Escalante Canyons conditions update Sept. 12th

Brian said:
When I think of flash floods in southern Utah, Paria Canyon/Buckskin first comes to mind.

The average flow this time of year is 10 cu ft/sec., but I'm always thinking high potential for flash flood between mid July to the first week in October so average is irrelevant. With all the rain this week I checked the USGS water data for the Lee's Ferry Gaging Station.

OK, now follow me hereo_O The flow is calculated using an algorithm based on the gauge height at that station. According to the posted data on Sept 11 at 19:15 the flow was 460 cu ft/sec, at 19:30 it was 2490 cu ft/sec , 19:45 4480 cu ft/sec , 20:30 6500 cu ft/sec.

From 20:45 - 21:30 the river continued to rise, but the algorithm the USGS is using caps out at gauge height of 11.30ft (equals 6600 cu ft/sec. ) The maximum gauge height was measured 12.66 ft. (see link below for USGS table). The data is provisional, but my guess is when they complete the final calculations the flow will have exceeded 9000 cu ft/sec. If so, this will have been the highest flow since 1958.

I already hiked Paria this past May, but thinking of taking another run at it in early - mid October to see how much the canyon has changed. Anyone interested in joining me?
USGS 09382000 PARIA RIVER AT LEES FERRY, AZ http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/u...13-09-11&end_date=2013-09-11&site_no=09382000
Click to expand...

WOW!!!!! That would have been awesome to see (from a safe place)!!!!!!!!!
 
...thanks for sharing all these Info.
Looks like a hard time for outdoor lovers. :(



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I drove down to the second cattle grate on HITR road and was greeted by a big puddle on 9-12-13. I watched a big truck blast right through it, but didn't want to risk the Superu getting stuck. I headed to Capitol Reef instead and had a great hike along the Frying Pan Trail to Cassidy Arch. The Freemont River damage from the day before shook my bones. A tree that was 15 ft tall and about 30-40 ft from the Freemont Falls had mud on it's top leaf. The falls themselves had changed in character with the sandstone showing mercy to the intense storms. A Fedex guy who drives the route regularly was checking out the falls while I was there and was kind enough to show me some before pics of an area he sees on a very regular basis. Intense signs of the power of the flood were abundant. Glad I was able to find nice pockets of weather and good hiking on my trip. :hungry:
 
Anyone traveling this area and roads. Would appreciate any up dates the next few weeks.
I saw a picture of HITR rd washed out before the Neon/Tunnel slot pullout. Does not look passable. Hope the Garfield Co road crew gets after it the next couple a weeks.
 
I read this a couple of minutes ago, via email.
The conditions looking much better for you. :):cool:

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More flood madness...

http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_64ed4798-1fc9-11e3-b4e4-0019bb30f31a.html

5238a4156c80b.image.jpg
 
Oops! Playground or deathmatch?

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Looks like we finally have a drying period coming up. So much rain this September. I have never seen so much green in NW Colorado this late in the year. Hope to see some road repair progress in Garfield and Kane County the next few weeks.
 
Just saw this encouraging post in the Glen Canyon road report.
Hole in the Rock
9/19/2013
2WD HighClearance,
Impassable
Road passable HC 2WD to Hurricane with caution,Watch for heavy equipment. Recommend 4WD. Repairs not done beyond.
 
I've just got back to the UK from 2 and a half weeks in the Southwest, the majority of which was spent in Southern Utah. Had planned to do Buckskin and Coyote Gulches plus some more exploring along HITRR and the Escalante region. And of course, knowing my luck, I just happened to be there when you guys got all that rain lol.:( I knew that it was still technically monsoon season but i'd been there at exactly the same time in 2012 and had only about 5 minutes of rain in 3 weeks, everyone I spoke to said they've never know Monsoon to last this far into September.

It started raining when I left St George on the 6th, heading up towards Zion and eventually on to Moab via UT12, and then it didn't really stop much until I got to Bluff, south of Moab near the AZ border 9 days later. I visited the Interagency Office in Escalante on the 11th only to be told (as I sadly expected given the downpour), that all roads were closed. :(

2nbwz92.jpg


I know to you guys, these places are kinda "Bread and Butter" hikes, but it was pretty gutting to have travelled 5000+ miles to visit these places i'd always wanted to check out, then to get so close and be denied. I actually drove the first few hundred yards down HITRR, stopped and just thought to myself "Damn, so close!" haha. But I kept reminding myself that it was these forces of nature which created these stunning places so I shouldn't be too mad.

I planned to spend a few hours hiking Calf Creek but that was closed too. I did manage to do the Burr Trail to the boundary with Capitol Reef, Wolverine Loop looked in quite a bad way and I still managed to change my plans a little and do some cool hikes on the trip but was definitely a bit sad not to chalk off Coyote and Buckskin. Oh well, there's always next time!
 
Dan, I can only say that I've have never seen this much rain in Sept. We barely have any Fall leaves changed up here in the mts (pretty late for the Colo mts) and the valley is as green as I've ever seen at this time of year. I have been in Steamboat since 1974 and never seen it quite like this. The monsoon rain this late into Sept is a total anomaly. It really crushed the front range of Colorado (devastatingly brutal) and did it's fair share of mayhem in the Utah canyon country. It is too bad you didn't get to see some of your bucket list hikes. Yes, Oh well!! Mother nature was being a Mo Fo..But... it's not going away and hopefully you can start a new list to strive for.
I feel fortunate that I live in the next state over to one of the most amazing colorful playgrounds in the world. (My state is not too bad either). The weather seems to have finally settled and the road crews are slowly fixing a lot of the damage these relentless rains created. I will get to see the Escalante and HITR beginning Oct. I won'y call it luck of the draw, because this is how it should be at this time of year. You should have got better, but thank your lucky stars you didn't end up in a precarious situation due to flash flooding or ignoring road closures. Like your last line"Oh well, there's always next time!"
 
We are headed to Escalante on Tuesday, so I'm glad to see that HTTR is passable to Hurricane Wash. Has anyone done Spooky, Peekaboo, or Brimstone after big storms? We might go in there to check things out, but I'm expecting to find a lot of water.
 
Melissa said:
We are headed to Escalante on Tuesday, so I'm glad to see that HTTR is passable to Hurricane Wash. Has anyone done Spooky, Peekaboo, or Brimstone after big storms? We might go in there to check things out, but I'm expecting to find a lot of water.
Click to expand...
Hey Melissa, I'd appreciate hearing a first hand impression of road conditions and how wet and muddy the slots you are exploring. I'll be there Oct 2.
 
powderglut said:
Hey Melissa, I'd appreciate hearing a first hand impression of road conditions and how wet and muddy the slots you are exploring. I'll be there Oct 2.
Click to expand...

Will do! I'll try to document the trip and do a trip report, but at the least I will check back in here and report on conditions. We are headed out tomorrow morning!
 
Nick, where is that pic from? That place looks awesome......Starting to plan my next utah trip for next summer....might be a place to see....
 
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