{"id":259,"date":"2010-04-10T21:30:56","date_gmt":"2010-04-11T02:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/?p=259"},"modified":"2011-11-10T17:22:22","modified_gmt":"2011-11-10T22:22:22","slug":"paria-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/?p=259","title":{"rendered":"Paria River Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"intro\"<\/p>\n

My great joy\u00a0in running\u00a0isn’t experienced\u00a0in the\u00a0races, but rather in doing adventure runs.\u00a0 At times, these adventures can be amazing experiences when there is a perfect balance of challenge, solitude, and scenery.\u00a0\u00a0 I was thrilled to again experience this feeling while running through the Paria Canyon near the Utah\/Arizona border.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"map\"<\/p>\n

The Paria Canyon crosses Rt. 89, the highway between Kanab, UT and Page Arizona.\u00a0\u00a0 The Lower section of this river then travels through a spectacular giant slot canyon making its way to the Colorado River, at Lee\u2019s Ferry.\u00a0\u00a0 The BLM protects this wilderness area and only issues a few limited number of over-night permits each day to preserve its beauty and solitude.\u00a0\u00a0 Many believe this is the most spectacular slot canyon in the southwest.<\/p>\n

The entire length of this end-to-end route is about 40 miles.\u00a0 For the first 25 miles or so, there is really no trail, but you can\u2019t get lost.\u00a0 You just follow the river through the canyon and pick your best route as the canyon snakes back and forth with high cliffs on both sides.\u00a0\u00a0 The great challenge of this run is the river.\u00a0 The higher the river is, the more challenging the run becomes.\u00a0\u00a0 River crossings are constant.\u00a0\u00a0 I estimate there are more than 400 crossings to make.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Normally this route is accomplished with a 3-4-day backpacking trip.\u00a0 On this occasion, my brother Bob, was guiding his sons, sons-in-law, and a friend on such a multi-day trip through the canyon.\u00a0\u00a0 I had hiked\/run this route three times before during the past 15 years and I longed to again return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I made plans and decided to put together a truly unique experience in the Canyon.\u00a0\u00a0 I decided to run the canyon at night and join up with my brother\u2019s group on Saturday morning near the 25-mile mark.\u00a0 \u00a0This turned out to be one of the most unique, challenging, and exciting adventure runs I had ever experienced.<\/p>\n

\"Whitehouse
Whitehouse trailhead, the starting point<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I arrived at the Whitehouse trailhead on Friday afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0 The weather was perfect for running with clear deep-blue skies.\u00a0\u00a0 I set up a tent in the campground and then checked out the river level.\u00a0 I was nervous at what I saw.\u00a0 The river was running pretty strong.\u00a0 The warm weather was melting the snow upriver that fell a few days earlier.\u00a0 The water was brown and silty, which is normally the case.\u00a0\u00a0 However, this was the deepest I have seen the river during my several times there.\u00a0\u00a0 I knew it would be a challenging obstacle.<\/p>\n

\"I
I ran to the Toadstool Hoodoo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I went for a late afternoon warm-up 9-mile run through spectacular washes to the north, to the Paria Rimrock area, a remarkable run in itself.\u00a0\u00a0 After that, as dusk arrived I tried to get some rest, waiting for midnight.\u00a0 But little sleep came, because hiker after hiker arrived at the trailhead and a large group of young adults enjoyed a lively, loud night party at their camp until 11:30.\u00a0\u00a0 But all was quiet as I broke my camp, made preparations, and went to the trailhead.<\/p>\n

\"Ready
Ready to begin my night river run<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I started my amazing run at 12:30 a.m.\u00a0\u00a0 If I timed the run correctly, I would find my brother\u2019s camp after dawn and then hike with them through the remainder of the canyon.\u00a0 If I went too fast, I might pass by them in the dark.\u00a0\u00a0 But with a 12:30 a.m. start, I would have to push a fast, tough pace to reach them by dawn.<\/p>\n

I arrived at the river, and was pleased to discover that the river depth had dropped a foot or more because of cooler night-time temperatures.\u00a0\u00a0 It was in the upper 40s and I never felt too chilly.\u00a0 I traveled very light, with less than five pounds on my back.\u00a0\u00a0 I started with just one hand-held water bottle.<\/p>\n

\"Stepping
Stepping into the river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The night was so peaceful and quiet.\u00a0 I would hear the sounds of the river for hours.\u00a0 The stars in the sky were astonishing, but those would soon be obscured by high cliffs.\u00a0\u00a0 As the river made a turn, I was forced to make my first of hundreds of river crossings.\u00a0 With each turn of the river, the beach would disappear from one side of the river to the other.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To continue to run fast, I needed to cross the river and continue running on the other side.\u00a0 \u201cOK, here we go!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 I dipped my foot in and was pleased that the temperature of the water was cool, but not bitter cold.\u00a0 For the first few miles, the depth of the river was only about calf deep, but that would soon change.<\/p>\n

Listen to the audio clip around mile 2.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"My
My brother's group in the narrows, two days earlier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My pace would be very good to begin with as I ran with good speed on the sandy beach dodging rocks and bounding across the river over and over again.\u00a0 Soon the canyon closed in on me as I went through the Paria Narrows.\u00a0 At times it was so narrow that the river covered the entire width of the canyon.\u00a0 I had no choice but to plow through the water straight ahead for long stretches.\u00a0\u00a0 In my previous hikes\/runs through the canyon, this section was completely dry, without any water.\u00a0 Not so tonight, it was knee-deep.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen to the audio clip recorded in the Paria Narrows<\/a><\/p>\n

I shined my light up the cliffs above my head and could only see a sliver of sky above.\u00a0 The walls soared above more than 500 feet.\u00a0 The sounds I made echoed off the walls.\u00a0 It was slow going through deeper water, but I continued to push the pace hard. At times it felt like I was running through a dark cave.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0 1.5 hours, I reached the confluence of Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River.\u00a0 These two slot canyons come together at about mile 7.5.\u00a0\u00a0 Once before, I had hiked through the 12-mile Buckskin Gulch, the longest slot canyon in the world.\u00a0\u00a0 At this time of the year, it is pretty impassible, with deep pools that are bitter cold.<\/p>\n

\"What
What it would of looked like in the day - nephews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The canyon became a little wider, but the river flowed a little deeper.\u00a0\u00a0 Within a half mile, I passed by a large group of tents set up near the riverside.\u00a0\u00a0 I was making quite a bit of noise as I sloshed quickly through the river.\u00a0\u00a0 I wondered if they could hear me, wondering who in the world was running down the canyon at 2:00 a.m.\u00a0\u00a0 I sang out to my music after I passed, giving them something else to wonder about.<\/p>\n

\"Leg
Leg and Light<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I soon developed a good river running skill.\u00a0\u00a0 It was impossible to detect how deep the river was by seeing through the water to the river bottom.\u00a0 The water was totally brown and murky.\u00a0 However, I could detect the depth by observing the ripples in the water.\u00a0\u00a0 I did my best to cross where it looked like the depth would be only calf deep or less, rather than thigh deep.\u00a0 I tried hard to maximize my time running on dry ground, and then would choose good crossing locations to bound across the river quickly.<\/p>\n

I was soon faced with a new challenge, I was running out of water.\u00a0\u00a0 The river water was undrinkable. How in the world was I going to find one of the few springs along the way in the dark?\u00a0\u00a0 I had the spring waypoints marked in my GPS, but getting a signal in these narrow sections was probably impossible.\u00a0 So, for the next few miles, I kept careful watch on the cliff walls for the tell-tale signs of stained walls due to seeping springs.\u00a0\u00a0 I found Wall Spring, but it wasn\u2019t dripping fast enough, so I decided to continue on, hoping for a fast flowing spring.\u00a0\u00a0 Just after I finally ran out of water, I came upon the gushing Big Spring.\u00a0\u00a0 I put my hand in the waterfall and was very surprised at how warm the water was flowing from the cliff walls.\u00a0\u00a0 It tasted just fine, so I drank up and filled my bottle.<\/p>\n

I made my first stop (mile 12) at that point to clean out my shoes.\u00a0 The river water, containing fine silt, flowed into my shoes and socks, leaving fine sand behind.\u00a0 Eventually the sand gathered so much that it cramped my toes.\u00a0\u00a0 It took me ten minutes to clean things out and to put my wet socks and shoes back on.\u00a0\u00a0 The chilly air and water started to affect me, so I wanted to quickly get on my way again.\u00a0 My feet felt much better and I was able to pick up the speed.<\/p>\n

