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- May 19, 2012
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I noticed all of the picture edits were broken on this trip report, so I reconnected them. I also found some additional info to give more context to the trip.
Also, I don't remember how we got the skis on the car, we must have done the trip to Salt Lake with the top down.
I suppose this does not qualify as a "trip report" in the traditional sense, but could be attempted today, although not under the same conditions. Maybe label it a Tripping Report.
In late March of 1979 my roommate and I decided to go on a road trip. He had been talking about this place he generally referred to as "the canyonlands". He had attended high school at Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Co, and they had done a field trip to Dark Canyon. He was going on and on describing it's amazing features. I had gone to the University of Utah for 1-1/2 years, and had heard of the Escalante area from friends. So a plan began to formulate in our sleep deprived minds (we had just finished our 1st semester of architecture school the day before we left). We decided to drive north from LA (from our home near Malibu) to Mammoth Mountain, stay at my parents condo and ski for 2 days. Then it was up 395 to I80 and across Nevada to visit friends in SLC for a day. Then down to the Escalante River, we really were not sure where we would end up on the river, we just knew that was where we had to go. And finally through Las Vegas for some Field Work and then home to LA.
We soon realized that the skis would not fit on the car with the top up, but I never liked the top to my Fiat anyway:
We were driving across Nevada when we noticed these amazing buildings near the highway. We stopped and read about the Thunder Mountain Monument, on a big sign on the other side of a fence that had kind of a sketchy ladder structure to facilitate jumping over. Soon this boy about 9 years old appears. He says his father had built this place and his name was Chief Thunder, but his given name was Frank. We asked if we could check the place out, because at this point we were intrigued to say the least. The kid said that all of the buildings were made out of stuff they had found in the desert, and the buildings were a kind of museum dedicated to Native Americans. There were car windshields on the outside of the building with exhibits you could see on the inside. I don't remember the exhibits but I remember the giant hypodermic needle sticking out of the fireplace on one of the buildings. We asked him where his father was as we wanted to meet him, but he said that he was up in the mountains near by, and that he was in trouble as the state highway department did not like his sign. Which sign ? we asked him stupidly, and then he walked off.
So we survived Salt Lake, left our skis with my friends, and took off for "the canyonlands". I had done very little backpacking, and was using borrowed stuff. I had depended on my roomate, as he had done quite a bit of backpacking. We had 7 days worth of pasta, bagels, peanut butter, granola and whisky, but nothing to cook in. We had no filter (I don't know when they became required), or stove. So we stopped in a little town before Escalante searching for what he called a "#10 can", which we miraculously found in a store. It was basically a large fruit can, and we got two of them, using them to cook in and eat out of. That accomplished we stopped by the BLM office in Escalante, and decided on Harris Wash. We left Escalante for the Hole in the Rock Road, then to Harris Wash. where we were instructed to drive across the wash and park. It was kind of dark by the time we started hiking, and with some quantity of the whiskey in us we decided to walk the wrong way, as we thought the ranger told us to walk beside the wash some distance and then rejoin the wash, so we would not have to walk through the deep sand. But we forgot to rejoin the wash, and we continued across the desert until we were tired and ready to sleep. We didn't care where we were, just that we were there. In the morning we continued along, getting nervous because we were running out of water, and we see the Escalante River canyon about a mile cross country. So we walked until we reached the abyss (I am on the left):
This was an amazing thing to me. I had grown up in southern california, been skiing in Mammoth, day hiked around SLC, but nothing had prepared me for this. Walking across the scorched earth to arrive at this place was a wonder and I will never forget that feeling. Anyway, we were stoked we had found water but it was also 500 feet below us. We headed along the rim up canyon, and soon found a way down via a large sand dune I think, and a final wall we jumped off of:
Our camp spot for 5 days:
We hiked down the Escalante and then up Harris Wash. I have read a lot of posts describing Harris Wash in less than glowing terms, but I found it amazingly beautiful. Maybe it was because this had been the first time I had visited a canyon in the desert southwest that I thought it was paradise on earth. We saw no one on our whole hike. Up Harris wash:
It took a bit of looking to find my car, and we started off for Escalante.
When we got to Escalante around 10:30pm we rang the bell on the only motel in town, we woke up this nice elderly lady and she was very kind. We looked pretty wild and disgusting I think after 5 days backpacking. She even made us ham sandwiches.
It was a cool time to visit this area, as it had not really caught on yet. Escalante was a little different back then.
Las Vegas, on the old Fremont street, may it rest in peace:
My apologies for the quality of the scans, I will never figure my scanner out.
I am currently going through my 35mm slides, so if I find any more of this trip I will post them.
Edit:
See the last post
Featured image for home page:
Also, I don't remember how we got the skis on the car, we must have done the trip to Salt Lake with the top down.
I suppose this does not qualify as a "trip report" in the traditional sense, but could be attempted today, although not under the same conditions. Maybe label it a Tripping Report.
In late March of 1979 my roommate and I decided to go on a road trip. He had been talking about this place he generally referred to as "the canyonlands". He had attended high school at Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Co, and they had done a field trip to Dark Canyon. He was going on and on describing it's amazing features. I had gone to the University of Utah for 1-1/2 years, and had heard of the Escalante area from friends. So a plan began to formulate in our sleep deprived minds (we had just finished our 1st semester of architecture school the day before we left). We decided to drive north from LA (from our home near Malibu) to Mammoth Mountain, stay at my parents condo and ski for 2 days. Then it was up 395 to I80 and across Nevada to visit friends in SLC for a day. Then down to the Escalante River, we really were not sure where we would end up on the river, we just knew that was where we had to go. And finally through Las Vegas for some Field Work and then home to LA.
We soon realized that the skis would not fit on the car with the top up, but I never liked the top to my Fiat anyway:
We were driving across Nevada when we noticed these amazing buildings near the highway. We stopped and read about the Thunder Mountain Monument, on a big sign on the other side of a fence that had kind of a sketchy ladder structure to facilitate jumping over. Soon this boy about 9 years old appears. He says his father had built this place and his name was Chief Thunder, but his given name was Frank. We asked if we could check the place out, because at this point we were intrigued to say the least. The kid said that all of the buildings were made out of stuff they had found in the desert, and the buildings were a kind of museum dedicated to Native Americans. There were car windshields on the outside of the building with exhibits you could see on the inside. I don't remember the exhibits but I remember the giant hypodermic needle sticking out of the fireplace on one of the buildings. We asked him where his father was as we wanted to meet him, but he said that he was up in the mountains near by, and that he was in trouble as the state highway department did not like his sign. Which sign ? we asked him stupidly, and then he walked off.
So we survived Salt Lake, left our skis with my friends, and took off for "the canyonlands". I had done very little backpacking, and was using borrowed stuff. I had depended on my roomate, as he had done quite a bit of backpacking. We had 7 days worth of pasta, bagels, peanut butter, granola and whisky, but nothing to cook in. We had no filter (I don't know when they became required), or stove. So we stopped in a little town before Escalante searching for what he called a "#10 can", which we miraculously found in a store. It was basically a large fruit can, and we got two of them, using them to cook in and eat out of. That accomplished we stopped by the BLM office in Escalante, and decided on Harris Wash. We left Escalante for the Hole in the Rock Road, then to Harris Wash. where we were instructed to drive across the wash and park. It was kind of dark by the time we started hiking, and with some quantity of the whiskey in us we decided to walk the wrong way, as we thought the ranger told us to walk beside the wash some distance and then rejoin the wash, so we would not have to walk through the deep sand. But we forgot to rejoin the wash, and we continued across the desert until we were tired and ready to sleep. We didn't care where we were, just that we were there. In the morning we continued along, getting nervous because we were running out of water, and we see the Escalante River canyon about a mile cross country. So we walked until we reached the abyss (I am on the left):
This was an amazing thing to me. I had grown up in southern california, been skiing in Mammoth, day hiked around SLC, but nothing had prepared me for this. Walking across the scorched earth to arrive at this place was a wonder and I will never forget that feeling. Anyway, we were stoked we had found water but it was also 500 feet below us. We headed along the rim up canyon, and soon found a way down via a large sand dune I think, and a final wall we jumped off of:
Our camp spot for 5 days:
We hiked down the Escalante and then up Harris Wash. I have read a lot of posts describing Harris Wash in less than glowing terms, but I found it amazingly beautiful. Maybe it was because this had been the first time I had visited a canyon in the desert southwest that I thought it was paradise on earth. We saw no one on our whole hike. Up Harris wash:
It took a bit of looking to find my car, and we started off for Escalante.
When we got to Escalante around 10:30pm we rang the bell on the only motel in town, we woke up this nice elderly lady and she was very kind. We looked pretty wild and disgusting I think after 5 days backpacking. She even made us ham sandwiches.
It was a cool time to visit this area, as it had not really caught on yet. Escalante was a little different back then.
Las Vegas, on the old Fremont street, may it rest in peace:
My apologies for the quality of the scans, I will never figure my scanner out.
I am currently going through my 35mm slides, so if I find any more of this trip I will post them.
Edit:
See the last post
Featured image for home page:
Last edited:
