Howells Outdoors
Adventure is my middle name...actually it's Keith.
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2012
- Messages
- 444
One of the great parts of going to school at SUU is being involved with so many outdoor opportunities. I got to help co-instruct the Intro to Backpacking course this semester. The culminating trip for half the students --Leave No Trace was very much a part of the course -- was a trip from Hurricane Wash through Coyote Gulch and out Crack in the Wall.
I've never spent much time along the Hole-in-the-Rock Rd and that has always been a bother to me. So in a nutshell, I LOVED THIS TRIP!!!
The course focused mostly on LNT principles of backpacking, emphasizing plan and prepare, and a few simple things to help people get a good feel for. We wanted people to understand the joys of backcountry camping, but to keep it low impact.
We left SUU at 6 am on Friday to drive to the trailhead. I was tired! It only takes 2 1/2 hours to reach Escalante from Cedar.
As we were entering Escalante the guy in the passenger seat and I noticed a large furry creature on the side of road, we thought it might be a large dog. As we got closer it was freakin' bear cub.
That's all that happened with the bear; we saw it.
Hole-in-the-Rock Rd. was all fixed from the monsoon rains that tore it apart, but the damage was obvious.
We ran a shuttle with the extra car to Forty Mile Ridge to make the hike. And once we got back we started the hike.
Now to the good stuff!
We encountered a group of 4 who were doing our same trip, but in reverse; and also a family of 3 who, I think, were just heading to Jacob Hamblin Arch then back the next day. So, that was nice.
As we descended further into the Wash it was fun to see the sandstone cliffs get higher, and higher, and higher. The domes and dunes out here are spectacular. Growing up around Zion NP I was only use to those towering mesas, these are other worldly.
We only went 5 miles the first day and camped in a nice alcove about 1/4 mile from the confluence of Hurricane and Coyote. There was an archeo-site up on the top of the ridge, but we decided to not take the group of noobs up a sandstone slab to a fragile archeo-site.
The instructor is very much LNT oriented, so we fun lessons on cat-holes and the impact of human waste. We talked about self-sumping your dinner to avoid spreading your food for all the little rodents to come dig up. It was great to watch new backpackers drink down a nice, warm glass of mexican rice juice!
I played my hand that night at some star-trails and tried to shoot the Milky Way.
We continued on the next day down to Jacob Hamblin Arch. SOOOO COOOOOOOOL! We get there and the instructed starts off by telling us, 'A common misconception about this arch is that it formed naturally. It was actually a project by the Bureau of Reclamation to try and straighten out the course of the rivers in the area to gain access to the water easier."
I called BS, but he said it with such poise I almost believed him. He said of course it wasn't true.
We saw plenty of people here, several, who I wish would take a course like this one, with no plan or idea of what they were getting into.
I loved getting into the thick of the canyon at this point: the deep carved river, the giant alcoves, and the amazing plant life. The cottonwoods had a hint of yellow in the leaves; next week should be full fall colors.
Coyote Bridge was AWESOME! All around, the whole trip was awesome!
We camped the 2nd night just down, about 1/2 mile, of Coyote Bridge.
The next day we hiked down to the Crack in the Wall exit. We decided to drop our bags and hike down to the Escalante and up to Stevens Arch. When I rounded the corner to see that arch for the first time, I was in shock. That is a massive hole in the wall!
WE stayed there awhile and headed back.
Then came the slog up the sand hill, the climb over the sandstone flake, crossing the petrified dunes and then the last jaunt up the other sand hill. I didn't mind the slog. Take it slow and it works out just fine.
At the crack we handed packs up to each other and along the crack. Not sure if it is common practice to use a rope to lower or lift packs, but if it is hopefully you know how to not leave rope grooves. The whole section of wall right there has just been cut up, needlessly.
Loved Coyote Gulch.
I'll be back there again!
Featured image for home page:
I've never spent much time along the Hole-in-the-Rock Rd and that has always been a bother to me. So in a nutshell, I LOVED THIS TRIP!!!
The course focused mostly on LNT principles of backpacking, emphasizing plan and prepare, and a few simple things to help people get a good feel for. We wanted people to understand the joys of backcountry camping, but to keep it low impact.
We left SUU at 6 am on Friday to drive to the trailhead. I was tired! It only takes 2 1/2 hours to reach Escalante from Cedar.
As we were entering Escalante the guy in the passenger seat and I noticed a large furry creature on the side of road, we thought it might be a large dog. As we got closer it was freakin' bear cub.
That's all that happened with the bear; we saw it.
Hole-in-the-Rock Rd. was all fixed from the monsoon rains that tore it apart, but the damage was obvious.
We ran a shuttle with the extra car to Forty Mile Ridge to make the hike. And once we got back we started the hike.
Now to the good stuff!
We encountered a group of 4 who were doing our same trip, but in reverse; and also a family of 3 who, I think, were just heading to Jacob Hamblin Arch then back the next day. So, that was nice.
As we descended further into the Wash it was fun to see the sandstone cliffs get higher, and higher, and higher. The domes and dunes out here are spectacular. Growing up around Zion NP I was only use to those towering mesas, these are other worldly.
We only went 5 miles the first day and camped in a nice alcove about 1/4 mile from the confluence of Hurricane and Coyote. There was an archeo-site up on the top of the ridge, but we decided to not take the group of noobs up a sandstone slab to a fragile archeo-site.
The instructor is very much LNT oriented, so we fun lessons on cat-holes and the impact of human waste. We talked about self-sumping your dinner to avoid spreading your food for all the little rodents to come dig up. It was great to watch new backpackers drink down a nice, warm glass of mexican rice juice!
I played my hand that night at some star-trails and tried to shoot the Milky Way.
We continued on the next day down to Jacob Hamblin Arch. SOOOO COOOOOOOOL! We get there and the instructed starts off by telling us, 'A common misconception about this arch is that it formed naturally. It was actually a project by the Bureau of Reclamation to try and straighten out the course of the rivers in the area to gain access to the water easier."
I called BS, but he said it with such poise I almost believed him. He said of course it wasn't true.
We saw plenty of people here, several, who I wish would take a course like this one, with no plan or idea of what they were getting into.
I loved getting into the thick of the canyon at this point: the deep carved river, the giant alcoves, and the amazing plant life. The cottonwoods had a hint of yellow in the leaves; next week should be full fall colors.
Coyote Bridge was AWESOME! All around, the whole trip was awesome!
We camped the 2nd night just down, about 1/2 mile, of Coyote Bridge.
The next day we hiked down to the Crack in the Wall exit. We decided to drop our bags and hike down to the Escalante and up to Stevens Arch. When I rounded the corner to see that arch for the first time, I was in shock. That is a massive hole in the wall!
WE stayed there awhile and headed back.
Then came the slog up the sand hill, the climb over the sandstone flake, crossing the petrified dunes and then the last jaunt up the other sand hill. I didn't mind the slog. Take it slow and it works out just fine.
At the crack we handed packs up to each other and along the crack. Not sure if it is common practice to use a rope to lower or lift packs, but if it is hopefully you know how to not leave rope grooves. The whole section of wall right there has just been cut up, needlessly.
Loved Coyote Gulch.
I'll be back there again!
Featured image for home page:
