Backpacking in Coyote Gulch the first week of March

[Tater Head]

Yeah, I second that about the ridge road being doable to the water tank. After that is where the sand starts. But man is that sand a blast to drive in when you're hauling ass through it after a post-hike trailhead celebration.

Got to love that floating on a cloud feeling...

 

[mike54704]

@Nick @Tater Head Thanks a lot for all the advice. I am pretty excited for this to be my first ever backpacking trip!

 

[slc_dan]

Yeah, I second that about the ridge road being doable to the water tank. After that is where the sand starts. But man is that sand a blast to drive in when you're hauling ass through it after a post-hike trailhead celebration.

My Outback won't make it a lot of places real 4WD vehicles can, but it is so damn fun to drive through deep sand like that. I can remember that sandy hill vividly. I used it last June to access Steven's.

 

[Tres Westbrook]

@Nick @Tater Head Thanks a lot for all the advice. I am pretty excited for this to be my first ever backpacking trip!

I'm excited for you. You will definitely want to be back. We went through the Crack in the Wall. We had a rented Jeep Wrangler 4WD. Made it to the trailhead without engaging 4WD, but it was like hydroplaning on the sand the last couple of miles (after the sign that warns of deep sand). If Hole-in-the-Rock Road is impassable, there are all sorts of other hikes right off 12, and other folks on this thread that live in / regularly visit the area can probably point you to several world class hikes. And don't forget about Capitol Reef just up the road. But surely if HITR road is open, Coyote Gulch would be my recommendation for the first introduction to the area. It was mine a couple years ago (May 2013).

 

[LarryBoy]

Coyote Gulch is simply magical. Should take you about an hour in a 'Bu, assuming you're driving at a reasonable speed (~30-40) from the time you get off of highway 12 til the turnoff to Hurricane Wash.

Enjoy the weather! Should clear up a couple days from now. Call the Escalante Interagency - they'll have HITR road conditions for sure. Sometimes after heavy precip, the road is impassible in spots.

(435) 826-5499

 

[Eugene]

A few years ago there was a gypsum pit in the road before hurricane wash. It was so deep we had to off road around it. Then hit a rock somewhere and had a flat. Hole in the Rock road is a road everyone should drive once (maybe not twice).

 

[River]

Mike, where did you guys end up going? Looked like a lot of snow down there.