Escalante Canyons, 10-person group, 5-days in June '12?

[Kirk]

I'm trying to put together a backpacking route through the canyons that would take 4-5 days to complete and would accommodate a larger group. I know June is hot so we'd need a route with plenty of water (if that's possible). Any thoughts?

 

[Nick]

10 people isn't too bad. Are you thinking early or late June? The one thing that changes between the two, aside from it getting warmer, are the deer flies. They can be pretty bad in the summer and bug spray doesn't help much. Definitely pack some convertibles or long pants that dry fast.

Death Hollow would probably be my first pick that time of the year. It's much higher in elevation than Coyote Gulch or any of the canyons down on Hole-in-the-Rock Road. It also has an EXCELLENT supply of clean, cold water that can be quite refreshing on a summer day. I've done it in March, April, May, June and Sept. Out of all of those trips, the June one was possibly my favorite. Lots of beautiful wildflowers, even up on the Boulder Mail Trail on the way in. I don't have any of my Death Hollow trips posted here in the forum but you can see them all right here on the backcountrypost blog. (two of my earlier trips aren't up because I was using film back then)

 

[HomerJ]

10 people isn't too bad. Are you thinking early or late June? The one thing that changes between the two, aside from it getting warmer, are the deer flies. They can be pretty bad in the summer and bug spray doesn't help much. Definitely pack some convertibles or long pants that dry fast.

Death Hollow would probably be my first pick that time of the year. It's much higher in elevation than Coyote Gulch or any of the canyons down on Hole-in-the-Rock Road. It also has an EXCELLENT supply of clean, cold water that can be quite refreshing on a summer day. I've done it in March, April, May, June and Sept. Out of all of those trips, the June one was possibly my favorite. Lots of beautiful wildflowers, even up on the Boulder Mail Trail on the way in. I don't have any of my Death Hollow trips posted here in the forum but you can see them all right here on the backcountrypost blog. (two of my earlier trips aren't up because I was using film back then)

How did you get back to your car near Boulder? Did you take two cars and drop one at the Hwy 12 bridge or hitch a ride, or?

 

[Nick]

How did you get back to your car near Boulder? Did you take two cars and drop one at the Hwy 12 bridge or hitch a ride, or?

We've hitched rides and and paid for shuttles. We always do that at the beginning of the trip though so we're not rideless and stinky at the end of 3-4 day trip. One time we quickly hitched from the Hwy 12 bridge to town trailhead. Another time, Ndheiner sat at the Hwy 12 bridge trying to thumb a ride up to the Boulder Mail Trailhead while my wife and I waited there. It took him like 3 hours! No one would pick him up so he eventually drove into Escalante and hired a shuttle for $80!

Here's my Death Hollow map. My fav routes are BMT to Bridge and Town to Bridge.
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[HomerJ]

We've hitched rides and and paid for shuttles. We always do that at the beginning of the trip though so we're not rideless and stinky at the end of 3-4 day trip. One time we quickly hitched from the Hwy 12 bridge to town trailhead. Another time, Ndheiner sat at the Hwy 12 bridge trying to thumb a ride up to the Boulder Mail Trailhead while my wife and I waited there. It took him like 3 hours! No one would pick him up so he eventually drove into Escalante and hired a shuttle for $80!

3 hours! Dang, you could have almost walked the road back in that time.... A bike would be much faster, but you have that nice steep climb out of the bottom to the ridge...

 

[Nick]

3 hours! Dang, you could have almost walked the road back in that time.... A bike would be much faster, but you have that nice steep climb out of the bottom to the ridge...

Yeah, it's like 9-10 miles on the road but something like 1500 feet in elevation. I think he spent about an hour thumbing it and then it took a while to actually get the shuttle on the road in Escalante.