The Escalante River: world-class scrub bash or world-class packraft
trip? When we arrived at the Escalante River in late September 2013 on the Hayduke Trail we found
it in very poor shape. The banks of the river were absolutely coated in
late summer thickets of tamarisk, Russian olive and other horrible
plants which had then been tangled by an enormous recent flood event.
The river itself was too deep and soft floored for any sort of travel
but crossing so back and forth we went through the thickets. We stepped
up our efforts to try to make good time down the Escalante using our
trekking poles to thread our way downstream. Despite expending more
effort overall than I had hiking any previous portion of the HDT, we
still were averaging a painfully slow 1 mi/hr. After 6 hours we were
only 6 miles down the Escalante with 20 miles to go to get to Coyote
Gulch. All the while the Escalante
was flowing past us at a dreamy 20 cubic feet a second, a liquid
conveyor belt that was moving at least 4 mi/hr! The
Escalante was pyschologically more than we could take so we abandoned it
and escaped up Scorpion Gulch.
I had seen enough of the Escalante River near the Egypt trailhead,
Coyote Gulch confluence and the remote stretch between Middle Moody
Canyon and Scorpion Gulch to know that I had very little interest in
hiking its Russian olive choked banks and quicksand-ridden streambed the
sinuous 35+ miles from Egypt to Coyote. However I had the extreme
opposite feeling towards it regarding packrafting! I couldn't wait! Although this stretch the Escalante is apparently navigable at anything above 1.6 cfs, but our goal was at least 10 cfs. Jeff and I had both been keeping an eye on the flow for months. When we were thinking of doing our Escalante trip it seemed to hover around 10 cfs (but with some troubling spikes down to 1 cfs). When we were set to hike in to the river on March 14 2014 it was a pretty stable 16-18 cfs. It was go time!
I guessed we could probably cover the almost 50 miles from car to car in 3 days, but we threw in some extra food in case. Otherwise I went very light on gear, largely taking only the gear I took on my Hayduke hike apart from a full 3mm wetsuit (which proved to be a good decision on day 2, it was not yet summer!). I knew we could find water and escape at Scorpion Gulch should our pace seem to be dangerously slow and conveniently was familiar with the Jacob Hamblin escape out of Coyote Gulch. Joined by Briana for her first packraft trip, the three of us hiked down the slickrock benches from the Egypt trailhead to the mouth of Fence Canyon.
We inflated our boats on the shores of a modest (but definitely flowing) Escalante River. Happily the river picked up as we floated and paddled down. A few overhanging branches and even a couple downed trees provided the first of many obstacles. A troubling high pitched squeal from my boat prompted a stop- it seemed like the boat had an existing puncture. Jeff repaired it in good time and we were all back afloat. I had intended to stop for a sidetrip at Ringtail slot, but we drifted right past it without realizing. Oh well, we had plenty of miles to try to make today anyway. Overall the river had lots of slow pooled stretches punctuated by fast moving riffles, occasionally demanding quick thinking to determine the best path through. The canyon meanwhile slowly built in magnificence. The riparian benches narrowed, the canyon walls rose, and once we past Twentyfive Mile Canyon the river became considerably more sinuous. These sinuous stretches provided intervals of sun and shade which were welcome near midday. Drifting into shadows in the early morning or late afternoon were both shiver-inducing though. The variety of the canyon walls and the unique river obstacles both endless entertained. And all the time I was overjoyed not to be hiking the slow, weedy benches.
We passed by small clear streams in both Moody canyons but carried on. After a pleasant day on the river the shadows were becoming particularly lengthy and the sun patches few. I was getting cold and a riffle had just drenched my clothes. Just after 5pm, in what appeared to be the last long corridor of sun we would hit for the day, I pulled over at a excellent looking beach and queried the GPS for our position. We were about a mile upstream of Scorpion with plenty of water until then (right on track). So camp was called, and we enjoyed about a half hour of sun as everything we brought slowly dried in the lingering sun. We made a fire ring at least in part comprised of petrified wood, and gathered up some of the plentiful flood debris to help keep us warm. It was a fantastic campsite, right where we needed it. A bright waxing moon rose just as we slipped off to bed.
The morning started cool- it would take a couple hours for the sun to reach the narrow recesses of the canyon. After cleaning up all evidence of our camp, we pushed off. I wore my wetsuit to help keep me warm(er) in the morning and ended up finding it essential to wear all day long. We hiked a quarter mile up Scorpion Gulch to a good stretch of flowing water where we filled up enough water to get us to Coyote Gulch. Today was the main event- we covered some serious river miles. A few miles downstream of Scorpion we paddled through two interesting stretches of canyon where the entire north side of the river was a large and complex rotated block landslide (each longer than a mile). After this the river became uber-sinuous, in some cases all but cutting through its own meander. The river was now moving very fast and some riffles dropped over a foot. It was great fun picking lines through these rapids. Some were surprisingly tech-y (though still suitable for a beginner). We encountered two portages on the trip, one above Fools Canyon (good flowing water too), the other below. Both were places where large rockfall had choked the river forcing it to pour over several narrow and unnavigable waterfalls. One of the larger riffles/rapids dropped several feet and Briana found herself teetering on the edge just before she flipped over sideways. Fortunately there were little consequences on this river and she easily sorted it out. Though these obstacles slowed us down, the speed of the river more than made up for it (and we paddled most calm stretches). The views continued to awe!
