Beauty with A Side of The Unexpected

Day 1 – Beauty with A Side of The Unexpected

As the year came to a close the opportunity to embark on another 3-day trip came up and the temptation was too much to resist. Despite it being close to mid-November, the weather was still ideal enough to make the decision an easy one.

I am once again traveling with Tony, and we have the same duties as we did on the first trip. I was in charge of getting us around, and he was in charge of map reading and food.

Our destinations were two-fold for this trip. The first would be the less-traveled path of Smoky Mountain Road, which links Big Water, UT to Escalante, UT, followed by exploration of the more-traveled Hole in the Rock Road just outside of Escalante, UT.

We began this trip in the same way that we began the first trip of 2019, with a packed 2016 Toyota Tacoma that was ready for adventure. A bit of frost on the windshield lent credence to the fact that mornings would be nice and chilly. Excellent.

Beauty - 1 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Precisely at 8 am we left the driveway with the beginnings of our route very similar to our first trip of 2019. We take the 89 North from Flagstaff up to Page, AZ.

A quick bathroom break outside of Cameron, AZ was required.

Beauty - 2 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The drive towards the start of the off-road portion of the trail was uneventful. A steady 62 mph made for great gas mileage on this leg of the trip and an arrival time at the Big Water Visitors Center of 11 am. Big Water is a tiny place that appears to mainly consist of boat storage yards and dirt roads. But they do have a Visitors Center. One that we explored and inquired about any fire restrictions. As avid fans of campfires, we were happy to hear that there were no restrictions in place along Smoky Mountain Road.

Beauty - 3 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Now, the trip reports (that we could find online) were scarce and made the road out to be a perilous journey that should only be attempted with a high-clearance 4wd rig capable of being ‘in the most remote part of the Grand Staircase’ and with a driver that is comfortable with driving on the edge of roads next to massive drop-offs.

So, we were excited to tackle a road that would test the metal of the Tacoma, as well as myself, in these death defying circumstances.

We also found that the description of the route leaves a bit to be desired as far as facts go, so I have attempted to elaborate on the route below:

- Coming from Page, AZ you want to take the fourth right off of the 89 onto Ethan Allen.

- From here take the second right onto NP 230.

- Smoky Mountain Road (proper) doesn’t actually begin for ~15 or so miles from Big Water. Or at least it isn’t announced with a sign until then.

- At this point you are on the 76-mile road that takes you into a neighborhood on the backside of Escalante Utah, a mile or so from the 12.

With this in mind we left the visitors center behind and took off down NP 230. The first sign we come too announces ‘Crosby Canyon’ warning us to swim at our own risk as no lifeguards are present.

Beauty - 4 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

You see, this route, before you get to Smoky Mountain Road, has an offshoot that takes you to the backside of Lake Powell. An excellent potential camping spot, although in the busy season you will most likely find that someone with a houseboat has taken the easy route to that location and robbed you of a good place to stay. But I am getting a head of myself here.

The NP 230 has a brief section of paved roadway.

Beauty - 5 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

But before long, you begin to enter into the beautifully remote landscape that is Utah.

Beauty - 6 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A small water crossing just a couple of miles from Big Water helps to build the excitement about the adventure to come.

Beauty - 7 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

As this picture was taken, we stopped and listened to a steady rumbling. After a moment we were surprised to see an 18-wheeler cruising down the road, its destination unknown. Later we would find out that some farmers had cattle grazing on NP 230, before Smoky Mountain Road, and this truck was picking them up to take them away.

As we cruised down the well-maintained NP 230, we pulled over to take in a rock garden of sorts. Massive chunks of stone had broke free from the surrounding mountain and came crashing down to the bottom. A sight too cool not to stop and explore.

Beauty - 8 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A single massive rock perched precariously on a much smaller base.

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Human for scale.

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A brief hike around the rock garden helped create views of the surrounding landscape. One that was wide open and tranquil.

Beauty - 13 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Satisfied for the moment, we used this time to air the trucks tires down to 18 psi for the journey ahead. Not wanting to be caught off guard along this perilous road, we opted to take care of it now, even though the road has been easy to travel thus far.

Before we knew it, we had approached the turn off which led to the backside of Lake Powell. Ever curious, we turned right and began to tackle a less maintained and smooth road towards our destination.

The road takes you into the center of a wash, with hillsides all around you. Definitely not a place you want to be during the rainy season, but safe for today.

Interesting views begin to appear. Our thirsty eyes taking them in and then immediately searching for more.

