Back to Blog
Uroute utah5/21/2023 The Escalante Canyons to the Waterpocket FoldĪfter a likely re-supply in Escalante, the route continues down the Escalante River before heading up the swift waters of Boulder Creek. The suggested route heads north to the town of Escalante making a re-supply easy, but a southern alternate offers a glimpse into even more desolate canyons on the plateau before linking to Harris and Choprock Canyons bypassing Escalante and connecting to the Henry Mountains segment. You are not likely to see many others along this stretch. The next section crosses the desolate and dry Kaiparowits Plateau. Leaving the Paria one goes cross-country to Hackberry Canyon and then heads upstream through another great slot canyon and to impressive Grosvenor Arch. Here one travels through narrow, colorful canyons down to the Paria River and perennial water source and multiple archaeological sites. Eventually the route leads into Dixie National Forest and then follows the Grandview Trail through the pines and all the way to Bryce Canyon National Park near Rainbow Point.Īfter winding through the southern part of Bryce Canyon, the route heads southeast into Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Carmel Jct., the route heads east past Red Canyon and its short slot, around the White Cliffs and then up Kanab Creek. The route follows this scenic canyon to Hwy 89 to the east.įrom Hwy 89 just south of Mt. From here one descends to Zion Canyon and then immediately climbs back up to the East Rim before heading to the southern part of the park and the Barracks. After leaving the Kolob Canyons, the route traverses to the beautiful West Rim. The second section of the journey takes hikers through much of Zion National Park. Snow levels here may dictate which of several alternatives will work best, but all variants should produce great views stretching far to the east and into Zion. Leaving the Nevada/Utah state line, the route travels into Dixie National Forest as it winds its way up through the Pine Valley Mountains. The hike can be generally broken down into the following sections from west to east: My goal was to find the most enjoyable “backcountry adventure” experience while balancing many different factors: scenic beauty, solitude, safety, water availability and access at key points for re-supplies and permit pick-ups. I devised the route by linking official trails, documented wilderness routes, 4×4 tracks, old mining roads and some pure cross-country stretches found by trial and error. The route stretches across the southern part of the state and travels almost entirely through public lands including four National Parks, two national forests, a National Monument and a National Recreation Area. If this doesn’t sound like fun - don’t try it! No part of the trail is technical, but many segments require excellent route-finding skills, climbing over boulders, walking ledges with exposure, fighting through brush, keeping an eye out for snakes and scorpions, crossing deep pools and/or strong currents and hiking long distances without water or contact with others. NOTE - my proposed route is NOT for everyone. I hope my site and videos offer inspiration, not for others to follow my exact footsteps necessarily, but to find their own adventure in making a trek across all or even a portion of this amazing landscape. Since then I’ve hiked over 3000 miles along various paths all the while gathering info to refine the proposed route/alternates to offer up a “Choose-your-own-Adventure”-type experience. You can read about it in the 2009 Trip Report. Then, after a few other medium hikes, I hiked 725 miles spanning all of southern Utah in 49 days in 2009. That year I began by hiking an indirect route roughly from Kanab to Hanksville. After many shorter hiking/backing trips, I was inspired by the newly-published guidebook for the Hayduke Trail in 2006 to up the ante and hike across the entire state connecting some of my favorite spots. Its geology, history, and sense of wilderness captured my imagination. Instead, it’s just a personal passion of mine.Īs a young kid I became fascinated with southern Utah. It’s not real in the sense that it is not an established route like the John Muir Trail or the Appalachian Trail.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |