The Solo Adventurer gets lost
One of my favorite places on the Utah Canyon country trip was Natural Bridges National Monument. It's small, out of the way, quiet, and uncrowded. A perfect place to mess up and get lost! Ok, so here's the story.
Natural Bridges has a 9 mile one-way car loop that takes you by three natural bridge viewpoints. The actual natural bridges are 400 - 600 feet down in the canyon - you are driving on top of the mesa. So, I get a basic map from the visitors center, drive to the first viewpoint, park the car, pack the daypack, and head down into the canyon (600 feet down, including climbing on some ladders - a bit like parts of the Mesa Verde tours if you have ever been there). The plan was to hike along the canyon from the first natural bridge to the second bridge, and then hike back out of the canyon, hike across the mesa on another trail back to the car - about 5 or 6 miles. All went well getting down to the first bridge, hiking along the canyon, and getting to the second natural bridge. Saw only a few other people, and hiking in the canyon was a unique experience. After the second bridge my rudimentary map showed you hiked a bit farther and then there would be a trail heading up out of the canyon - or you could keep hiking up the canyon to the third bridge and hike out there - although that would make the loop about 9 miles, rather than 5 or 6.
Well, after going for a ways up the canyon past the second bridge, no trail out of the canyon, although I am definitely following tracks the whole way (although it was real tricky immediately past the second bridge, which looking back should have tipped me off). I kept going, figuring I must have missed the trail leading out of the canyon, but if I just kept going I would end up at the third bridge and then I could climb out. I hiked for two hours past the second bridge (until about 5 PM - and it gets dusky dark at 7, and pitch black at 7:30), and no third bridge - something is definitely wrong, and it is getting way late. So I finally turn around and start hiking back the way I came, and at about 7 PM, I make it back to the second bridge. It is getting dark, and it is looking grim, and I stumble on the right trail. It turns out at the second bridge, there are two canyons that come together - and I went up the wrong canyon - this is why it was so hard to get past the second bridge going up the wrong canyon. So now I am on the trail up out of the canyon, but it is really getting dark - and the trail is over slick rock in most sections, with occasional cairns which I can't see. So I get lost again about half way up the canyon, and it is really getting very dark. I get temporarily "trapped on a ledge", and after a few panicky moments find my way off of the ledge, and then I stumble on a cairn, and manage to stay on the trail the rest of the way to the top. By the time I get to the top it is pitch black, and there is no one in sight. I figure out which way to go to hike back along the road to my car, which takes another 45 minutes. I never saw another person the whole time. I get back to the car about 9 PM, and there is a light on by my car. It turns out I accidentally left a light on in the car way back at 1 PM when I started - but luckily the car started and the story had a good ending. Worse case scenario - I would have spent a cold night in the canyon, and hiked out in the morning - but I would have made it. Moral of the story - don't be in such a hurry - take the time to actually read the map, not just glance at it.
In spite of the experience, or perhaps because of it - I really loved the hike!
Natural Bridges has a 9 mile one-way car loop that takes you by three natural bridge viewpoints. The actual natural bridges are 400 - 600 feet down in the canyon - you are driving on top of the mesa. So, I get a basic map from the visitors center, drive to the first viewpoint, park the car, pack the daypack, and head down into the canyon (600 feet down, including climbing on some ladders - a bit like parts of the Mesa Verde tours if you have ever been there). The plan was to hike along the canyon from the first natural bridge to the second bridge, and then hike back out of the canyon, hike across the mesa on another trail back to the car - about 5 or 6 miles. All went well getting down to the first bridge, hiking along the canyon, and getting to the second natural bridge. Saw only a few other people, and hiking in the canyon was a unique experience. After the second bridge my rudimentary map showed you hiked a bit farther and then there would be a trail heading up out of the canyon - or you could keep hiking up the canyon to the third bridge and hike out there - although that would make the loop about 9 miles, rather than 5 or 6.
Well, after going for a ways up the canyon past the second bridge, no trail out of the canyon, although I am definitely following tracks the whole way (although it was real tricky immediately past the second bridge, which looking back should have tipped me off). I kept going, figuring I must have missed the trail leading out of the canyon, but if I just kept going I would end up at the third bridge and then I could climb out. I hiked for two hours past the second bridge (until about 5 PM - and it gets dusky dark at 7, and pitch black at 7:30), and no third bridge - something is definitely wrong, and it is getting way late. So I finally turn around and start hiking back the way I came, and at about 7 PM, I make it back to the second bridge. It is getting dark, and it is looking grim, and I stumble on the right trail. It turns out at the second bridge, there are two canyons that come together - and I went up the wrong canyon - this is why it was so hard to get past the second bridge going up the wrong canyon. So now I am on the trail up out of the canyon, but it is really getting dark - and the trail is over slick rock in most sections, with occasional cairns which I can't see. So I get lost again about half way up the canyon, and it is really getting very dark. I get temporarily "trapped on a ledge", and after a few panicky moments find my way off of the ledge, and then I stumble on a cairn, and manage to stay on the trail the rest of the way to the top. By the time I get to the top it is pitch black, and there is no one in sight. I figure out which way to go to hike back along the road to my car, which takes another 45 minutes. I never saw another person the whole time. I get back to the car about 9 PM, and there is a light on by my car. It turns out I accidentally left a light on in the car way back at 1 PM when I started - but luckily the car started and the story had a good ending. Worse case scenario - I would have spent a cold night in the canyon, and hiked out in the morning - but I would have made it. Moral of the story - don't be in such a hurry - take the time to actually read the map, not just glance at it.
In spite of the experience, or perhaps because of it - I really loved the hike!
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