Introductory note. Four years ago, Ryan Rodgers wrote an article about Bob O’Hara for the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. As the general manager at Northstar Canoes I wanted to know who was writing stories about canoeists so I contacted him. I learned Ryan and I would be nearly in the same place at the same time. Ryan wrote the story of his trip to Lake Powell for Paddle & Portage a year ago. This is mine. Think of it as a really long portage!

UTAH – My wife, Claire, had not visited this Western state’s canyon country since childhood. I wanted her to experience the magic of red rocks as an adult. I am enchanted by southern Utah, though I live in Minnesota. I’d explored Coyote Gulch, Hole in the Rock Road’s backpacking mecca, on my first trip decades ago. I considered bringing Claire to Coyote, but wanted a quiet area. We would hike slowly due to Dashwa, our 3-year-old son.

I chose Fiftymile Creek and hoped to cross to the mesa to Davis Gulch, if Dashwa’s first backpacking trip was going well. Fiftymile promised an easy entry into a beautiful canyon. Davis holds the last known camp of the youthful wilderness vagabond, Everett Ruess, who disappeared a century ago.