Beauty - 14 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 15 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

As we round a corner we come across something that I have been looking for for a long time. Erosion has worn away the dirt underneath a massive rock overhang, and I had to put the Tacoma underneath it!

Beauty - 16 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 17 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 18 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Bucket list item for sure!

We continue along, still not having seen another car since leaving Big Water (except for the 18-wheeler) we look at the map on the trucks navigation and notice that we should be coming to the lake soon. But apparently the trucks map uses different info, as we clearly were not driving in the lake when it said we were!

Beauty - 19 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Nevertheless, we continue on, several miles down the road at this point, before we reach the end. You can tell this is an area where a lot of dirtbikes and atv’s and utv’s have a bit of fun during the busy season as there were sidetracks literally everywhere, but the main road is easy to stay on.

Having made it to the lake we take a moment to hop out of the truck, check out the lake, and to take in the surrounding sights.

Beauty - 20 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Massive outcroppings of rock lend additional beauty to the site.

Beauty - 21 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 22 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A usually very busy lake, tranquil this time of year.

Beauty - 23 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Satisfied once again, we set off back towards NP 230. Now, this offshoot was not the easiest to travel, with two ‘gatekeeper’ type obstacles early on. They were small fry for the Tacoma, but we were genuinely surprised when we rounded a corner and saw a tiny white Mercedes convertible in the middle of the road! The lady in the passenger seat appeared to be having a blast, but the man in the driver’s seat looked thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly, stressed out. We pulled off to the side of the road and stopped, hoping to catch a word with them, letting them know that there were some tricky spots up ahead, but the driver drove straight passed us without looking our way. This is the only other vehicle we would see in our entire first day.

We make way back to NP 230 and head East towards the start of Smoky Mountain Road. The landscape becomes flatter as we get to the start of the road. This picture was taken looking down Smoky Mountain Road. There is another road to the left that originates at the same point called Smoky Hollow Road (which meets up with Smoky Mountain Road ~halfway through) that is not pictured. We opted to skip this side-route, choosing to stick with the main road on this trip.

Beauty - 24 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 25 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The landscape begins to be more interesting to look at once again, and I snap a picture while cruising down the well-maintained road.

Beauty - 26 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After a dozen or so miles you come to one of the main attractions of Smoky Mountain Road, Kelly’s Grade. Apparently, way back in the day, a fellow named John Kelly was told that he could never grade a road (present day Smoky Mountain Road) due to this particular geological formation. He told them to hold his beer and he hopped on his grader and made this 1,000 ft climb.

As we neared the base, we stopped to take it in, contemplating how brazen this Kelly fella must have been. Also, this is the portion of the road in which other travelers have warned against the sheer drop-offs and expert 4wd skills. But, let’s just say that after spending ample time in the much more harrowing roads of Central Colorado, this particular stretch of road was a piece of cake for the Tacoma. The edge has berms for crying out loud! And in some places you could pass three cars side by side with ease.

Though it certainly is purdy to look at!

Beauty - 27 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

And the views from halfway up and at the top were absolutely mesmerizing. So much open space. Part of the reason why I love this part of the planet.

Beauty - 28 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

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After you reach the top the road maintains its easy to travel nature. The views from above are still captivating as you round corners and find lowlands around you once again.

Beauty - 34 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 35 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 36 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We passed three very promising looking campsites, with incredible views, but it was too early to stop for the day, so we noted their locations on our paper maps and pressed onward.

To give a summary of the road for future travelers: It is well maintained for ~20 miles or so from both Big Water and Escalante, so the beginning and end travel is easy and quick. 50 mph is not difficult whatsoever, even in a mildly loaded truck with stock suspension and tires. However, the middle 40 miles or so are traveled at a much slower pace. 4wd is not required (it was not required on any portion of this road), but progress can be very slow as the road becomes exceedingly rocky. Even though it is only 76 miles it takes roughly 5.5 hours to travel, and I was not being skimpy with the skinny pedal on the smooth, or even mildly bumpy, bits.

We cross another small stream at 5500 ft of elevation, this one coated with a salt like substance all around.

Beauty - 37 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We continue on, knowing that sunset would occur around 530 pm, so we decided to begin looking for a place to camp at 330 pm, hopefully finding a place by 4 pm to allow us to set up tents and cook dinner in the sunlight.

As luck would have it, at exactly 330 pm we see a small offshoot on the trucks map labeled ‘Pete’s Cove’. We reference the paper map and see, based on the contour lines, that the end of this trail is at a rock outcropping overlooking a canyon. Absolutely perfect.