The day grew on and arms began to grow tired. We were assailed by a couple ridiculously strong gusts of wind which whipped up sand into our eyes, pushed us upstream or sideways, and in at least one instance pushed me down a different line of a riffle than I intended to. Sunlight began to depart the narrows so we were in search of another sunny stretch to call Camp II. After a couple cold turns we finally found our stretch. I scouted around trying to find some site that might offer some protection if the sandstorm should continue. Just downstream we lucked on a fantastic campspot. We began our ritual of unpacking and setting wet things out to dry while occasional gusts pelted us with sand. We got a solid 30-40 minutes of tasty sun before it left us. We laid out a nice kitchen campfire area and another slightly more sheltered one for sleeping. Jeff climbed a bold but juggy boulder problem above our sleeping area that ended up being called The Grass is Greener on the Other Side. And it was- behind was a neon green grassy slope which contrasted well with the striped red canyon walls. We all enjoyed a little exploring before sitting down to dinner. Fortunately the forecast was spot on and the winds stopped at just after 6pm. Another pleasant night swapping stories around the campfire. The river, the canyon, the packrafting, the isolation- it had already been a fantastic two days and I was trying to hold my tongue that the best sights were still to come.
Day 3 started cold as the day before, but a dry wetsuit and booties was as good a way as any to get it started. We only had about 4 river miles (or 7 bends) to go until we reached the mouth of Coyote Gulch. The shadowy bends seemed to be particularly long this morning and the river seemed to have lost its momentum. This last stretch we actually had several riffles where intricate routes were necessary to dodge shallow rocks. We found out later that overnight the river had dropped from about 16-18 cfs to just above 2 cfs, Fortunately this only affected us for the last four miles of the trip and the higher flow was a dream the previous two days. And in most days since the flow has been down around 3 cfs. So all in all we timed it just right!
Stevens Arch looked much less dramatic from the back but I was relieved to see it in all its glory from the front. We ditched the packrafts just above Coyote and I pointed out the scrambling route up to the arch. I had camped at this very same point on the river back in 2008, but could hardly believe how different it looked (the extensive sandy beaches had been stripped). Stevens Arch is one of the largest arches in the world and hands down my favorite- I only wish it had a cooler name. I would love to find a old Navajo name for it. Anyway we had a snack on the deck beneath the arch and I snapped pictures from a multitude of angles. Amazing spot!
Back at the river, we floated down less than a quarter mile before pulling out at the bar just up from the mouth of Coyote Gulch. We cleaned, dried and deconstructed the packraft gear, then switched to backpacking mode for the first time in two days. The stream was flowing pretty good and we walked much of the way completely barefoot. Coyote is amazing- I can think of few places that jam so much riparian lushness, desert streamway, arches, natural bridges, waterfalls, pools, and soaring canyon walls into 6 miles of canyon. Unfortunately since 2008 it seems to have been discovered by the hoards. The vegetation has been trampled, use trails are rampant, new toilets installed (but thankfully very little trash seen throughout the canyon and people encountered were all friendly and pleasant).
We made decent time walking up the canyon but made sure to detour
through the horsetails to the black swimming pool at the end of an
amphitheater-like side canyon. I couldn't resist a quick swim- it must
be a very deep pool. Amazing reflections too.
As we traveled upstream the sights just kept getting better and better, and I enjoyed seeing how Jeff and Briana reacted as each new feature presented itself. We topped up some water at the great spring at Jacob Hamblin Arch, then dropped packs to have a look at the amazing alcove just upstream. The alcove is over 200ft high and overhangs the river by a similar amount. It also produces one of the best echoes I have ever encountered.
We had timed it perfectly. The heat of the day had now past and it was time to exit. We climbed the rib just before the arch, which appeared more straightforward and better traveled than I remembered. Ten minutes later we were out of the canyon and hiking across the spectacular slickrock back to Briana's waiting car. It all went pleasantly and we reached the car just as the sun set. We scarfed down the chips and salsa we cunningly stashed in her car before driving back towards Egypt. Briana managed to drive her car to the slickrock stretch at the head of Egypt 2 canyon and I had a moonlit 2 mile walk to my car from there. It took quite a bit of convincing to get my car to start which was a bit unnerving, but eventually I got it going and drove back to join the others for dinner.
Now with an adventure hangover we decided to have a quick walk around the Devils Garden hoodoo area (a small but surprisingly interesting spot), before we parted ways in Escalante for our respective long drives. Thanks to Jeff and Briana for a fantastic trip.
