It was the night I camped at Red Canyon C.G. that I hit the top of my head on the door frame while entering the camper. It was not the first time I’ve done this, and it didn’t make me sit down or anything, so I didn’t think much of it…but I think this was the cause of the nearly-week-long headache that began the next day.
In Escalante (the town) I stopped at the Interagency Visitor Center, got information about the condition of the Hole In The Rock Road (“better than it’s been in years – a little washboard”, she said) and bought a couple maps and a new hiking guide. I headed out of town and down the H-I-T-R-Road. I drove all the way down to the end – 54 miles, pleased to see all the vehicles heading out, day-trippers it looked like. Even with flat midday light, it’s a cool area – this photo from somewhere in the middle of the route.
At the end of the road, at the historic “Hole in the rock” spot, I chatted for a bit with a couple from Sacramento who had an older FWC rig, then I turned around and drove back to find the closest “legal” (previously-used, non-trailhead) spot to camp. The road is closest to the scenic/slick-rock/canyons nearest its end, so preferred it down there. I found a spot on the south side of the road, near “50-Mile-Point”, a short walk from the beginning of infinite slickrock, that was pretty good – except for all the cow sh!t…but acceptable nevertheless. I spent 3 nights (May 5, 6, 7) there; Elevation 4822 ft. As the sun dropped in the sky and light started getting good I took a few photos, including a panorama from the edge of what I referred to as “infinite slickrock”, a short walk from my campsite.
Here’s a link to a full-size version of this image:
Pano1
I got up before sunrise next morning and took a few photos, and I’d planned to do a hike (early, before it got hot) along/down Davis Gulch, but I noticed that my head hurt when I shook it, and I decided that getting my blood pumping in a hike probably wasn’t a good idea for a headache. So I just hung-out, relaxed, read, sat in the shade as it moved around my camper. I did this the next day, too, as my headache got a little worse. I considered that maybe this was dehydration-related, so I drank enough water that I was urinating frequently, but that didn’t seem to help. "Fifty-Mile Point" is the formation behind my rig.
Evening primrose??
On the third morning in this spot – even though I’d done no hiking in this area that I’d planned to hike a lot – I decided that it was time to go, so I packed up and drove back to Escalante (town) and checked into the Prospector Inn motel (recommended!). I was due for a shower, and I figured that the cool comfort of a motel might do my head good. I’d posted my headache issue on my Facebook page, and a concerned friend called and insisted that I call my doctor (or on-call-substitute), so I did. The P.A. who returned my call was very rational, i.e., no need to overreact, no need for emergency CT scan, just “wait and see”.
Next morning, May 9, my headache was less (though not gone), and I decided that I was well enough to continue my trip. I had a nice breakfast at the “Circle D Eatery”, where I had a chat with the staff about the cold wet spring that both Utah and Oregon were having and headed towards Boulder and the start of the Burr Trail. The west end of the Burr Trail goes through “Long Canyon”, and it’s very cool! I stopped and spent part of an hour photo-ing and did a walk up a scenic little slot canyon.
Onwards, eastward, down the Burr Trail towards Capitol Reef National Park....