Not long after we started up Bighorn Canyon, we began to encounter shallow slots and beautiful striped sandstone.

The slots may have been shallow, but they were quite narrow and surprisingly long. The colors on the walls were simply spectacular.

We climbed out of a break between slot canyons and had a picnic lunch here next to a canyon wall that looked like it might have been a mural.

After lunch, Sputnik took the pack and we journeyed on over yellow slickrock.

Then back into another slot canyon.

We had plenty more daylight after Calf Creek Falls, so we headed just down the road to the Hwy 12 Escalante River access where there is a short hike up to some petroglyphs. Unfortunately, we could not take Cuzco on this hike. There was a rock shelf that was simply too high for him to climb or jump. He tried, but it was too much for him. I sadly had to take him back to the truck and leave him there while the rest of us took to the trail without him. Our one consolation was that it was a very short hike and we could see the truck from much of it. It was a cool, cloudy day so I knew he would not be uncomfortable–just unhappy. We were all unhappy. Poor Cuzco!

Well, I say the hike was short, but it would have been a lot shorter if we hadn’t taken a wrong turn. We didn’t find petroglyphs, but we found this cool pregnant-looking rock.

The boys got a nice drink and we headed back the other way.

Once we got on the right trail, the petroglyphs were easy to spot. The were right at eye level! The square cuts around two of them are from early archaeologists’ attempts to remove them so they could be displayed in museums. I guess they decided the rock was too fragile or something because for some reason they gave up. I’m glad.

Sputnik poses next to the image of his ancient relatives.

There were more petroglyphs further on which were quite fascinating. Our photos of the most interesting rock art did not come out, but you can see it if you do an internet search for “hundred hands pictograph”. It was four rows of handprints from what appears to be many different people who dipped their hands in paint and slapped the wall. Very cool! If you look closely at this petroglyph you can see a papoose!

I thought this rock looked a lot like Sputnik. I kind of regretted bringing him on this hike. He was terribly upset that we left Cuzco behind and he would not stop wailing. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he weren’t so LOUD. For such a little guy he sure has a set of bellows!

When we were loading everyone up to leave, Cuzco took off while I was rearranging tether spots. He left all of us at the truck, ran across the parking lot, and made a beeline for the trailhead. He totally ignored my calls and went a ways up the trail before I could catch him. I think he was determined to take another whack at that high rock and prove to himself that he could still do it. Poor fella. It’s awfully hard to see him get too old to do things he loves.

Our third day in Escalante threatened rain again, so we thought we’d pick a couple of shorter hikes outside of town where the sky looked less ominous. The first one was Calf Creek Falls. We’d been here before with Nibbles and Cuzco in 2012, but it was so pretty we wanted to see it again even though this is a ridiculously popular trail. The number of people who stop us and ask about the goats makes the 5-mile round trip take a very long time. On the plus side, it is awfully fun to show off our little herd. 

The overcast sky made the colors less vibrant this time, and the day was much too cold to tempt us in for a swim even though when I was last here I swore I’d bring my bathing suit on the next visit. However, the falls and the pool are beyond breathtaking no matter how gray the weather.

Phil wanted a picture with his goats by the pool too!

Phil did eventually achieve some level of success getting them near the water.

But since I’m mean, I decided that standing next to the water wasn’t good enough. I hooked Sputnik’s halter to Cuzco’s collar and dragged him with us across the shallow end.

I thought maybe Sputnik would be brave enough after one crossing to follow Cuzco back voluntarily.

Clearly I was wrong. I had to go back over and fetch him, and he wasn’t happy about it.

“Brave boy, Sputnik!” Nose-petting and treats were in order.

I eventually decided that Sputnik had been water-traumatized enough and we made our way back to shore.

It was gratifying when he followed me willingly down to the waterside to pose for a photo. It’s nice when training pays off!

Finn was a lot more willing in his water lessons, and he took the courtesy of not splashing me like Sputnik had. Sputnik  the drama king had a tendency to lift his front feet entirely out of the water and slap them down with each step, soaking both of us. Finn walked like a normal goat, which was a nice change.

Some nice folks we met on the trail took photos of us and the goats.

The trail was cool, damp sand and smooth rock the entire way, so I gave my sandals to Cuzco to carry almost as soon as we left the trailhead. He only dropped them in a few steep places where they slid off the back. For the entire five-mile trip he balanced those shoes carefully and never shook them off or tried to lose them on a tree branch. I loved hiking barefoot at the time, but I regretted it that evening. I forgot that when one walks barefoot, one places their feet differently and uses different muscles than when one wears shoes. It’s been many years since I went such a long way in bare feet, and I felt it! I ached from the hips down and was glad for a soak in the hot tub that night!

Our second day in Escalante was cold, windy, and full of rain. We spent the morning doing laundry and hoping the skies would clear but they never did. We have to be especially careful of Cuzco these days as he’s not very resistant to pneumonia in his old age. The rain gave way to sullen, brooding skies in the afternoon, so we took a chance on the weather and darted out for a brief but pleasant hike up a butte just outside of town. We had originally planned to go down the wash, but someone ahead of us had a bunch of rambunctious loose dogs, so we turned off the trail and made our own way up toward a cool-looking rock outcropping we could see from the valley floor. It turned out to be even cooler than we realized! We discovered a weird, crumbling little mini-arch with a spectacular view of the town of Escalante and the surrounding valley with its beautiful rock walls and lovely green farms.

Finn says, “I want up there!”

If you see a small tunnel, you have to squeeze through it!

I tried to get pictures of the view from the top, but the flatness of the light faded it all together and I tossed those photos. So here’s a picture of my handsome husband enjoying the view instead.

We also found a cool boulder.

And then it started to rain so we packed ourselves as tightly as possible under my umbrella and raced back to the truck. Finn, in a moment of blind panic about getting left behind in the rain, tried to get himself run over. I always have to back the truck up to a bank or a rock so Cuzco can get in. Finn didn’t want to wait and he bolted away from Phil and leaped into the truck while I was backing up. I didn’t even see him until he landed on the tailgate and almost gave me a heart attack. Cuzco got wet, but not too wet. I blanketed him and bedded everyone down cozy in their trailer as soon as we got back. It was a short adventure but a memorable one.

After saying goodbye to our friends and to Pac-Man at Goblin Valley, Phil and I headed out to Escalante. We spent a relaxing first day hiking up the Escalante River (which was really more of a trickle), and it was a great opportunity for the younger goats to practice getting their feet wet over and over again.

Sputnik had the honor of carrying our food and water that day. This little Outward Hound dog pack was super cheap and it’s not perfect by any means, but as long as we adjust the straps correctly and balance the load exactly, it seams to stay neatly in place most of the time. It held up better than I expected on this trip, considering how often it was scraped on branches and rocks.

We were surrounded by beautiful, high canyon walls for the entire hike. At one point, Phil and I used “math skills” to estimate the height of the cliffs. I looked at a tall pine tree way up on the wall and estimated the height of the tree, then estimated how many would have to be stacked on top of each other to reach the top. I arrived at 450 feet. Phil thought that might not be accurate, so he used a stick to measure the height of the wall (one stick length) compared to the length of his arm (two stick lengths). Then I paced off our distance from the wall, which turned out to be about 900 feet. Whether we were right or wrong, at least there was no argument.

We came on the Escalante hike two years ago, and we were surprised this time to see that the rock art had recently been “modernized” by what appear to have been some teenaged visitors wielding charcoal lumps from a nearby fire pit. A nice couple took a photo of us and our goats in front of this mix of old and new graffiti.

Sputnik is shaping up to be a pretty decent hiking companion. He seems to enjoy carrying a pack. I think it gives him a sense of purpose and importance–a feeling a bottom-tier goat doesn’t often get.

There was plenty of shade on this hike, and a creek to keep our toes cool. This was especially nice for Cuzco, who is definitely beginning to feel his age. He hiked 12 miles to Wild Horse Window and back and never once lagged or complained. And Phil and I probably took him about 10 miles on this Escalante hike even though he had spent the previous day walking the hard surfaces of Goblin Valley and riding in the trailer over the winding, twisting State Highway 12. But in spite of his creaky joints and shortness of wind, I think Cuzco truly enjoys these expeditions.

And he’s a great example to the yearlings. Cuzco bravely crosses water that the younger guys will do almost anything to avoid.

Case in point:

Finn took charge of the pack on the way back. Since they are only yearlings, we kept the pack lightweight and we never made either one carry it for the entire hike.

Speaking of goats not wanting to cross water, this is what happened when Finn led instead of Cuzco. Cuzco stares bemusedly after Finn’s questionable choice of navigation.

Sputnik spent our entire time in Escalante expressing his undying opinion that Finn is an infallible leader.

Every single thing Finn did…

Sputnik did too.

Sputnik became Finn’s shadow, and since Finn is showing early signs of becoming an incredible packgoat while Sputnik has always possessed some fairly questionable personality traits, I can only think that this copycat behavior is a good thing.

These photos speak for themselves…

Would you like a side of ham with that?

Ok, now this is just a bit much!

The third and final day of our camping trip in San Rafael Swell arrived. We broke camp and headed down the road a few miles to Goblin Valley–a strange, flat bowl filled with bizarre rock formations that has become a regular stop on me and Phil’s Utah trips. It was fun to go there with a whole group of other people and lots of goats!

The “goblins” are great fun to climb on for both people and goats.

However, this was a “Pets must be leashed” park, so the goats weren’t allowed quite as much freedom as I would have liked. We let them off-leash here and there as we got further from the parking lot and the crowds, but because it was Saturday and the park was swamped we did have to keep a close eye on our charges.

I tried to pose with Sputnik on this rock, but Finn had to come along, and between the two of them I got “goated”.

I loved how our goats stayed in their groups: My goats with me, Herb’s goats with him.

And then there’s the “Finn: Showoff” set.

Would you like a side of ham with that?

Ok, now this is just a bit much!

This was a bittersweet day because this was the day we said goodbye to our friend, Pac-Man. One of the guys who met us on this trip came all the way down from Washington not only to visit Utah for the first time, but also to buy Pac-Man as his first packgoat. We think Pac-Man will be very happy in his new life with Eldon and Debbi. They are not hardcore packers, and since Pac-Man is not a hardcore packgoat I think they will get along famously. Pac-Man and Eldon bonded quite a bit even in this short weekend together, so while it was tough to say goodbye to our dear “Sponge”, it felt good to know he went to a nice home where he will be loved and appreciated for the big, sweet marshmallow he is.

My posts are always fairly self-indulgent, but please forgive me this extra hedonistic batch of photos that Phil took of my side quest up a shelf of the canyon. All four of our goats came with me so they could be in the photos too.

Cuzco saw the camera and posed regally in the background, but Finn stole the spotlight at this show.

I tried to get a nice shot of just me and Pac-Man–this was our last weekend together, after all. But Cuzco couldn’t help sneaking in from behind to grab a bit of the glory.

We tried again with even less success. Finn didn’t sneak in to steal a bit of the picture–he crashed in and obliterated it!

This photo gives a better sense of the scale of these canyon walls.

“Yes, Finn, you can be in the picture with me by yourself.”

As usual, Cuzco gets the final word in any self-indulgent photo shoot. Cuzco wouldn’t even allow me into this shot!

We came out of the canyon shortly after lunch and spent a little time contemplating the terrain and discussing the best way to get to our destination: Wild Horse Window.

For some reason I ended up in front even though I had no more clue how to get there than anybody else. But I guess someone’s got to lead the charge! Onward-ho!

For once, Sputnik actually posed for a photo. He rarely sits still long enough for us to get a decent shot of him.

Finally, near the top! And Sputnik, Pac-Man, and Cuzco posed for this totally boss movie-poster-trio shot.