\"As
As seen during the day before, beaches to run on<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The canyon became wider and the cliffs above my head became hundreds of feet higher.\u00a0 The river would make hairpin turns as the canyon snaked its way back and forth.\u00a0 It became an incredible challenge to navigate the best and fastest routes along the riversides.\u00a0\u00a0 At the turns, occasionally there would be a trail that would cut off the turn, cutting its way through brush, reeds, and cottonwood groves.\u00a0\u00a0 Those sandy trails that climbed up and down were a nice change, and I ran through plenty of those sections.\u00a0 But they were difficult to detect in the dark at the speed I was going.\u00a0 I know I missed dozens of these short cuts.<\/p>\n

\"I
I couldn't see them in the dark, but the walls soared into the sky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The further I went, the deeper the river became.\u00a0\u00a0 Soon, almost every crossing involved thigh-deep water.\u00a0 It was impossible to move quickly through those crossings and they began to really tire me out.\u00a0 There were long stretches without beaches on either side, just thick reeds.\u00a0 I was forced to slosh slowly down the river through the deep cold water.\u00a0\u00a0 I groaned as I reached these sections.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the most challenging sections was some very calm deep pools.\u00a0\u00a0 I would have to very carefully test the depth and at times would have to back-track and find better ways to cross — all of this in the dark.\u00a0\u00a0 Twice I dipped down and became wet up to my waist, nearly falling completely in the water.\u00a0 But I kept my balance and never did take a face plant in the water.<\/p>\n

I began to worry about how challenging and slowly I was progressing.\u00a0 I thought about my brother and his group with heavy packs.\u00a0 How did they do in these sections?\u00a0\u00a0 Could they really have covered 25 miles in two days?\u00a0\u00a0 Was it possible that they turned back?\u00a0\u00a0 Could I be running right by their camp in the dark?<\/p>\n

Eventually the canyon started to become wider.\u00a0 I turned on my GPS and was surprised to discover that I was much further than I realized.\u00a0 I was already at about mile 21.\u00a0\u00a0 With the dark, every turn in the river seemed to be the same.\u00a0\u00a0 I sloshed on and took advantage the best I could of the nice sections where I could run fast along the river.<\/p>\n

Listen to the audio clip recorded at dawn.<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally dawn arrived and illuminated the high red walls all around me.\u00a0\u00a0 I knew that there were only two springs left on my route and I was pleased that I was able to find the hidden shower spring based on my memory.\u00a0\u00a0 I filled up my camelback for the long hot final 18 miles.\u00a0 I also ate my breakfast snacks, feeling much better.<\/p>\n

My legs had held up very well.\u00a0 They felt strong and fast.\u00a0 But my feet were taking beating from the sand and the very uneven surfaces.\u00a0 My ankles were getting a tremendous workout.\u00a0\u00a0 At one point, I was in a very reflective mood, thinking about the experience that I was having.\u00a0 All the hard work and training made this possible.\u00a0 I wished others could share what I was experiencing.\u00a0 I knew that was impossible, but if others could somehow get a glimpse of the joy I was feeling, perhaps they would work harder to make similar experiences possible.\u00a0 I felt very grateful as I pranced through the rocks, bounded through the river, and scrambled up and down sandy trails, pushing aside high reeds.<\/p>\n

\"Me,
Me, running along the river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I now focused on finding my brother and his group.\u00a0 At the end of the adventure, they would be my 150-mile ride back to my car.\u00a0\u00a0 I was also feeling lonely after seven hours of solo night-running and was anxious for company.\u00a0\u00a0 I passed by known campsites, but there was no sign of campers.\u00a0 I diverted off the river several times to inspect camping areas, but there was no sign.\u00a0 At times it sounded like I could hear voices echoing off the cliff walls, but I concluded it was just sounds from the river.\u00a0 Finally, I knew I had one last hope, reaching the last spring and the camping spots there.\u00a0\u00a0 That is where I had told my brother that I hoped they would reach by their second day.<\/p>\n

