Week Long backpacking, Zion or Grand Canyon? Need Suggestions

[Nick]

I believe the route Jammer speaks of goes up to Fools Canyon and then overland back to Hamblin Arch and crosses Coyote Gulch by climbing down the spine of Hamblin Arch and then usually out the more common Hamblin entrance on the south side of the canyon.

Some thoughts on the route you drew out...

It's not likely to work and if it did, water would be a major issue from the point you leave Coyote Gulch to the time you're at the bottom of Willow Gulch. It's just an educated guess, but that big dune you show yourself going down and around that rincon is likely not accessible from the rim. It might look close on sat, but you could easily be 50+ feet away from the dune standing at that ledge. The only reason you can get out at the crack in Coyote Gulch is because of a very unusual crack that allows passage. Getting in and out of these canyons is not an easy task so unless you're equipped for a major scouting expedition, following known routes or being an expert desert explorer is highly recommended.

There are certainly weaknesses here and there that may grant access at some points, but it usually involves serious amounts of scouting and often involves a lot of exposure. Ever use moki steps? Not really backpacking friendly stuff and pretty much impossible to build your route around. Also, a better starting point for a loop like this would probably be Hurricane Wash and you'd probably be better off to just follow Sooner Wash all the way up to Hole in the Rock and then just take the road over. More mileage but likely easier/faster walking. Not trying to douse your plan, but without some major planning and experience, you'd probably be better off to just do a couple days in one canyon and then move onto another.

 

[Mike Jones]

Not trying to douse your plan, but without some major planning and experience, you'd probably be better off to just do a couple days in one canyon and then move onto another.

Nick No worries, I want you to beat my plans up, so I dont go into this blindly lol. I really would love to do a 5 day loop if I could hack it but its hard to plan not knowing the area. I just ordered that map from amazon you linked me to a few posts past.

 

[Mike Jones]

Monotonous is exactly what I thought when I saw your itinerary. I know for me at least, I would prefer something more like Coyote Gulch. It's a very popular destination with relatively easy route finding. Depending on where you choose to enter and exit the canyon the difficulties may be increased. An out and back from Hurricane Wash would probably be the most straight forward. Good resources for hiking in Escalante:

Canyons of the Escalante Trail Illustrated Map
Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante by Ron Adkison

The trailhead for Hurricane Wash is 30 or so miles down Hole in the Rock road out of the town of Escalante, UT. Under most conditions it's doable in a regular car but an SUV would certainly be nice. Navigation to and from there is easy. You just go down the canyon then turn around and go back out the way you came. There are a handful of other entrance opportunities, most of them are more interesting and involve loops and/or point to points but require more advanced navigation skills and likely a high clearance vehicle (stock rental SUV is fine). The loop option is excellent:


View larger map.
I took my sweet time on that and spent three nights. It could be extended by going up the river once you get to the Escalante and exploring into Steven's Canyon/Arch.

Happy to provide more info if you're focusing in on that. The interactive topo map here on BCP is also quite helpful for exploring things:

http://backcountrypost.com/map

So I am in an email conversation with a ranger at the Grand Canyon trying to work out something but it may not work out, they may be booked... As for permits for the escalante region, are those hard ot get last minute if my grand canyon trip falls through?

Also I just got my escalante region map you recommended from Amazon in the mail today. I am trying to plan a 5 night back up through there. The one problem as you pointed out in one of my other posts in this thread is you can not just enter in and out of all the canyons like I did when i drew a path on the map. Can I get some suggestions for a 5 night hike through there? I am leaving next Saturday for Vegas so I am beginning to get on a time crunch, and need a back up hike. Preferably I would like a loop if possible, I would rather not repeat anything and try and see as much as possible.

 

[Nick]

Permits in Escalante are free and not limited, it's just to keep track of whats going on. What is your vehicle situation going to be like? 4WD?

 

[Mike Jones]

Permits in Escalante are free and not limited, it's just to keep track of whats going on. What is your vehicle situation going to be like? 4WD?

Not sure about vehicle yet, but were renting once we get to vegas. Based on prices, its probably not going to be four wheel drive but, we might consider it depending the hiking locations.

