Two Easy Ways to Escalante River Utah

Nov 15, 2015
Escalante River 1 mile down from Boulder Creek

We were searching for the "most photogenic" spot on the Escalante River by wading in the Escalante dozens of times, sliding down slippery chutes, and scampering slickrock ridges.  The numbing water and air temperature were 33F degrees and 36F degrees, respectively. I got to know this one mile of Escalante river intimately, hunting for that illusive "photogenic" canyon.

Our group of three parked the truck off Spencer Flats and backpacked through sand and sage brush a couple of miles toward Escalante River. We camped two nights just above the Escalante river on semi-flat slickrock. Dropping to the river was an easy climb down from our camp.

Across from our camp and the cold river, we found another way, a well traveled trail, to access Escalante river from the Burr Trail, Boulder, Utah.

We did discover some short and sweet canyons and pretty stained monolithic walls, worth all the senseless, numbing river crossings. But still need to find the "best" spot to photograph on the Escalante River. 

Flex Canyon
Near Escalante River

Dancing the chill away.
Our camp spot for two nights.

4-Wheel Driving Smokey Mtn Road Escalante, Utah

As of 1pm today, 78 miles of Smokey Mountain Road is open with some sections needing high-clearance vehicles. Its not everyday you can drive this dirt road along the Kaiparowitz Plateau to Page, Arizona. Rain, wind & snow play havoc on this slow winding remote road. You'll want to go slow because you can miss this cache along side of the road or other ruins on the way to Lake Powell. The rugged desert landscape had long shadows as we descended into Big Water, Utah.
After spending the night in Page, Az, we headed back in search of an interesting hike. There are countless old ranch roads that go no where and that was fine with us. We walked a double-track ATV road that seem to connect with Last Chance Canyon for over 2 hours. Perhaps next exploration we'll ride our mountain bikes and find where the ATV track meets Last Chance Canyon.
Closer to Escalante, we had a rare glimpse of the elusive "Fins," tall castle-like fortress, lit up in the late afternoon sun. We recognized our next adventure off Smokey Mountain Road: to find a route to climb these secluded rock fins.

Quick Overnighter

2-night minimum used to be our motto, until we packed our raft up to Long Willow Bottom lake, above Barker Lakes near Escalante. We scoped Wide Willow Bottom lake first but dozens of rowdy boy scouts had invaded the area. We found a secluded lakeside camp spot on LWB.

Yep, the mosquitoes were so thick I was inhaling them. The specks in the picture are just some of our encountered swarms. I paddled out in the lake to find relief from the pests.

It was a cold & star-filled night. There was frost on my deflated raft the next morning. We hiked out mid-morning taking only 2 tiger trout, trash, and a few mosquitoes bites.

C.O.Y.O.T.E.

Each letter of Coyote describes our week-end backpacking trip in Coyote Canyon.
C: Calm, no winds. We watched leaves fall to the ground and marveled at the warm weather.
O: Otherworldlyness - utopia may be a better word, where clean water spouts from walls and arches & alcoves are prolific.
Y: Yellow was the color reflecting in Coyote stream from huge fan-like yellow cottonwood leaves that also blanketed our path.
O: Outrageous monolithic rocks we hiked around with outrageous views of Coyote Canyon.
T: Travel time to trailhead from Escalante, 1 hour. Ricki's new big tires helped with the washboard roads.
E: Easy-going conversations and fun games at night (Farkle and Cribbage).
Coyote Canyon is the quintessential canyon in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Come hike it.

Building Better Bones

Ok, we could've driven to the mouth Wolverine Canyon verses carrying 40 lbs on our backs to sleep two nights in the "wilderness." I wondered why a day hiker traveling up Wolverine Canyon smirked when he said, "the road is great condition." As Wolverine Canyon merged with Horse Canyon, a newly graded road dominated the landscape.
Time did slow down as I noticed golden Cottonwood trees and weird figurines on top of steep stained walls. While we trudged back up Wolverine with heavy backpacks, my mantra was, "weight bearing exercises builds better bones." Have SUV I shall travel, just not to all my wilderness experiences.

I Get to Go Too!

As I age, I appreciate getting out of the house even more. Lately, the big dogs (my owners), leave me behind to guard the house and to sleep on the forbidden couch. In this picture, the big girls took me backpacking to Blind Lake, close to Grover, Utah. The vistas were spectacular, water abundant, and the scents diverse. I'd go back to Blind Lake and bring fishing gear to catch my supper. I'm forever young when on an adventure with the big dogs.

The Echo Effect

I remarked last week to my husband as we slogged up the Esplanade in the Grand Canyon, how the Escalante canyons could look like this without the cows.
We can drive to the pristine North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2 hours SW from Escalante. Grand Canyon is a national treasure with it's untrampled cyptrogamic soil, indigenous plants and critters, and relative low tourist impacts. Yes, the springs that spout from rock walls have visitor damage from the Colorado River's easy access. Five days of hiking in and out the North Rim is only the tip of the Grand Canyon.
To the north of Escalante (hour and half away) the girls from Colorado and I road biked though another National Park - Capital Reef. The Fremont river cuts through sheer stained walls with its own set of canyons. Capital Reef is surrounded by pinnacles and castles and a few gargoyles. I broke my personal fastest record riding down to the visitor center: 40.9 MPH. I almost fell off my bike going up the same hill, pedaling too slow: 3.5 MPH. At least I was slow enough to see blooming Desert Paintbrush and Penstemons.
Bryce National Park surprised me last winter to have been able to skate-ski through vast pine forests. Only 45 minutes west of Escalante, Bryce's red canyons and forests are obtainable year-round. This is the most photogenic park with its endless hoodoos.
I'm listening to the echo effect from the other national parks as the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument develops it's own voice.

How You Know When it's Cold

At a yoga class my backpacking buddy was asked about her purple middle toe. That's when I knew it was COLD crossing the Coyote and Escalante rivers a few week-ends ago. We plowed through the penetrating FREEZING ankle-deep water to hike the other shoreline. The sunshine was heaven and hell: the joy of the warming rays to piecing pain as my feet rapidly de-frosted. The group agreed to find a higher route to Stevens Arch Canyon and stay out of the streams.

We found a faint trail high-up with the tops of hoodoos and an orange monolithic locomotor. We followed a winding single track and filled our bottles with sweet spring water. Our original Stevens Canyon destination was below us, shrouded in dense shade and unmelted snow. Our sunny side was the place to be in the beginning of March. We'll save Stevens Canyon for a hot summer day when the cool water is welcomed and after our war-wounds have healed.

The Weight of Comfort

When I'm backpacking in the wilderness there are certain extravagances I must have. The weight factor is a consideration I take into account when choosing and hauling my personal pleasures. Thus a small pack is preferred due to less weight that can be carried. I always have space for my chair that encases my sleeping pad; the ounces are worth the back support. Lately we've been using a GPS unit and debated whether the decreased anxiety out weighed the bulk. I have since made room in my pack for the unit, easing our anxiety.
A mind-candy type of paperback book is another necessity. Once in camp, I've often wondered, "now what?" I kick back in my chair, delve into my mystery, and sip a cocktail from my lexan plastic bottle. Another luxury I bring is hard alcohol: tequila, whiskey, vodka, or rum. More bang for the buck. If a lexan is used it won't absorb the smell from the booze.
These are weighty matters as one decides how to luxuriate in the wild.

Conquering Fears in the Wilderness

I usually have the confidence to handle whatever comes my way while backpacking in the canyons until this last trip. My smaller backpack contained all my essentials (food, water, party favors, etc) and I realized I forgot my Phels Naptha soap to rid poison ivy oils off my skin and dog, Rocquette. A steep trail laden with poison ivy lead to our creek-canyon. No one else have had any reactions to poison ivy and there was no more petting Roc because she ran right through the offending plants. I donned my pants and long sleeve shirt in the blazing heat while the sweat dripped off my face. It's now been over 36 hours and no blisters have erupted on my skin. I think I've dodged this bullet.
I stripped down to my quick-drying shorts and cotton tee shirt and slowly waded out in a deep pool to rock-trough, a narrow tube of fast moving of spring water. I assumed it was spring fresh water. I gulped down the cool soothing water. No? We needed to filter this creek water? How long is the gestation period for giardia? I think I have 2-3 weeks until I have symptoms. Keep in touch.
Quicksand was my next fear as the slimy fine sand that sucked my Crocs off my feet under the waist-high water. I wanted to keep my Croc shoes. Barefoot was the way to handle the deep silt, even though the mud stayed slathered on my feet as I slurped and suctioned through the mud. One short section I had the choice to plow through "Poison Ivy," my husband had declared or wade the bottomless sludge pool. I'd given up my backpack to forge the deep pool. What happens if it is quicksand and I get sucked under? "Oops, there's no poison ivy," my husband, Ricki, yelled before I could take the plunge. I chose to slash through the high foliage wondering why I didn't I just swim?
I'm ready to call it quits after 8 hours of negotiate the slick wet rocks with a 35 pound pack on. I don't normally question my endurance but it's time to camp. I'll sleep anywhere. The sand near the creek looked good. Just one more push up a tower of boulders to an ancient granary site and bugless steep streaked U-shaped wall which gave some shade. I was a captive on an exclusive ancient bench, no way to get down without assistance. Morning turned into a traumatic, "no, I can't go down there," event. A rounded boulder dropped off and the higher boulder jutted out to make me swerve the 12 feet down to my freedom. I opted to slither down on my belly, held onto a crack and scraped my thighs raw until I found my footing, a flat rock.
We waited in the heat of the day under Broken Bow Arch before pushing up and out. It was still hot. There wasn't anymore water to filter for the trudge up a sandy, relentless hill to the truck and I couldn't drink enough to quench my thirst anyway. I got over my fear of failure when I reached the truck. I did it!