We take the ~1.75-mile ride down this very rocky offshoot and end at a site with a fire pit and an open area for camping. We hop out of the truck, go towards the edge, and deem this site satisfactory for our stay. There are too many trees to get the truck right to the edge (like we did in April at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon), but beautiful views were only a 45 second walk away.

We set up camp, starting with our tents, and get to prepping dinner while the sun makes its way towards the horizon.

Beauty - 38 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 39 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

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Dinner for this first night is a handmade pizza in a Dutch oven, topped with soppressata, bell peppers, kale, green chilis, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and salsa. Two of these were made and promptly consumed. A third was made and saved for lunch for the following day. It was delicious, to say the very least.

Beauty - 41 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

To the side of our site were the ruins of what appeared to be a containment cell for cows. It used a cliff face and a drop off on two sides, along with a bunch of fallen trees to keep the cattle confined. Clearly not used anymore it was cool to check it out and hypothesize on who constructed it, and when.

Beauty - 42 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

As the sun dropped lower in the sky a fire was started and photos were taken as the sun painted the rock around our campsite.

Beauty - 43 - Day 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After we devoured our dinner, we sit around the fire sipping tea and talking about the easy travel of the day, the magnificent sights, along with what we hope to find tomorrow as we travel towards our second destination, not knowing that tomorrow would bring a challenge that neither of us were expecting.

As night fell, the fire continued to burn hot and steady. Books were read and tea was consumed. Eventually we retired to our tents, ready for a restful night’s sleep before tomorrows adventure.

 

Nice! I'll have to add this trip to the to do list next year!

 

Looks like a great trip! Brings back so many memories of our (muddy!) trip down to the same area. Crosby Canyon was a cool place, and the road around the lake, spectacular. Can't wait to read the rest!

photo from Exploring the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bears Ears and more! (Oct 2018)

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Definitely!

 

The mud would have added some fun! I read all of your trip reports, as I am an avid fan of both your adventures and your writing style, but I can't recall that one in detail. I'll go back and re-read it to see how our adventures compared.

 

That whole area in general is great- south across the AZ border into White Pocket, up on Alstrom Point, the climb up Smokey Mtn Rd, all the exploring along Hole in the Rock Rd, and the fantastic pizza in Escalante. Utah is so good for wandering around.

I think this Crosby, where we ended up one night on our way to the slot canyons on HITR Rd.

 

Looks like a good time!

 

Day 2 – Beauty with A Side of The Unexpected

We awoke with a crash and a bang……… OK, we awoke peacefully at 7 am as the sun came up over camp, its slow ascent bringing both light and warmth to this small outcropping of earth.

Beauty - 44 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Breakfast was another delicious affair, consisting of eggs, bacon, coffee, tea, and sourdough biscuits cooked in the Dutch oven.

As that was cooking, I went to the edge of the cove to take a couple more photos of the surrounding landscape in the new light.

Beauty - 46 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 47 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I can’t imagine how much time would be required to thoroughly explore this area, so I don’t think I’ll ever get bored with coming to southern Utah on trips.

The packing up of camp was quick, and we set off down Smoky Mountain Road on our way towards Escalante.

Beauty - 48 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We had ~35 miles or so to go (IIRC) to town, and on the way, we passed a Chevy Colorado that was out exploring and two people riding mountain bikes from one end of the road to the other. The going was slow and tedious at the beginning, but ~18 miles from Escalante the road smoothed out and the speed of travel increased.

At one point, you come out of the mountains and are greeted with a wide open view of the valley below.

Beauty - 49 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Once we made it to Escalante, we turned left onto the 12 and found the Visitors Center a half mile or so down the road. We swung in, inquired about fire restrictions on HITR Road, and purchased a guidebook. The employees at the Visitors Center told us about Mimi’s Bakery, saying we just had to go in and try some of the delicious baking. With that in mind, we made our way east on 12 towards Mimi’s Bakery, a gas station, and a sign denoting a scenic overlook and HITR Road.

HITR Road starts right off of the 12 ~4 miles from the east end of Escalante. It isn’t marked with a huge sign, but maps and GPS will have it marked clearly.

We stayed aired down during our brief stint on pavement, as it wasn’t worthwhile to air back up. We kept the speeds down and soon we were on dirt once again. We stopped briefly at the start of the road to figure out the distance to our turnoff, the slot canyons of Spooky Canyon and Peek-a-boo Gulchs.

