Early April Grand Staircase Escalante 4 night backcountry trip

[Bockus]

Greetings. We are looking for an early season 3-4 night trip in the monument. We are both accomplished endurance athletes from northern Vermont and interior Alaska and would like to find something challenging away from the crowds. We realize that it is early in the season, but would welcome all recommendations. I picked up the Canyoneering 3 book and we are leaning toward Death Hollow. Please, enlighten us as to the possible weather, loops, we welcome all info!

 

[wick e. pedia]

Death Hollow is gorgeous and an incredible trek, though the Boulder Mail Trail/Death Hollow/Escalante River loop will probably be more crowded than most other trips you can take down there. That the trailhead starts right out of the town of Escalante doesn't help thin things, as you can end up running into dayhikers heading in both directions to the fringes of Death Hollow.

It's usually done as a three-day trip, but I've done it in two without too much overexertion (the wind/weather was turning bad on day two and we opted to push all the way back to the car).

Heading into Coyote Gulch from Red Well and spending a couple days trekking up Stevens Canyon and Fools Canyon along the more southern section of the Escalante might be up your alley. Coyote Gulch gets its fair share of traffic, but once you hit the river and turn back north you'll have it more to yourself.

Also, early April leaves open the possibility of all kinds of weather. It could be hot - I had a week of upper 80 degree days in Canyonlands the final week of February. I also bolted from the final day of the previously mentioned Death Hollow trip because there was snow in the forecast (and that was late March).

Definitely dig through some old trip reports here, too!

 

[regehr]

early April is a great time to be out there. I'd rather put on a layer than sweat buckets!

but a top-down of Death Hollow might pose hypothermia problems that time of year? others can weigh in but it may well be wetsuit conditions

anyhow, you have the correct book to support your goals

 

[b.stark]

Death Hollow would be really cold in early April, those streams coming off Boulder Mountain have ice cold water running in them and you'd be doing a lot of wading. BMT would be a lot less wading but likely more people. Lots of other options in the area, some good ones have been mentioned.

 

[TrailScot]

Hi @Bockus, it looks like you've had some great recommendations already for your upcoming trip. Can I throw a curveball in your direction ?

I know you mentioned GSE in your post, but I wonder if you might consider another nearby area: Dark Canyon. It probably has enough solitude and challenge to satisfy your requirements; as well as stunning scenery, obviously.

A couple of loops come to mind, both around the 40-mile mark: Firstly, the classic DC loop starting from Peavine Trailhead, which encompasses, Woodenshoe, Dark, and Peavine Canyons; and secondly, a loop of Lean-To, Youngs, and Dark Canyons starting from the Sundance Trailhead.

Depending on the weather, the condition of the road up to Peavine TH may be a little tricky at that time of year, but I think Sundance should be accessible.

p.s. I'd also recommended the book "Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Glen Canyon Region", for some trip ideas. The routes are perhaps not as 'exciting' as those in Steve Allen's guides, but it is a really good book.

 

[Jorey]

+1 for Dark Canyon.

It's also a great intro to desert hiking generally. Plenty of water(below Peavine/WShoe), navigation problems as easy(staying in canyon bottom) or as difficult(out to the airstrip/Fable/Colorado Terrace, etc) as you like.

Here's a TR from similar time of year: https://backcountrypost.com/threads/into-dark-canyon.10282/

Something of note: Just because you are physically fit endurance athletes, does not mean that will translate 1:1 for desert hiking, especially if you are looking at hikes in Canyoneering 3. Take Steve Allen's recommendations and warnings seriously. Start with the easier hikes in that book, and see how you measure up before committing to something larger. Ask me how I know . You should also clarify if you mean Death Hollow from the top down, or a BMT/Death Hollow trip, as well as whether this will be your first time hiking out here, so folks can give better info.

It's a perfect time of year to be hiking out there, and it's hard to go wrong.

 

[Bob]

Death Hollow from top down would be a really cold trip......... Earliest I'd do that is early May

 

[regehr]

p.s. I'd also recommended the book "Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Glen Canyon Region", for some trip ideas. The routes are perhaps not as 'exciting' as those in Steve Allen's guides, but it is a really good book.

my copy of this is the 1998 one. do you find that the 3rd edition (2018) is worthwhile? I often upgrade if a book is good, cause I like to support the authors of these things, but on the other hand I think Falcon in particular sometimes gets a bit too happy with the new editions and I don't totally trust them on this

 

[Edge]

Obviously it depends on the year and the entry point, but I find the comments about Death Hollow being too cold in early April should have an asterisk. In 2021 I hiked solo from the Boulder Airfield via the Boulder Mail Trail to Death Hollow and then out the Escalante River to Rte 12 on April 2-3.

