Last week we had our 50 miler down by Escalante in Southern Utah. We decided that it would be a good idea to have a base camp somewhere. The base camp was in a campground next to Wide Hollow Reservoir. I thought it was a very nice campground. The plan was to sleep there for three nights, and sleep out in the wilderness for the other two nights where we hiked.
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| Escalante River |
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| Cut Out |
Day one- We arrived up to Escalante, and started the hike in a place called Egypt, It all seemed like a great hike to get the week started up. We were headed to The Golden Cathedral down in Neon Canyon. We had to hike down, and into the Escalante River. I was concerned that the river would be way to high to cross, because of the flooding that was taking place in Utah. The river was at flood stage, but wasn't as high as I thought it would have been. We crossed the river in several places, and then we reached Neon Canyon. We set up camp and were headed back to the Golden Cathedral to rappel down it. The area was full of a lot of beauty. We didn't hike up to the top to rappel down, because it was getting dark.
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| Vast Desert |
Day two- We woke up, and started to hike down the river again. We went for about three miles, then stopped and ate some lunch. We then decided that the best option to get back to the trailhead fastest, would be to shave three miles off of the hike by going directly west from where we ate lunch. That would mean hiking almost 8 miles without any water sources. That was the decision, but no one had realized that it could have ended with the loss of lives. But over 1,000 feet of elevation ascent stood in our path, and it was almost 95 degrees outside. The hike started with an a steep climb to get to the flatter ground up on top. Three miles went by, and water was already starting to run low, and two of the younger guys were barley holding on, and we could see a glimmer of the trucks parked in the mountain in the distance. The best thing to do was to continue on, and try not to think about the long way we had to go. After almost nine hours, we made it back. I know that if we had one more mile to go, someone could have died. Everyone was ok, and ready to head back to base camp and rest.
Day 3- We went to the Hurricane Wash Trailhead, and started to hike towards Coyote Gulch. The Hurricane Wash was all a dry riverbed, but soon we reached where Coyote Gulch met the wash, and there was a nice little creek, that had very clear water. This creek wasn't nearly as high as the Escalante River. We hiked all the way to a natural arch called Jacob Hamilton Arch. The arch was very big, and looked really cool. We camped in the shadow of it that night.
Day 4- The hike out wasn't nearly as bad as the second day hike out. I had a great time. We got back to the trucks early at 11:00. We drove into town, had lunch, and someone had told us that you could actually ride down the spillway of the dam at the lake we were camping at. So, we got some tubes, and rode down it a bunch of times, then swam in the lake. The lake was really refreshing, after a long day of hiking.
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| Small Arch |
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| Two Arches |
Day 5- This is where we did the day hikes down Dry Fork. We did three slot canyons. Dry Fork Wash, Peek-A-Boo, and Spooky Gulch. First we did the dry fork wash, and this one was actually preaty big. The canyon was really cool looking. Then next one was Peek-A-Boo, I thought this one was the most cool looking. There was a bunch of cool looking arches. It wasn't very long of a canyon, but I still think that it was the best. For the last hike, we went to Spooky Gulch. This was also a slot canyon, but it was very small. At some times of walking through it, the walls were only eight inches across, and when you looked up, you could see the sky, but it was about 100 feet up to the canyon top. The rocks looked really cool.
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| Spooky Gulch |
The best part of this 50 miler, was that being down south, was a different experience for everyone. Normally we are used to camping up somewhere that has a lot of trees and stuff. Out here, there wasn't tons of that, and the entire place was just different. But it was a good kind of difference. The desert has just a unique kind of beauty to it, and it would be another amazing experience to return to again.
