A Bit from Bacall

Me, after the scary narrows.

First of all,  I would like to introduce myself.  My name is Bacall Murphy.  I have a nickname of 'BitBit', because when I was first adopted, I was a little bit.  I was small for my age and breed.  I'm adorable, a little shy and have a great low howl, like my namesake.

Now, the reason I am writing--this so called adventure I was dragged on this past weekend.

Complaint #1....

Goblin Valley at night.  No fun.  Monsters everywhere.  Shadows and eerie light.  Not cool.

See all of the shadows where danger lurks?  Me too!

Complaint #2

Goblin Valley does not have any trails in it.  You just explore and then when you are ready to go, you just head back to the stairs that led you into the valley.  My stubborn owner (hey Bacall, not nice!) would not listen to me for directions and we would get lost.  It turns out I was always right when getting back to the stairs.  I have a superior sense of direction!  Just listen to me, humans.

Complaint #3

It turns out I have a severe case of claustrophobia!!!  When the canyon walls started closing in on our hike in Little Wild Horse Canyon, I sort of freaked out.  My tail went between my legs.  I was an unhappy camper, and when we finally turned around,  I had to back up 10 feet before I had enough space to turn around (it really, really, really scared me).  I had a freaked out look on my face at that point.  After getting turned around and headed back down the canyon, I was soo much more relaxed.

TOO NARROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Complaint #4

The length of our hikes.  Little Wild Horse Canyon is a death march.  Do not believe the lies that it is easy and short.  It is long!  Especially with my little legs.

Poor Tortured Me.... I am exhausted.

My brother, Humphrey, still recovering hours later.

I think I'll end my tales of woe now.  I normally really love my life, but if you see my human, can you please talk to her and tell her to knock off the bad stuff...

Bacall
(as transcribed by Melissa)

Upon Meeting Goblins and Wild Horses....

Goblin Valley State Park

Goblin Valley State Park, near Hanksville, Utah, is one of those places that I had always thought I had been to before, but upon visiting it this past weekend....it turns out, I had not.  Now, I can not believe that it took me this long to visit.  I tried to visit in May, read about it here, but it was not to be...

Bacall keeping vigil over the tent

However, on September 29th, I arrived in Goblin Valley.  Just a note, Campsite #19, rocks!!  The campground is very, VERY open.  There is not one tree in the campground, so there is not a lot of separation and seclusion.  Except for #19, it is around a little rock wall and the last site before the yurts.  If you are wondering why I wanted to go on the 29th, one simple answer:  a full moon.  Goblin Valley is known for its full moon adventure.  You do not even need a flashlight to explore due to the light of a full moon.

a full moon shot!!!

Just a little note, on this photograph,  it was taken at 11 pm.  I used a long exposure to show how light it really was at night.  It was very, very eerie, but very, very cool.

In addition to exploring Goblin Valley, the other thing I wanted to do was hike Little Wild Horse Canyon.  It is only 5 miles away from the entrance of the park and is a famous slot canyon.  It's 3 miles to the top and you can either hike back the same way you went in or loop and hook up with Bell canyon.  It is a fairly easy hike, with only a few obstacles that are a little difficult to get over.  (Especially if you are hiking with Basset Hounds)  The first one is the hardest and if you follow this one simple tip, you can avoid the bruises and scraped knuckles I got.  When you see this.....

the largest obstacle you'll encounter.

 KEEP TO THE LEFT!!!!!!!  It occurs right as the trail narrows for the first time.  There are little signals of little rock towers to mark the easy way!  You can not actually see the path in this photo, it is just out of view on the left.  See those ledges on the rock right in the middle of the photo?  That's what I had to lift my dogs on to.  My light (HAHAHAHAHA) basset hounds up to the 2nd ledge.  There was some slight resistance.   Take my advice, do not miss the easy way--on our way out, I watched people, just walk with no problem over an area that about turned us back before we ever really started.  That would of been a HUGE mistake.

this is as narrow as it gets....

but most of the time is fairly wide

and absolutely stunning.

My dogs are getting a little older and for some reason every time I go camping, the weather is unseasonably warm, and as a result, we did not go all the way to the top, but it was still worth the distance we did.  The other reason we did not make it, it turns out my basset, Bacall, is a little claustrophobic and DID NOT LIKE IT when the canyon walls closed in.  In fact, we got to a barrier and the trail was so narrow that I could not help them over, so we had to turn around.  I turned around just fine, but the dogs had to back pedal for about 10 feet until they got to a spot that was wide enough for them to turn around.  Humphrey did just fine, but Bacall was not happy.

This was my second time camping this year and every time I get home, I can not wait to go again.

Melissa