The water was relatively high but never over my waist, I was in the river almost as much as I was out of it, and found the water temps to be quite tolerable in only a single pair of Prana Zion pants and approach shoes for this former New Hampshirite. Unfortunately for the original poster, it only took me a moderate day and a half to complete, but you could always do some side canyons to extend it. On the plus side there was no one else on the entire trail and the notorious poison ivy bushes were dormant and easy to avoid.

The one troublesome spot for me was in navigating the Narrows, where the traverse ledge was under water and covered in long strands of algae. Despite my previous 45 years climbing experience (including USA Climbing Regional Coordinator), I ended up in the drink. It was only a 10 second float from entry to the beached whale mantle at the end, but I got drenched; fortunately the contents of my pack stayed dry. If I had to do that again, I’d bring a cheap toy inner tube and parachute cord to float the pack and my clothes so I could swim it outright and have dry clothes to change into after.


About to drop in to Death Hollow.


Lower Death Hollow.

Last year I was planning on hiking the Woodenshoe-Peavine Loop, but after researching it I found the reports of endless sections of hiking on beach sand, ample quantities of horse pucks, and the relatively small walls and wide open nature of that section of canyon to be off putting. I think the section heading west from Woodenshoe would be more interesting and more suitable for your time frame, but you would need to arrange for a shuttle.

I ended up changing my plans to hiking a loop in Bears Ears along Point Lookout Canyon (AKA East Slickhorn) to the San Juan River then back to my truck via Slickhorn Canyon. About 2.5 days.

 

[Bob]

Obviously it depends on the year and the entry point, but I find the comments about Death Hollow being too cold in early April should have an asterisk. In 2021 I hiked solo from the Boulder Airfield via the Boulder Mail Trail to Death Hollow and then out the Escalante River to Rte 12 on April 2-3.

From the TOP of Death Hollow ............. Not the shortened Boulder Mail Trail entrance. There is a LOT of "In the water" .... plus what water you have to get into from the BMT to the Escalante.

Atremus exiting one of the many swim portions

 

[Janice]

I'm glad to hear the recommendations for Dark Canyon - filing that one away for a future spring break trip.

If you're ok with basecamping rather than moving every night, you might want to consider the Little Death Hollow - Wolverine loop with extra days exploring on the other side of the river and/or up The Gulch. We had a great trip in mid-April 2022; we camped in Horse canyon close to the river and made great use of info provided here and elsewhere to extend it several nights. You could easily make it even longer, as there are lots of places to explore up and down stream as long as the river isn't too cold or deep. If you want more info, let me know!

 

[fossana]

Second that Death Hollow top down could be cold that time of year. With your endurance background, you could do Lower BMT > Lower Death Hollow > Escalante River from the trailhead near the cemetery in a day. It's ~21 miles. If I had 3-4 days, I'd opt for something more remote in Glen Canyon (e.g. Hike 22 in that book).

 

[TrailScot]

my copy of this is the 1998 one. do you find that the 3rd edition (2018) is worthwhile? I often upgrade if a book is good, cause I like to support the authors of these things, but on the other hand I think Falcon in particular sometimes gets a bit too happy with the new editions and I don't totally trust them on this

Thanks @regehr, now you've really made me feel old ... my edition is from 1998 also ! Perhaps our 1st editions will prove to be just as valuable as a Harry Potter 1st edition

I agree though on many updated guidebook versions, especially Lonely Planet, which are now a shadow of their original selves ... more color photos though !

 

[utahastro]

Greetings. We are looking for an early season 3-4 night trip in the monument. We are both accomplished endurance athletes from northern Vermont and interior Alaska and would like to find something challenging away from the crowds. We realize that it is early in the season, but would welcome all recommendations. I picked up the Canyoneering 3 book and we are leaning toward Death Hollow. Please, enlighten us as to the possible weather, loops, we welcome all info!

A few people have mentioned that the BMT and the surrounding area gets a fair amount of use. However, I've only infrequently encountered people along the BMT during my hikes there; the crowds are nothing like what you'd encounter at Lower Calf Creek Falls for example. I'd say that I typically see only a few people each day.

My main advice for the BMT is that some of the most interesting scenery is well away from the main route. It's a lot of fun to explore the slickrock up there, even if it adds considerable mileage and elevation change. For example, in lieu of the upper BMT trailhead, I prefer to start at Upper Calf Creek Falls and navigate cross-country to Death Hollow, but there are many other possible variants. It just takes some comfort with off-trail navigation.