before turning off the TV.

We met again at 7:00am for breakfast then headed down highway 12 through the Boulder Mountains, through the town of Boulder and on toward Escalante. About Ten miles out of Escalante we pulled off at the trail head of Calf Creek. Though the morning had been quite cool, it was warming up and looked like a perfect day for a hike.

We left the trail head around 9:30 am and followed the trail which lead up the west side of the creek in a canyon of beautiful rock formations in the Navajo Sandstone.

We used the interpretive trail guide to help us locate some ruins left behind around a thousand years ago by the Fremont Indians. The photo above shows a granary high on the canyon wall that was used for storage. Looks like it should be pretty safe from almost anything. Even the one who put it there would have to be pretty hungry to go after it. There are also some pictographs a little further up the canyon, probably from the same period.

Although most of the summer greenery has turned brown, there is still a lot of beauty to be found and we revelled in the sights and sounds of the canyon as we hiked the 2.5 miles to the lower falls.

Calf creek got its name from pioneer farmers who built a rock fence across the canyon where they would coral their calves above it in the box canyon. Today there are no cattle, but plenty of grass and vegetation lining the beautifully clear stream that splits the valley floor .

The stream is so clear that you can easily see an abundance of fish that dart into the shadows as they detect your intrusion on their solitude.

The canyon ends in a rather abrupt sandstone wall broken in half by a beautiful waterfall cascading over 100 feet down the sandstone face.

As you enjoy the beauty the roaring cascade fills your ears and you are enveloped by the light mist from the falls. On a hot day this would be quite refreshing, in fact you might want to consider a dip in the pool, but today, even though warm in the sun, it is quite cool in the shadows and no one wants to get wet.

We take photos, photos and more photos, hating to leave what we hiked so arduously to get to.

The photo below shows the hiking group. We love these guys and always enjoy being with them. they are going to stay and hike in the area for a couple more days. Due to other commitments, and the lack of desire to carry a full pack and camp out, we chose to return home.

One more photo of the falls, using a slow shutter speed to capture the flowing effect of the water.

We made faster time on the return trip, hurrying a little so that Ellie and I could get back home in time for another commitment, but we still found time to snap a few more photos.

We left the trail head around 1:20 pm, stopping in Escalante for gas, then continuing on through Panguitch and home via Bear Valley. We made it home around 4:15, just about right to be ready for a YM/YW activity beginning at 4:45.