Still Life: Watercolor

Summer steamrolls on, and although the cooler mornings last longer into the day now, temperatures are once again going to be maxing out in record-breaking triple digits this week. Even though it’s always cooler up high, when it’s smelting hot down here, it means it’s boiling hot up high, which can be a little too warm for too much hiking. When that’s the case, we just add water.

There are two state parks very close by, both centered around lakes, but they are expensive ($20/day for non-locals!), crowded, and according to every review, one of them will give you swimmer’s itch. There is a city pool that’s now open, but I’m not quite ready for that yet. Besides, both the lakes and the pool are wide open to the sun, and although any part of you in the water would stay cool, the air is still 110° and I don’t know how we wouldn’t burn to a crisp trying to get our soak on.

Enter Kolob Reservoir at 8,000′

Kolob Reservoir is about a hour drive from where we are, and because it takes a bit of effort to get to, it’s generally less crowded than some other places. The water is almost completely encircled by a dirt road with several pullouts for day-use spots or as boondocking campsites.

My buoy guarding our spot.

On our first visit as we drove around the lake, TBG spied this spot, which had a great place to park in the shade and a nice flat shelf of rock on which to spread out our “beachy” stuff.

I like the cut of his jib.

While one of us paddled, the other waded or just enjoyed the breezes and watching the bald eagles and ospreys hunt.

Pro Tip:  Don’t forget to put sunscreen on your toes.

 Before we left for the day, we drove around the other half of the lake and found an even more perfect place to set up the next time we visited.

Our spot the next time we visited.

We almost waited too long to make the drive up the second time, snagging this spot not long before others spot-searchers arrived. This cove offered a little more seclusion and calmer waters, though the wind off the water was actually a bit chilly at first.

While I was out on one of my paddles, TBG made a friend.

Crawdad!

It was a big ‘un, too! I picked it up to take a closer look — man, crayfish are really, really ugly up close — before escorting it back to the water and away from our toes.

Just like TBG whose feet are too big for his boat.

While he was paddling, I made a friend.

Hoary Comma Butterfly

Other than a tense five minutes when three huge pickups full of families with small children showed up and began to unload all their toys before deciding there wasn’t really room for all of us and leaving, it was a splendid day.

Between our two reservoir visits, we did do a hike that involved water in name only.

Blue point.

The drive in was dusty but gorgeous, passing through meadows that were speckled by a huge herd of fluffy domestic ewes and lambs. There was plenty of trailhead parking, but also more people than we thought we’d find. Amazingly, none of them were going the same way we were. Most were headed out on the shorter Cascade Falls Trail. I was sorry to have to cross that addition off of our hike because the online photos show it to be a cool trail, but I was more not-sorry to have no one anywhere near us.

Except for you-know-who, naturally!

No trouble with altitude above 8k this time!

Who’s following who?

Zion way in the distance, peeking around the left of that skinny tree.

Lunchtime overlooking Navajo Lake

Speaking of Navajo Lake, a trip there rounds out this post. I had researched the trail that rings the lake, and everything I read online made it seem like a mountain biking trail I could do and maybe even enjoy, though I have vowed several times to never do single-track biking again.

Before I dashed his hopes.

The trail was good for about 2.5 seconds, then it entered a lava rock field. The signs saying don’t touch the very sharp lava rocks and the very sharp lava rocks poking up into the trail trying to throw you onto other very sharp lava rocks were what I like to call No Damn Fun.

Awfully stinkin’ far from the lake to be called a lake loop, if you ask me.

Then the trail entered the woods and began doing lots of Very Bad Things, and we turned around. I was pissed at the online descriptions of the trail, and I was pissed at the little children we saw riding in on our way out, and I was pissed at my stupid fear of falling.

Because he’s not new here, TBG anticipated my potential pissiness, and had come prepared with alternate activities for me.

I’m the little dot to the right of the pontoon.

TBG enjoyed the breeze on the shore while I fought the breeze on the water, making a big loop over the clear, clear lake. It saved my mood and the day.

There is a very good possibility that we will repeat a visit or two to the reservoir in the coming weeks, and if the temps ease up, we may be able to tackle some more hiking. Maybe we’ll take another trip up to Cedar Breaks to see how those little marmots are coming along. Or maybe I’ll just give up and cannonball into that pool.

 COMMENTS

 

1. Shannon Thanks for introducing me to the wonderful world of online photos of “swimmer’s itch” — a new-to-me phenomenon. It definitely makes me glad I have never intentionally gone swimming in a fresh water natural waterbody. A few minor dips in rivers from flipped canoes did not result in anything like swimmer’s itch, otherwise I would never canoe or kayak again. Yuck! Then again, we do have “sea lice” — jellyfish larvae with the same effect — because this is Florida and there is always something.

   Glad you found a decent spot to enjoy the water despite the heat. Those temperatures make it hard to enjoy any sort of outdoor activity so water is really the only reasonable option. Do I spy an inflatable kayak? As you know we love ours and it makes a water-adjacent location so much more enjoyable. We are old hands at burning our toes, ankles, and the tops of our feet, so we endorse your sunscreen tip.

     Chasing Dirt Well, I don’t want to upset you further, but the parasite can live in salt water, too. Much less frequently, though. Canada geese are its favorite hosts, so if you see a lot of them somewhere, you know what not to do! Funnily enough, on our second outing to Kolob Res, an older couple came by in their OHV, and while he went for a walk, she sat in it and chatted up a storm with us — first to ask excitedly if we’d seen the Canada geese that only recently had been visiting the lake. 😐

   • Yes! That is my little backpackable inflatable kayak. We had a tandem inflatable in our old lives, and we really enjoy the ease of use and portability of them. Do you worry about the gators with them? I’ve seen arguments for and against them in gator-infested waters. I’d love to be able to use mine when in Florida, but I’m skeered.

     • Shannon Do not fear the gators when you are in a kayak, even an inflatable! They are smart enough not to attack anything larger than themselves unless cornered. In open water gators will just glide away or sink below the water surface when a boat approaches, even a relatively small boat like a kayak. Just don’t drag your feet over the side. 🙂

2. Ingrid It has been a hot summer everywhere. We even had some record breaking heat in July. Fortunately, we’re enjoying lovely temps now but I know come October, we’ll be ready to hit the road south bound. Glad you found some water for a paddle and a bit of a break from the heat.

   • Chasing Dirt The summer heatwave seems to have hit everyone! We knew July would be bad here, but August is now breaking records. Ugh! By the time the heat eases up, we’ll be ready to move along — at the “wrong” time, of course, but this is 2020, so why be normal? 😀

3. Laurel “The trail entered the woods and began doing Very Bad Things,” LOL!!! So glad that TBG knows you so well and can divert you from a major ‘pissy fit.’ 😂 I tried biking in a lava minefield once, and once was enough. Don’t be hard on yourself about turning around! It’s because you are smart and you don’t want to get hurt!

   How lucky you are that you can escape the heat by going up in elevation. We’re just stuck in a big sweaty swamp here in Florida, and the water temp in the Gulf is about the same as the air temp. But it’s going down to 75 degrees tonight…fall is on the way! We are all going to be SO much happier! And less pissy!

   • TBG I do what I can do. 🤗

   • Chasing Dirt Oh, Sister Wife, I long for the day when I can bike some reasonable trails with you while the Menfolk procure us food! It’s true that I don’t want to get hurt, but sheesh, I wanna do stuff, too, and not feel like a wimp! Balance. I hate being reasonable.

     After I posted this, I checked the temps up at Cedar Breaks yesterday — 101*. So we wouldn’t have gotten relief up high, either. But that’s more temporary up there than down here, thank goodness. I don’t know if I’ve ever looked forward to Fall more than I am this year. 🙂

4. placestheygo You are right about the heat even at the higher elevations when the middle elevations are boiling. Glad you found the Kolob Reservoir. It is a perfect spot. Our pool maintance people have a cabin up that way and they were just there for the week. Glad you were able to get in a few hikes without crowds. I can’t blame you for worrying about falling. One good fall could mean months laid up and that would stink! Smart to stop!

   • Chasing Dirt There is no doubt we will seek out the water again this week. August is being a real b*tch!

     I definitely don’t want to fall and have to spend six months laying around in an RV, but I don’t want to be so afraid of falling that I spend six months laying around in an RV. I want better choices! 😀

5. chapter3travels It’s triple digits up here today and our drive into the mountains of North Cascades only dropped the temp 10 to 15 degrees, so yeah, I get it. The water is definitely the right answer. Sadly, everyone else has figured it out too. “Isn’t it time for school to start??I feel like they should already be back in class. Why aren’t they in class?” Anyway, I am with you 100% on the fear of falling thing. There are many, many times on these various hikes where Kevin has to give me a hand and I work very hard to avoid anything that could mess up my knee…or ankle… or anything else. You are not crazy and you are not weak. What you are is old and fragile… like the rest of us. (You’re welcome. 😂😂😂). Anyway, mountain biking is all fun and games right up until you end up impaled on a lava rock. You ain’t got no time for that. Stay well.

   • TBG You’re going to cool down when you hit the west slopes of the Cascades.

   • Chasing Dirt Oh, I know — the temps have skyrocketed all over the northern areas. Our families were burning up the past few days, but TBG is right, you’re going to get sweet relief as you continue on your route. When the PNW shines, the good days there are better than anywhere. If you can get used to the other 11.5 months of the year, you’d love living there 😉

     I, too, am looking forward to school starting. Even online school keeps the butts in seats and out of our way. Now people are going to be thinking I deserve to fall down.

     I’ll concede to oldER and MORE fragile. 😀 And I’ll be careful. You be, too!

6. Lowe's Travels You are so lucky you have water to go to even if if is a drive. Like everyone else, we too much so in the desert is feeling toasted! I will be browner when I get out of this oven.

   You are the lizard whisperer, I think they follow you!
   TBG has you figured out, well I guess that is to avoid an unhappy hiker/biker/companion/swimmer. You are indeed just a dot in that expanse.
   Love that view where Zion was just peaking behind the skinny trees.
   You are surely making the best of your stay in Hurricane.

   • Chasing Dirt You need to put in a pool! Even if it’s just a little soaking pool, I say do it. This will also ensure many future visits from us 😆 I will miss those grumpy-faced mascots when we finally travel on from here. Maybe they’ll follow us, and we’ll be known as the Pied Pipers of Prickle Frogs!

     Stay cool, my friend. 💙

     • Lowe's Travels I will just sprinkle my face with cold water 🙂 and I know you will still visit us if we don’t have a pool.

       I thought I’d let you know that downloading your pics are faster now since your pics are smaller 🙂