Fiftymile Creek, Escalante

Nick

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I must say that this trip was a bit of a surprise. I've been putting off Fiftymile Creek for years. Always on the to-do list but never getting done. It always seemed too short, or perhaps not interesting enough to bring along friends who don't get out as often as I do.

But after having to cancel my Grand Canyon backpackaneering trip, I was determined to do something cool to make up for it. Our original plan was for the Trachyte Creek area, but after checking the water levels in Lake Powell, I realized now was the perfect time to get into Fiftymile. Rumor has it that there are incredible narrows hidden below the typical lake levels and I wanted to see them.

We had a three day weekend to kill however, and Fiftymile didn't seem big enough to satisfy that so we decided to do two back-to-back overnight trips. For the first half of the trip it would be just colefeet and I. The next day we would hike out and meet Ndheiner for the second leg.

We camped out the first night at a nice new spot we found late on Thursday night. I didn't really take any pictures but it was near a spring and wow did it have a huge cottonwood growing there. Easily the largest cottonwood I've ever seen by 3-4 times. After a nice night around the fire, we were up early and packing up to hit the trail. The plan for the day was to hike in to the upper part of the riparian zone, setup camp, then day hike the lower part of the canyon.

Here is a map with my GPS tracks for the hike:

View larger map.
The hike starts off from Hole-in-the-Rock Road just below the sculpted alcoves of Cave Point. After a half hour or so, we reached a dry fall that we bypassed on the left LDC, passing a really nice looking slot before finding our way back down into the canyon bottom with a bit of steep but easy scrambling. The next couple of miles were dry but still pretty interesting as the canyon wound it's way closer to Fiftymile Creek.
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Once at the confluence with Fiftymile, it didn't take long before the first flowing water appeared. Then, around the next bend, it was like a gateway of cottonwoods welcoming us to paradise. Hard to see in this photo, but this corridor was lined with cottonwoods in a near perfect line on the left. It was so perfectly straight and evenly spaced that it was almost hard to believe that someone hadn't deliberately planted each one as carefully as a landscaper would.
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Wandering along, I see a prickly pear! Oh, and whats that on the wall in the background?
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Several good panels of petroglyphs that I had no idea where there!
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A little further down, we came upon the arch. I've seen photos of this and pretty much nothing else in Fiftymile. We decided to head over to the alcove on the right to have lunch.
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And whats this all over below the arch? Pretty hard to photograph in the direct light. It also looked a lot better with polarized sunglasses. There was a ton of art here. Some of it pushing 30 feet off the ground on a sheer wall.
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We decided our lunch alcove would make a nice campsite so we dropped off our things and continued down canyon. Much of the upper canyon is a delightful riparian zone with nice undercuts and beautiful varnished walls.

Soon enough the canyon closed in on us as we meandered through it's depths.
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After passing a huge beaver dam, we found ourselves at the top of a beautiful waterfall that funneled the creek into a tiny chute as it poured down into an intriguing channel. We're below the full pool elevation of Lake Powell at this point. If the lake were full, this would be gone.
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Continuing down canyon, the water got deeper and the narrows got narrower. I remember as we approached this section Jen thought we might have reached Lake Powell because it looked like a total swimmer. Turned out to be about stomach deep on me.
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As we went deeper, the canyon just got better and better.
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I hate to admit it, but those old Powell waterlines looked pretty cool in this undercut.
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As if all that wasn't good enough, we soon found ourselves approaching an incredible subterranean section of the canyon. We're now way below typical lake level. This area, and likely much of the canyon above it would not typically be accesible even if the lake was 50-70 feet below full pool. Maybe more.
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Looking up inside the dark narrows.
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Jen approaching the light.
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We took our time through that section, in awe of our surroundings. What we would hike through next would not be quite as inspiring. After a bend or two, the canyon opened up a bit more and into a waste land of decay. It felt like bull dozers had crashed through and destroyed the place.
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The undercuts were deep, the kind of stuff people rave about in Coyote Gulch. It's easy to imagine what incredible canyon this must have been before it was flooded. We made it around this deep cut and almost around the next before having to turn back. We didn't get to the lake, but the quicksand mud was getting really dangerous and we had seen enough.
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So back to my happy place...
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The late afternoon light on the hike back up canyon was just fantastic.
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Back at our alcove camp relaxing with Jen's all-knowing medical emergency book. Want to learn how to treat a Sting Ray injury? Jen's your girl!
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The next day we woke up and hit the trail right away. The plan was to hike the 3.5 miles out and head to Dance Hall Rock to meet up with Nate between 10-11 and do a little resupply before starting our next hike. Here's a shot of Jen checking out that little slot we bypass on the way in and out. Would have been fun to walk up into it if we'd had a bit more time.
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It got a bit more than waist deep in the first set of narrows after the narrow waterfall. Other than that nothing more than knee deep in the whole canyon. This would be an excellent solo trip. Also, I figured anything more than an overnight would be too much, but there is much to explore in this canyon. I could easily do a 2-night trip down there.
 