 

[Nick]

Okay. And so you have 5 days. Where do you plan to start and end those 5 days? Vegas? Like On day 1, where will you be and at the end of day 5, where do you need to be?

 

[Mike Jones]

Okay. And so you have 5 days. Where do you plan to start and end those 5 days? Vegas? Like On day 1, where will you be and at the end of day 5, where do you need to be?

Well I land on saturday the 9th at night, and plan on driving to the trails early Sunday morning. I have to be back at the airport late friday night for an early saturday plane. So I have 5 nights for backpacking, sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. Plan on getting back to my car friday afternoon and driving back to the airport.

 

[Nick]

From Vegas you're probably looking at 6-7 hours to get all the way out to Coyote Gulch. 4.5-5 to Escalante and then 1-1.5 going down Hole in the Rock Road. to Hurricane Wash or Fortymile Ridge. This early in the year, and without 4WD, that area really is probably your best option. The Hurricane Wash trailhead is right on Hole in the Rock Road so usually accessible to a passenger car. Stop at the GSENM Interagency office in Escalante on your way through to get an update and your permits.

The road out to Forty Mile Watertank could probably be done without 4WD but no way should you attempt to go all the way out to Forty Mile Ridge Trailhead without a capable 4WD vehicle. The sand out there is deep and soft and begging to swallow vehicles. Hell, there might be some spots like that on the ridge road leading to the water tank, don't recall for sure. Be careful.

So assuming a start from Hurricane Wash, leaving from Vegas at say 7am, you won't get out there until probably 2pm because of the time zone change from Vegas to Utah. That means the first day you could pretty much just hike straight down Hurricane Wash until you reach Coyote and setup first camp. If you can get to Forty Mile Water Tank, you'll be pushing it hard to get into Hurricane Wash and to water the first night. Pack enough to camp dry just in case. Water starts in Hurricane Wash a mile or so before it reaches Coyote Gulch.

On Monday, head down Coyote further. If you're looking to smash out miles, it'll be over fast and you will have missed the real experience. Take your time, soak it in. Spend one more night in Coyote Gulch, down in the lower end somewhere. Hell, you could spend two more nights there and it would be worthwhile. Spend some time that first day exploring UP Coyote from the Hurricane Wash confluence to occupy more time.

On Tuesday, wake up in the lower reaches of Coyote Gulch and continue to the Escalante River. Drop your pack and climb the awesome route into massive Steven's Arch. Come back down, pick up that pack and head up stream to Steven's Canyon now. The day is almost through, find a camp in lower Stevens.

On Wednesday, leave your camp setup and explore into Steven's Canyon. There is enough in that area to keep you occupied and interested for days. A hand line could come in handy. Lots of information about Steven's Canyon in Steve Allen's Canyoneering 3.

On Thursday, pack up camp and start the long hike out. Depending on whether you're parked at Hurricane Wash or Forty Mile Water Tank, you have options. I would personally choose to exit at Crack in The Wall and walk the road back to the water tank. Alternately, you could just walk back up Coyote Gulch to Hurricane Wash. Or you could follow the road all the way back to the water tank. You could hike hard and get back to your car that night and have a nice car camp or motel in Escalante before heading back, or you could stop shy of your goal in upper Coyote and then have a short hike out in the morning to Hurricane Wash giving you ample time on Friday afternoon to drive back to Vegas.

That would make for a pretty amazing trip. Coyote Gulch is world class scenery, just don't think of it like a trail that you have to smash out mileage between A and B every day. Take your time, relax, explore, soak it in. You could spend weeks down there and have a blast. Smashing out big miles in this terrain requires months if not years of research and experience. Travel along the Escalante River itself, especially in the lower reaches can be very difficult and unpleasant due to quicksand, deep water and nasty bushwhacking.

Here's a little map explaining what I was thinking. Cautionary note - I've not yet explored into Steven's Canyon, nor have I hiked the route into Steven's Arch. Make sure you research those routes before attempting. My lines on maps are obviously not precise or for navigation, just to give you an idea.


View larger map.