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ENLARGE
Collet Top Arch on the Kaiparowitz Plateau is an amazing combination of ancient granary and pretty arch. The granary is pristine: it was built about 800 years ago but looks like it was built yesterday.
For many years Summit County resident Stan Wagon and his friends have made one- or two-week spring trips to the canyons around Escalante, Utah. In this week's Summit Daily travel section, Wagon shares photos and some trip beta on the area.
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ENLARGE
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One occasionally finds fields of thousands of iron concretions, known as Moki Marbles, in the Navajo
sandstone. These have some extra interest of late, as similar objects have been found on Mars.
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ENLARGE
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Moki Marbles are iron concretions buried in the sandstone.
As the stone erodes the balls appear out of the surface, sometimes
broken, sometime snot. This one has a rare spiral shape in its interior.
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ENLARGE
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Water is life in the desert. The potholes in the Wingate sandstone almost always have excellent water.
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ENLARGE
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When one runs into water when carrying a pack, one really hopes it is not more than waist deep.
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ENLARGE
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Elke Dratch of Breckenridge walking the amazing expanse of Wingate sandstone in Georgies Camp Canyon. The Wingate forms steep cliffs, but also flat areas above the cliffs that make for easy walking.
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Hiking in the sandstone near Escalante, Utah, and in the drainage of the Escalante River yields some of the best canyon scenery in the world.
Since 1996 this region has been part of the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, but trails and roads are not very well marked and it takes some research and experience to find the interesting places. The visitor center in Escalante is a good place to start, as are the two main shops in town.
Visitors wishing to camp typically car-camp at various pulloffs on the Hole-in-the-Rock or Sheffield roads.
The Hole-in-the-Rock road is a remarkable feature of the area. It was made in 1879 when a group of Mormons left the town to head east to the area near Bluff, Utah. They took many months to make the trip, which involved first a 55-mile stretch to the Colorado River (now Lake Powell) along the present-day road and then a harrowing descent down a 1,200-foot gully to the river with 83 wagons and over a thousand head of livestock.
Hikers today can still see the marks where their ropes cut into the sandstone. The first half of the Hole-in-the-Rock road is passable to all vehicles, but four-wheel-drive is needed for the last several miles, as well as for some of the side roads to trailheads.
The classic slot canyons are Peek-A-Boo and Spooky; they get a bit crowded, but if you get there early you will have them to yourself and can enjoy scrambling through the amazing shapes. Other day hikes that I have found especially rewarding are the Bighorn and Red Breaks canyons, the trip to Phipps Arch, and the Boulder Mail Trail. These are all described in the guidebook Canyoneering 3 by Steve Allen (Univ. of Utah Press); that book also contains descriptions of many spectacular backpacking trips, focused on the canyons that form in tributaries of the Escalante River.
Be aware that desert backpacking is a serious undertaking, requiring skills for dealing with steep terrain and long dry stretches. Navigation is made easier by the amazing accuracy of the USGS topographic maps.
Go to www.summitdaily.com/travel for more pictures and links to Escalante-area travel information.
Since 1996 this region has been part of the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, but trails and roads are not very well marked and it takes some research and experience to find the interesting places. The visitor center in Escalante is a good place to start, as are the two main shops in town.
Visitors wishing to camp typically car-camp at various pulloffs on the Hole-in-the-Rock or Sheffield roads.
The Hole-in-the-Rock road is a remarkable feature of the area. It was made in 1879 when a group of Mormons left the town to head east to the area near Bluff, Utah. They took many months to make the trip, which involved first a 55-mile stretch to the Colorado River (now Lake Powell) along the present-day road and then a harrowing descent down a 1,200-foot gully to the river with 83 wagons and over a thousand head of livestock.
Hikers today can still see the marks where their ropes cut into the sandstone. The first half of the Hole-in-the-Rock road is passable to all vehicles, but four-wheel-drive is needed for the last several miles, as well as for some of the side roads to trailheads.
The classic slot canyons are Peek-A-Boo and Spooky; they get a bit crowded, but if you get there early you will have them to yourself and can enjoy scrambling through the amazing shapes. Other day hikes that I have found especially rewarding are the Bighorn and Red Breaks canyons, the trip to Phipps Arch, and the Boulder Mail Trail. These are all described in the guidebook Canyoneering 3 by Steve Allen (Univ. of Utah Press); that book also contains descriptions of many spectacular backpacking trips, focused on the canyons that form in tributaries of the Escalante River.
Be aware that desert backpacking is a serious undertaking, requiring skills for dealing with steep terrain and long dry stretches. Navigation is made easier by the amazing accuracy of the USGS topographic maps.
Go to www.summitdaily.com/travel for more pictures and links to Escalante-area travel information.
Links
Escalante visitor center: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/grand_staircase-escalante.htmlEscalante Outfitters provide inexpensive lodging: (http://www.escalanteoutfitters.com
Utah Canyons Desert Adventure Store: http://www.utahcanyons.com
La Luz Guesthouse: http://www.laluz/net