HITR Road is a well maintained, highly trafficked, piece of dirt. It has a speed limit of 35 mph, though it is easy to maintain speeds of 50-60 mph on the long, clear stretches of road. It is a wide open landscape, with a mountain range to the right of the road, offering lots of side trails and places to explore.

We passed a few slower moving travelers and eventually made our way ~25 miles down the road to the turnoff for the slot canyons.

As we pull into the parking lot for the trailhead, we consume a small lunch of pizza and chips and salsa. As we are eating a white Ford F250 Super Duty pulls in next to us. An older married couple hops out, letting their dog jump out as well to explore the surrounding area.

The gentlemen (Bill) makes small talk with us while he is getting ready to explore the slot canyons with his wife (Sue) and dog (Brook), asking Tony and I where we are from, what we do, etc. Turns out, he is also from Flagstaff, and owns an auto repair shop that Tony and I are both familiar with! Talk about a small world!

So, needless to say, we all decide to tackle the canyons together, dog included. (Taking the dog along was actually very cool. Several places required careful lifting/passing of the dog to get through the steep sections. But Brook had an absolute blast!)

I didn’t bring my DSLR on the hike due to the tight quarters of the slot canyons and my desire to not knock it about on walls and whatnot, though I did take my iPotato to snap a few pictures. Suffice to say, this is definitely a place to check out with your own eyes, as it is simply too awesome to catch with my amateur photography skills.

We took the route suggested to us by passers-by, starting with Peek-a-boo and then tackling Spooky (the more difficult of the two). The two slot canyons run more or less parallel to each other, so you go through one, traverse above ground for a little ways, and then drop back into another slot, ultimately ending up back where you started.

The entrance to Peek-a-boo requires moderate climbing skills. We hoisted the dog into the slot, just ahead of a massive group of students/campers and their adult guides. We were able to navigate both slots in ~2.5 hours, but it can definitely take A LOT longer if you get in behind a large group of people, as some sections are difficult to traverse for folks who aren’t athletic/fit.

This is another bucket list item that I wanted to experience, and I am glad that I did.

Beauty - 50 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After exiting the end of Spooky:

Beauty - 51 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I highly recommend this hike to anyone, even with it being very popular (even in mid-November) with hikers of all ages. It is simply too cool not to see.

We all make our way back to the trailhead and Bill offered Tony and I a camping spot next to his RV, some 10 miles east of Escalante. We politely declined (though maybe we shouldn’t have), telling him we wanted to camp somewhere on HITR Road. So, we say our goodbyes, hop in the Tacoma, and head back towards the main road, or idea to travel a little farther down HITR Road and find a place to camp near the mountains.

As we get back to HITR Road, we spot a side trail just across the road and decide that that appears to have enough to explore to satiate our desires. We reference the paper maps and notice that at the end of this trail is a landmark named ‘Betsy Pass Caves’. Intrigued, we set off down the road.

Now, this is where things get interesting. This trail is much less traveled and as we near the end we unknowingly pass right by the caves, as they are just hidden from view from the roadway. The trail begins to look less traveled, as more growth overtakes the path. We cross an off-camber section of sandy road and eventually come to a point where the road has been washed away by rains.

Ah, no big deal, we must have passed the caves at some point, as it was clear that they were not ahead of us.

So, we back the truck up a ways, find a suitable place to turn around, and head off back down the road.

Remember that off-camber sandy section I mentioned just a couple of paragraphs ago? Yeah, about that.

As we go to cross it once more, I keep the driver’s side of the truck tight to the hillside on my left.

Feeling nothing out of the ordinary as we traversed it the first time, I am shocked as the truck slides right off of the road and down into the wash! The truck begins flashing a red warning line on the roll meter section of my dashboard, warning me that we are precariously perched wayyyy off of center.

4Lo is engaged immediately (had been in 2Hi 99.8% of the trip thus far), and I turn the wheel back towards the road and ease on the gas.

No dice. We slide even more sideways, with the truck rolled even further off center. You see, sand is what is known in the geotechnical and structural engineering world as ‘cohesionless’. This means that it has no ability on its own to clump up or hold a shape, other than one that its container defines. So, a sandy road, with no road or formation to the side of it, will continue to slide away with even the slightest application of force.

This was the situation we find ourselves in at the moment. Attempting to steer back onto the road simply caused the road to slide away, putting us back in the wash.

Tony decides to hop out of the truck to get a better view of the situation. He opens his door and it is immediately ripped out of his hands and the bottom corner buries itself in the sand (thankfully there wasn’t a rock there, phew). He falls/clambers out of the truck and shoves the door shut.

As he is looking around the truck the adrenaline is coursing through my veins. I am certain that plenty of other people would have found the situation easy to handle or address, but not for me at that moment. My mind was consumed by a single thought, get this damn truck back onto that road! So, during the most interesting point in the trip, I only took a single photo!

I am a big believer in these trucks being capable to tackle serious adventure right off of the showroom floor. I don’t get caught up in the need for all sorts of fancy upgrades just to hit the trails. As a result, I don’t have a front locker (TRD OR has a rear locker from factory), no winch, no maxtrax, no fancy suspension or more aggressive tires. I have a set of sliders, a hi-lift, several straps and shackles, and a deadman anchor (spare tire).

Tony throws a few rocks under my tires and I ease on the throttle in an attempt to escape this precarious situation. No luck, once again. All the while, this damn red line on my dash is flashing, keeping the tension nice and high.

Time slowly ticks by. All attempts are futile, with the road sliding down into the wash again and again. At one point the passenger rear tire is so stuffed in the wheel well that the front drivers side suspension is completely unloaded, with the tire barely touching the ground. The tire is significantly rolled over relative to the rim, threatening a de-bead, which would have its own set of problems. Thankfully this never happens.

I am tired of being stuck in the truck at this angle, so I tell Tony to clear some rocks from behind the truck, I put the Tacoma into reverse, and I commit to backing up into the ditch and committing more of the truck to the wash. Finally, the truck slides down enough that the angle is only 20 degrees or so according to the dash and I can hop out and survey the situation myself.

I snap the only photo of the situation.

I know many of you will see this picture and say, ‘that doesn’t look bad at all you big pansy!’, but it seriously does not do the situation justice. I don’t know what else to say except ‘you had to be there!’.

Beauty - 52 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We collect our thoughts, pile up a mass of rocks, and I give the truck another go.

Once again, no luck, though this time my passenger side slider (veryyyy glad I have these) does its job and smashes into a rock in the wash, keeping my rocker panel from damage. My front passenger side mud flap is ripped away from the truck at this time.

Now we are stuck on a big rock. Out comes the hi-lift, and I lift the front passenger side of the truck by the slider, and through what can only be adrenaline-induced strength we both manage to pry the rock out of the ground and move it out of the way.

An hour has passed by now, the truck is deeper in the wash than when we started, and the sun is beginning its descent.

During our struggle a young couple, Luke and Rachel, had traveled down the road to find the caves and saw the predicament we were in. They had no recovery gear, but they were happy to offer any assistance that they could.

I realized that we were attempting to tackle the climb with the truck too parallel to the road. I could get the drivers front tire up onto the road, but the passenger front tire was repeatedly sliding down into the wash.

So, a new plan emerged, where I would commit even further to the wash by cutting my wheel hard passenger and putting the truck more perpendicular to the road.

Tony, Luke, and Rachel go about piling rocks behind the truck to get me up and over a couple of large boulders buried in the ground behind the truck.

I put the Tacoma in reverse, lose my rear passenger mud flap as it is ripped away, and put the truck even deeper into the wash.

All 4 of us then pile as many rocks as we can find along the edge of the road. After a while we have hundreds of rocks lining the edge.

This is it. It’s been almost two hours by now, and the sun is going down quickly. Knowing that I won’t be able to sleep, let alone relax, if this truck is stuck in the wash until tomorrow, I hop in the truck.

Rachel shouts words of encouragement, yelling ‘Come on Taco, you got this!’.

I turn the wheel driver and commit to hitting the road as perpendicular as possible, knowing I will have to cut hard passenger as soon as my front tires hit the road to avoid driving into the hillside on the other side of the road.

The three of them get well out of the way. The truck goes into drive, still in 4Lo. Foot gingerly steps on the gas. I hit the pile of rocks along the edge and the front wheels of the truck begin to rise out of the ditch. More throttle now. The truck hops up, front wheels searching for traction as the rear of the truck is still in soft sand below.

More throttle. I feel the tires gain traction on the rocks, and it lurches up onto the road. I keep my foot on the throttle as the truck dives towards the hillside.

I go hard passenger as the rear wheels spit rocks against the far side of the wash, still not cresting the hump of the road. I do a sort of sideways slide as I move along the wash. Finally, the driver’s side rear tire crests the road and the entire truck bounces up onto the road and away from the ditch.

