GSENM trip itinerary

[piper01]

I'm planning a trip for around Thanksgiving and would benefit from some input on my proposed itinerary. I need some help planning my hiking and driving times to best make use of the ~10 hours of sunlight, plus alternative hikes in case of inclement conditions (weather, road, water levels, etc.). I'm planning on car camping if the weather cooperates.

I'll be traveling solo, so no hikes that require help to get around obstacles. I consider myself an intermediate-level hiker with good scrambling and basic chimneying ability, but no technical climbing skills. I also like to stop and look around frequently, so average pace is ~2 mi/hr. Feel free to suggest hikes that may be more appropriate or interesting. Thanks in advance!

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Day 1: fly into St. George. Rent mid-sized SUV (Grand Cherokee was the example given). Spend night in motel in Escalante.

Day 2: Hole in the Rock Road: Peek a Boo and Spooky slots? Cosmic Navel/Ashtray?; camp overnight- suggestions for good camping spots along the HITR?

Day 3: Hole in the Rock Road: hike Neon Canyon to Golden Cathedral. I'll have Neoprene socks for short water crossings, but I'm not prepared for deep or continuous water.; camp (or motel in Escalante is it's too cold and I wimp out.)

Day 4: Hole in the Rock Road: Zebra and Tunnel Slots?; drive to Kanab via Cottonwood Road (if I leave early enough to do it in daylight), otherwise on highways; hotel in Kanab or Page

Day 5: Southern Coyote Buttes w/ Paria Outfitters; camp somewhere- suggestions?

Day 6: Buckskin Gulch day hike from Wirepass Trailhead; camp somewhere

Day 7: Cottonwood Road: Wahweap Hoodoos? Yellow Rock?; drive to St. George; hotel

Day 8: ridiculously early flight home from St. George

 

[Yvonne]

Day 2 is a bit too ambitious for this time of the year. You will not have enough day light to do both.
We did the Cosmic Ashtray 2 weeks ago and are fast hikers. But it still took us 5 hours RT.
If you wanna do Peekaboo, Spooky and Brimstone it takes a bit of time, too. Especially if it's your first time there. The slots are beautiful, lot of nice passages for taking pictures


Day 5: ask Steve at the Outfitter if you can camp there. They have a few camp spots. Not sure if they operate the little campsites this time of the year. Otherwise camp at Stateline Campground(free) or White House Campground near the BLM Station
Day 6: again Stateline Campground, awesome little BLM campground and it's free. Very convenient to the trail heads

 

[powderglut]

Prospector Lodge is a decent place to stay in Escalante.
Day 2: I would also do Peekaboo/Spooky/Brimstone as a full day shot. If you're car camping you could spend the night at the end of the Egypt road so you can get an early start for Neon.
Day 3: You might want to use a handheld GPS for a direct route to Neon off the Egypt rim. Line of sight to Neon Dome is pretty helpful too.
Day 4: You can do either Zebra/ Tunnel or Cosmic Navel. Did the Navel a few weeks back from the Old Sheffield road. Hiking time was 2 1/2 hours each way, with about an hour hang time. (Miss Buffalo I was there on Sun Oct 6 and saw 2 other groups, were you one of them?)
Day 5 + 6: You have a permit already for SC Buttes? See if they will take you over to White Pocket too. I'm with Yvonne on using Stateline CG for a base for any House Rock Valley road hikes. Wire Pass, Buckskin, N+ S Coyote. Nice art panels just south of the Stateline CG on east side of the road.
Day 7: With shorter days you may have to choose one or the other Wahweap Hoodoos or Yellow Rock. You might see if you can get a night at Paria outfitters as they are closest to both of these.
If you pull all of this off in 7 days of hiking you did really well.

 

[Yvonne]

agree with camping off Egypt Road. One of my favorite camp spot for some explorations of the upper part of HiTRR

@powderglut
I was there October 13, two weeks ago. Just corrected the typo.
We also went from Old Sheffield Road and saw no one else. Great hike but we were there during the wrong time of time.

 

[piper01]

Thanks for the input so far. Just to clarify, for days 2 & 7 I plan on choosing one of the two options listed. I may be crazy, but not that crazy to try hiking them both in one day. I'll save the Cosmic Navel for a future trip, but y'alls trip reports made me really want to see it now.

Will I have time to go poke around Dance Hall rock after hiking Peek-a-Boo and Spooky? I was planning on skipping Brimstone.

@ Powerglut- I'm sure I'm being overly ambitious. I have a feeling that after 4 days of hiking I'll be ready to cry at thought of putting on my hiking boots and will just end up driving around looking at the scenery and stopping at scenic overlooks. But I'm going to be prepared just in case!

I'll think I'll aim for Egypt Road for at least one night and the Stateline Campground. Bonus points for pit toilets!

 

[powderglut]

agree with camping off Egypt Road. One of my favorite camp spot for some explorations of the upper part of HiTRR

@powderglut
I was there October 13, two weeks ago. Just corrected the typo.
We also went from Old Sheffield Road and saw no one else. Great hike but we were there during the wrong time of time.

Tough photo shots with sunshine glaring over the top? Very cool place huh?
@piper01 You should have enuf time to to visit Dance Hall Rock after hiking the slots. You'd then drive back to Egypt rd and camp? Seems to make the most sense.

 

[slc_dan]

I wouldn't skip brimstone. It creates a whole day instead of half, although it's an out and back, it was my favorite of the three dry forks.

that is all.

 

[piper01]

I'll have to add Brimstone back in then. I wouldn't want to miss out on the best of the three.

How do Dance Hall Rock or Sooner Rocks rate for camping? If I'm already down there, I may just spend the night there then camp the following night at Egypt.

 

[powderglut]

Both places are definitely nice for camping, a bit of a ride in the AM for your hike. Just thought you might want an early start for Neon hike by camping on the Egypt rim. That should be a fairly long day of hiking to the Cathedral and back.

 

[Nick]

How do Dance Hall Rock or Sooner Rocks rate for camping? If I'm already down there, I may just spend the night there then camp the following night at Egypt.

Dance Hall is not a great camping spot, just a big parking area with other people pulling in often. Sooner has quite a few spots, watch out for mice.

My only advice is pick what's really important each day because this time of year it's hard to get a lot in with the short days. Having ambition to get a lot done is great, but do what you really want first and always pack a head lamp. The direct route to Neon is easy, especially on the return hike.