Escalante

We dropped down out of Bryce Canyon, through a couple of (very) small towns, and found our self in the not-quite-as-small town of Escalante, the action hub of the huge (~3000 sq mi) Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument.

As the name implies, this area has two dominating geologic features.  First is a series of large cliffs, creating a "staircase" from the Grand Canyon up to Bryce Canyon (diagram).  The second is the Escalante River Basin, and a bazillion related canyons.  This latter area, when viewed through the eyes of an early settler trying to cross it, is just a huge, seemingly impassable maze.  But the Mormons are a pretty determined lot.

Upon our arrival, we immediately stopped by the Interagency Visitor Center to get some skinny and advice on our planned hike - a couple of popular, non-technical slot canyons (Peek-A-Boo Canyon and Spooky Gulch), which require a 26 mile drive down the unpaved  Hole-In-The-Rock Road.  All appeared well within our skill set, though a bit out of our element.  The major twist was the approaching storm, which was supposed to arrive in the evening.  Now, we don't have much experience with slot canyons, but we were pretty sure you didn't want to be in one when it rains.  We had to wait for a ranger, as she discussed a cool sounding backpacking trip with a group in front of us.  But, another ranger suddenly popped out of the back room, and proceeded to tell us that the storm was moving in quicker than expected, that the roads can be impassable when it rains (due to washouts and/or deep mud), and that we shouldn't go that far down the road.  Ouch!  One of us was disappointed, and the other was pissed that somehow we got the moron that didn't know anything!

We reluctantly followed his advice and only went about 12 miles down the road to the amazingly beautiful Devil's Garden, but it didn't scratch our itch ... particularly since it was blue sky with clouds a long way to the north.  So, we decided to head down in that direction, and see how the weather developed.  Got to the parking lot ... weather still ok.  Rode our bikes a mile to the trailhead ... weather still reasonable, but clouds getting closer.  Hiked the mile or two down to the canyon ... weather still holding.  Then into the canyons.  Absolutely fabulous!  Smooth, sculpted rock.  The path twisting and turning, sometimes so narrow you had to take off your pack and turn sideways (and even then you might have to squeeze through).  But, always in the back of our minds was the possibility of rain, and the fact that we were probably more than an hour away from the paved road.  Numerous other people were there, which provided a sense of safety ... but we then realized it was a false sense, since they didn't strike us as having the necessary experience to make great judgements.  In the end, no rain, and we escaped unscathed!  On our way back to town, we revisited Devil's Garden with a mindset more conducive to taking it all in.  Pretty impressive!

Peek-A-Boo Canyon

"Be Thin", Peek-A-Boo Canyon

Upper End of Peek-A-Boo Canyon

 

Rock Sculptures, Devil's Garden

Karen Greets the Aliens, Devil's Garden

Rock Sculptures, Devil's Garden

The following day, the weather was sufficiently bad that even the local guide service cancelled their trips.  But, we were inbetween lodgings, so we had some time to kill.  We opted to head east towards Boulder, and drive out the Burr Trail Rd a ways to the very-easy Long Canyon.  While this canyon was very deep, and quite stunning, it was literally about a 5 minute walk to the impassable waterfall.  Probably not worth the drive.  But the drive itself was certainly worth the drive!  The road weaving its way over and through the ridges, valleys, and canyons, the then winding through amazing red cliffs and outcroppings along the Burr Trail Rd!  On the way back, the weather was tolerable, so we did a short, steep hike down some sticky rock to a waterfall.  It ends up that we think we did that hike with the kids on our previous visit to the area ... but we're not sure!!  It was fun, and good to get some exercise.  It started snowing on us as we reached the end of the hike.  Karen took a wrong turn about 100 ft from the car, and Tom arrived a couple of minutes later not knowing where the heck she was, nor how he was going to find her (in the late afternoon, in a snowstorm)!  Fortunately, she realized her error and was back at the car in relatively short order.

Long Canyon

Long Canyon

Outback on Burr Trail Rd.

Rock Outcropping on Burr Trail Rd.

  

Escalante Canyon Country

Escalante Canyon Country

Indian Paintbrush near Upper Calf Creek Falls trail

Blooming Cactus near Upper Calf Creek Falls trail

On our final day in Escalante, the precipitation gave way to stiff winds (though storm clouds could still be seen in the distance).  We headed over to Kodachrome Basin State Park for some cool-weather mountain biking among the interesting red rock formations.  Quite beautiful.  The biking was pretty easy, though the trail was a bit soft ... which was better than how dusty it would have been if it hadn't just rained.  Our afternoon adventure took us back to the Hole-In-The-Rock Road ... this time about 12 miles down to visit Zebra Canyon.  But again, the dark clouds were looming.  And again, we tempted fate (and kept a constant, uneasy eye over our shoulders at the clouds).  Once in the slot canyon, we immediately encountered standing water.  A guy from Seattle (who, it so happens, had been doing some cold-water training so his toes wouldn't go numb in this situation!) was already donning his sandals and shedding his pant legs.  We were hesitant to push forward (due to the cold water, uncertain footing, and uncertain weather), but once we heard the "Oh Wow!", we quickly ditched our shoes and waded through the 100' of knee deep water to get to the beginning of the "zebra" rock.  Very cool!  We quickly turned around (no shoes for dealing with the rocks), and managed to once again get back to civilization without any rain.

Ho-Hum Roadside View

Another Ho-Hum Roadside View

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Wading in Zebra Canyon

Zebra Canyon

Rock Patterns, Harris Wash (near Zebra Canyon)

Flash-Flood-Tolerant Cattle Fence, Harris Wash (near Zebra Canyon)

More Photos 

Activities

• Hiking:  Peek-a-Boo Canyon and and Spooky Gulch, Upper Calf Creek Falls, Zebra Canyon
• Biking:  Kodachrome Basin State Park (Panorama Trail)
• Sight Seeing:  Devil's Garden, Burr Trail Rd to Long Canyon

5-Star Moments

• Slithering through Peek-a-boo Canyon
• Massive views of Escalante Canyon Country
• Red Cliffs on Burr Trail Rd.

Tom's Daily Stress Points

• Will it rain while we're doing slot canyons, leaving us stranded down this road and/or dead from a flash flood? (twice!)
• Will the winter storm make our way out of Escalante impassable?

Sleeps

• Escalante:  Circle D Hotel (totally fine), Slot Canyons Inn (very nice)

Eats 

• Escalante:  Circle D restaurant (good dinners and breakfast), Outfitters Cafe (good pizza), Cowboy Blues (mediocre BBQ)