Coyote Gulch Route?

[Yvonne]

here is a shot halfway up the dune.

Edit: Nick was a tick faster than I with posting a shot

 

[Nick]

And this of course was the hardest part for me. I didn't fit through the crack so I had to climb up that fin. Easy to get on to and not too hard to cross the top of, but lots of exposure. Lots of people would not be okay with having to do that, but most regular people should fit through the crack.

 

[powderglut]

Ask and you shall receive. Thanks you guys you are amazing. I think this will help to alleviate my history of death marches.

 

[Jammer]

So funny... I just went digging for a pic of the crack -- but now I see Nick beat me to it.

I was also going to add that if anyone in your group was extremely claustrophobic or had a fairly big frame -- it might be a small challenge.

You are a brave one Nick for climbing that. When I was leaving once there was a group RAPPING off the top of the crack. More for fun than necessity I believe, though one in the group was a fairly big fella.

- Jamal

 

[Jammer]

OK... I'll add a photo anyway. Here's a shot from the rim looking over to the top of the Crack in the Wall route:

 

[Nick]

=
You are a brave one Nick for climbing that. When I was leaving once there was a group RAPPING off the top of the crack. More for fun than necessity I believe, though one in the group was a fairly big fella.

When the choice is go over and have cold beer in 2 miles or turn around and hike back 20 some odd miles, it's not too scary.

Some more detailed shots of climbing over it.

Me standing at the top of the fairly easy climb up onto it:

And then one of me crossing over the scary exposed part.Now that I have a lot of stemming and squeezing experience, I might just choose to wedge into the top of that slot try to get through that way, avoiding the exposure. Might have been too tight for that though.

 

[River]

We floated the Escalante and used the Crack route to haul everything out. I also used the fin so that I could just wear my backpack rather than drag it up the rock with a rope. Probably not for everyone, but it's not bad.

 

[Dave]

Dropping through Crack in the Wall solo with a pack. Simple. Click through for the high resolution version.

 

[pixie1339]

Maybe you guys would do better up the dune, but it's pretty strenuous. Personally I wouldn't want to exit that way again. Though I'm sure that the heat really compounded matters. Granted it was June 1st, but we woke up at 5:00 a.m. and still didn't manage to beat the sun by the time we started up the dune.

 

[powderglut]

Great stuff you guys. Nice shot of the crack Jammer.:twothumbs:
I think we can avoid your fin climb Nick. I don't want to hear anyone scream for mommy!
Yvonne, I needed a shot like yours, showing that the hike is traversed and not straight up the sand.:twothumbs:
Video of the Crack, ashergrey. Now that takes some patience!! Really nice job!
Thanks! I think I have enuf to give the few worried about this access, something to chew on.

 

[Yvonne]

sorry fort he bad quality, but usually I don't care.
Here is a shot I took while I was in the crack. Not too bad to squeeze through when you're not too big or maybe have claustrophobia.

 

[Nurrgle]

I am 6'4" and 220 lbs. I fit through the crack with no problems.

 

[slc_dan]

This is some awesome Info. I hiked CG with my Scout troop when I was 11, and again when I was 12 with my family of 6.

I'm thinking about starting at the crack, head up Steven's Canyon, and exiting out Coyote Gulch might be a very nice trip.

 

[Nick]

One thing that might should be mentioned in this thread. For those that don't mind a bit of exposure. There is another exit/entrance near the infamous Hamblin Arch exit that exits the canyon to the north. If you're combining this with something like Steven's Canyon or other areas north of Coyote, it can make for a good route back to Forty Mile Ridge. The north Hamblin route just follows the top of the arch right down to the canyon bottom. I have not attempted it, but I've seen some photos and it looks like just a few spots of class 4/5 that could be a serious problem for most groups. I'll see if I can't find the link to that a bit later.

 

[powderglut]

I had one other question. You guys mentioned that a pit toilet had burned down. There was no such thing when I first went thru. Are there a series of these things thru out the canyon, from Hurricane Wash to Escalante River? Just curious.

 

[Nick]

There were two of them. One of the nicest pit toilets I've ever used. This is the one that burnt down, just down stream from Lobo Arch. The other one is in the lower 1/3 of the canyon and should still be there.

 

[Ericephoto]

Looking down from Jacob Hamblin route. Steep.



Cropped version

 

[Yvonne]

thanks for the shots Ericephoto,

I think I will definitely exit that route in October, it looks less steep than a few descends I've done so far.
Maybe not suitable for everyone but for me it seems absolutely okay.
For comparison, I descended via this crack the past weekend and had absolutely no problems. It was something between class III and IV, steep, but absolutely doable.

 

[powderglut]

Unfortunately most of my crew would be uncomfortable doing either route. We'll be sticking to more traditional walking and slight scrambling routes.
I love seeing some of the different ways people come into and out of this canyon. No mistakes on either with a big backpack. "Fo" "sho"!!

 

[Nick]

thanks for the shots Ericephoto,

I think I will definitely exit that route in October, it looks less steep than a few descends I've done so far.
Maybe not suitable for everyone but for me it seems absolutely okay.
For comparison, I descended via this crack the past weekend and had absolutely no problems. It was something between class III and IV, steep, but absolutely doable.

Even a moderate class 3 descent can look vertical from straight ahead. And that photo looking down at the bathroom is not at all representative of what it actually is. The Hamblin route is a solid class 4 but that's not the bad part from what I understand. It's the exposure. There might be decent hand holds and such, but if the penalty points are critical injury or death, that might up the pucker factor (but not the rating). I look forward to trying the Hamblin route myself sometime, especially with this reputation it has developed. And I love hearing back from others what they thought about it. I haven't heard many (any?) people say good things about it though. Definitely something to be approached with a great deal of humility and a plan B.