Phew. The Tacoma made it. All-in-all I lost two mud flaps, the passenger slider is scratched, and my passenger rear bumper cover has several scratches as well. But it is still in one piece, and not rolled onto its side in a ditch off of HITR Road.

Many thanks are shared with Rachel and Luke, their assistance very helpful in recovering the truck.

Adrenaline still flowing, perhaps even higher than before, we set off down the road looking for a close campsite.

We find one less than a mile away and get to cooking dinner and setting up tents.

Beauty - 53 - Day 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Firewood is obtained, as a serious fire is needed tonight, and the conversation mostly revolves around the predicament we just escaped from. Dinner is beef stroganoff with sweet potato noodles, and it is eaten with glee, both due to its delicious taste and the fact that we were no longer sweating our asses off in that ditch.

I’ll be the first to say it. A lift (I will do a Kings setup one day, but not until my stock stuff has run its course) and more aggressive tires (I will also upgrade to Wildpeaks when my stock stuff is worn out) would have made the escape much easier, but that is neither here nor there. I didn’t have those things at the time. Plus, we were able to come clear of the wash without anything other than a hi-lift and the features the truck has from the factory. The real danger had been when we first slide into the wash and the truck was 35-40 degrees off of center, and in that case being higher off of the ground would have actually been detrimental to the rolling over on its side situation.

You can still get out and explore without any fancy stuff. Yes, it may help in some situations, but if you can’t afford it or simply choose not to buy it, you need not put off adventure because of it.

As the sun set, the fire kept us warm, as nighttime temps dropped into the high 20’s.

Before long, it was time to climb into the tent, the adrenaline having worn off, with exhaustion taking its place.

Tomorrow we would explore the Betsy Pass Caves before making our way back towards Flagstaff. But until then, it was time to sleep.

 

Day 3 – Beauty with A Side of The Unexpected

With a day of travel ahead of us we woke up as the sun did, prepping breakfast and cleaning up camp.

The sunrise was picturesque, giving the Tacoma a very distinct look as the sun rose into the sky.

Beauty - 54 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Beauty - 55 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Happy for the warmth that the sun brought to the day (it was very cold that morning) we quickly made breakfast. Breakfast consisted of sourdough biscuits, bacon, eggs, tea, and butter coffee.

Bellies full, camp was quickly cleaned up and the tent was stowed away. He had one peculiar site to explore before we began the journey back to Flagstaff.

Just a short drive towards the mountains, but not quite as far down the road as the wash we had narrowly escaped, laid the Betsy Pass Caves.

Beauty - 56 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Now, Rachel and Luke, who had helped us out in the wash the previous day, told us that they couldn’t describe the caves to us in words. We would just have to go find and explore them ourselves.

And you know what? They were spot on in their analysis.

The Lichtenhahn brothers were some capable and focused individuals. They built three relatively massive caves in the side of a rock face. This is definitely a place you have to see and touch to believe.

This is the view from the outside ‘front porch’ area of the caves.

Beauty - 57 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

An old car, owner unknown, slowly succumbs to time, the environment, and careless explorers.

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The first cave you come to is truly massive. It housed a fiberglass boat shell which one of the brothers was crafting back in the day. This cave features no door to enclose it from the cold.

I wouldn’t attempt something like this even with the tools of today.

Beauty - 59 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The cave was easily large enough for two Tacomas to park inside side by side!

The next cave was their home, and it has a built-in door framed into the rock!

Beauty - 60 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This room too was massive. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I couldn’t figure out how to capture the inside of the caves with my amateur photography skills.

The next cave had a still functioning double door framed into the rock. This was their workshop, and the remnants of a lone machine were still present in the yet again massive room.

Beauty - 62 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Someone had been kind enough to print out two pages from a book and laminate them for explorers to read and learn from.

Beauty - 61 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

With the caves thoroughly explored I took a final picture of the Tacoma in the Lichtenhahn brothers’ ‘driveway’ before we set off back down HITR road.

Beauty - 63 - Day 3 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We made good time on HITR road, making it back to the 12 and heading through Escalante. We weren’t taking the Smoky Mountain Road back to Big Water, instead opting to take the paved road around towards Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon National Park is beautiful, and we already started discussions of having this place (or at least in a less traveled place nearby) be the next stop for adventure.

Before we knew it we had traversed all of the required miles to make it back home to the driveway. The truck was unpacked and we prepared to get back into the day-to-day routine of normal life.

Until next time!