\"Bob
Bob Crockett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I reached the area, I saw human life!\u00a0\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t my brother, it was another group.\u00a0 As I ran into their camp, a guy asked, \u201cAre you the marathoner?\u201d\u00a0 My spirits rose.\u00a0 He had obviously been in contact with my brother.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is my group?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey should still be right around the next bend.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 I bid good-bye and then ran ahead.\u00a0 Sure enough I could see my brother up ahead and I let out a whoop as I ran into their camp.\u00a0 His sons had looks of astonishment on their faces as they realized that I really made it.\u00a0\u00a0 I looked at my watch \u2013 8 hours.\u00a0\u00a0 I had covered their two-day trek in just 8 hours.<\/p>\n

\"Breaking
Breaking Camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My timing was perfect.\u00a0 They were working at breaking their camp and filling their water containers at the nearby spring for the final long hot 15 miles.\u00a0\u00a0 I was very excited as I shared some details of my amazing night-time run through the dark, spooky, spectacular canyon.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What an adventure it was.\u00a0 Words really do not do justice in describing the challenges I had faced.<\/p>\n

\"Hiking
Hiking a trail away from the river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now I could finally rest.\u00a0\u00a0 For miles ahead, I enjoyed the company hiking with my brother, his sons-in-law, nephews, and a friend.\u00a0 We swapped many outdoor stories as the canyon came to brilliant life and spilled out into wide open desert.\u00a0\u00a0 At times we hiked along the river, and other times took high-water trails that climbed up the slopes far from the river.\u00a0\u00a0 There were many different options to take.<\/p>\n

\"Ultrarunner
Ultrarunner brothers, Bob and Davy Crockett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally as we again were faced with river crossings, some of the guys wanted to take many minutes searching out dry ways to cross the river.\u00a0 Bob and I tried to convince them that there were many crossings still ahead, but the guys were getting very weary of wet feet, so even took shoes and socks off to make the crossing.<\/p>\n

\"Stopping
Stopping for a rest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All the slower hiking caused my right hamstring to tighten up pretty bad, making we worry about seriously pulling it.\u00a0\u00a0 I decided that I needed to push ahead on my own to keep the muscle loose.\u00a0\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t risk running any more, but I could push on ahead at a good pace.\u00a0\u00a0 The pace was frustratingly slow compared to running, but I eventually finished the long miles and arrived at the Lonely Dell Ranch at Lees Ferry.<\/p>\n

\"Lonely
Lonely Dell Ranch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had covered the 40-mile adventure in 13 hours and arrived about 50 minutes ahead of the others.\u00a0 My previous best time doing this route was about 22 hours, so I was very pleased how quickly I had traveled, even with hiking the last five hours.\u00a0\u00a0 I believe I could have finished in about 11.5 hours if I would have continued to run.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lonely
Lonely Dell Ranch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I rested in the shade of the ranch as I waited for the others.\u00a0\u00a0 Lee\u2019s Ferry is a very remote, historic Colorado River crossing location where travelers were ferried across the river in the 19th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 There are several historic buildings still standing.<\/p>\n

\"Packing
Packing up at Lee's Ferry, Colorado River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The others soon arrived in good spirits.\u00a0 They had accomplished the route in just 2.5 days, an amazing accomplishment with packs.\u00a0\u00a0 We were soon on our way in Bob\u2019s car and had a great feast in Page, AZ.<\/p>\n

My running experience at night through the narrow portions of Paria Canyon, in high water, was one of the most challenging, spooky, invigorating runs of my life.\u00a0\u00a0 I long to return very soon to do it again.\u00a0\u00a0 The problem is logistics.\u00a0 To get a ride back on the 150 miles of roads to the trailhead, you either need to shuttle a car, hire a $170 shuttle service, or hitch-hike.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve done all three methods and they are a bother.\u00a0\u00a0 So next time, I may just run a 50-mile out and back, running the canyon first at night and then return in the morning light.\u00a0 This can be accomplished during hotter months because of the high canyon walls that keep things cool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My great joy\u00a0in running\u00a0isn’t experienced\u00a0in the\u00a0races, but rather in doing adventure runs.\u00a0 At times, these adventures can be amazing experiences when there is a perfect…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure-runs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crockettclan.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}