It got a bit more than waist deep in the first set of narrows after the narrow waterfall. Other than that nothing more than knee deep in the whole canyon. This would be an excellent solo trip. Also, I figured anything more than an overnight would be too much, but there is much to explore in this canyon. I could easily do a 2-night trip down there.

tempting... seriously. Especially with two weekends left in June without any plans so far.
I've done so little in the Escalante area, I need to add some new trips to my itinerary.
But waist deep for you means I definitely have to swim :)
 
Nice one, have to put on my list .... we made it into Cathedral of the Desert back when the lake really dropped last time.
 
Nice one, have to put on my list .... we made it into Cathedral of the Desert back when the lake really dropped last time.

Nice! If things keep going like they are, Spring 2014 or 2015 could be the next year Cathedral in the Desert makes an appearance. We're only about 15 feet higher now than in 2004. 2005 was the year it came out with a low water mark around 3555'. Only about 40' lower than it is right now.
 
I wouldn't be surprised to see Powell drop this summer, especially if it gets hot. The Utah state parks ranger I spoke with at Green River a couple of weeks back mentioned that BOR is withholding at Flaming Gorge right now in anticipation of a weak runoff.
 
Awesome. I've been wanting to hit this and Davis Gulch for years. Is there any escape out of Fiftymile further down canyon on the right (south) side? Allen mentions a rock climbers route and maybe a sandslide that might get you out? I'd like to loop the 2 for a good 3-4 day backpack.
 
excellent. I'll have to head down this sometime. Looks like a laid-back, take it easy hike.
 
Looks like a great trip. Beautiful pics too.
 
Sweet! I am looking for an easy backpack for a rookie amigo of mine! Would you say this would be a good rookie place? How far in before you made camp?
 
Thanks Nick. Great art and great arch pics! It would be nice to hook this up with Davis Gulch for a loop.
 
Thanks everyone!

Seldom Seen Anderson - yes, probably good for a rookie. Since it's pretty low in elevation, the dry hike in will start to get pretty uncomfortable soon. Otherwise it's golden.

BJett - Yes, there is a sand dune exit. I was originally planning on doing the Firtymile-Davis combo on this trip but we had a friend come down and meet us who was in dire need of a good hike so we just did Fiftymile and then hiked back out and went and did another backpack with him. Kelsey mentions the an escape dune in the non-tech Colorado Platuea book and I gave it a good look as we passed by. It's in the upper section of the riparian zone, a few bends down from the arch. Didn't look well traveled but looked totally doable. I think access to it was from the upstream side. Might also be possible on the downstream side but looked less likely.

Right here:

View Larger Map
 
Excellent, thanks. Looking forward to this one.
 
No. Jen is about your size. She didn't get much deeper than her stomach. Right, colefeet? And remember we're talking Fiftymile not the next day with Nate. :D
water was never over mid-waist. and quickmud was much less dangerous for the smaller folk. pack a light bag....
 
Another great TR. You keep knockin off these really sweet hikes. So much hidden beauty out on that road. I may have to get a peek at that one when I return this fall.:twothumbs:
 
Absolutely cool, Nick!
A great report, beautiful pictures and a good resource for our upcoming trips along the HITR. :)

Gesendet von meinem Nexus 7 II LTE mit Tapatalk 4
 
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