Utah Adventure #1: Coyote Gulch

Aaaaand we're back! Barely, that is. We've spent this lovely Memorial Day being as lazy as humanly possible after we just had a killer of a weekend... both literally and figuratively. Let me explain.

We drove down to Southern Utah near the Escalante River to a beautiful little area called "Coyote Gulch." To access the gulch you must backpack in a good 5-6 miles through the hot desert, and then hike in as far as you'd like within the breathtaking revine. You walk through and along a river as you bypass steep cliffs, incredible greenery, natural arches and bridges, waterfalls, and more. You can set up camp anywhere you desire; we chose to set up our temporary abode in a little meadow near the "Natural Bridge," about half-way through the gulch. It was perfect.

And then we woke up the next morning after our killer 10 mile hike into the gulch (believe me... 10 miles doesn't sound too bad, but it is a lot worse with a 40 pound backpack... the whole way). As we went to boil some water for breakfast we realized we had bought the wrong propane bottle for our portable stove. Uh oh. No stove = no boiling water = no way to cook our next 3 meals. We looked at each other, with our aching muscles and feet and said "looks like we better hike back out!" Haha oops. So we hiked 10 more miles the next day.

So there you have it! Our adventure was a little shorter than anticipated, but just as breathtaking and beautiful as I remembered Utah being. But I must say, it was a lot more painful. :) It's funny how you forget how backpacking is such hard work! By the time we pulled in last night we could barely move. And I'm not exaggerating. We were both limping and walking hunched over. I'm sure we were quite the spectacle. After a lazy day watching movies and making a big breakfast today, I think we are ready to take on the world again, or at least be able to walk...

Oh and don't worry, despite being so particular on what I would carry in my backpack for fear of excess weight, I knew one little addition would be worth it:

This picture showcases two of my loves in life... in no particular order of course. :)