Brad was in town, down from Alaska to attend Eric and Izzy's wedding. He was out a little bit early to enjoy the Southwest. He organized some people for a hike which ended up just being myself and Ryan McDonald O'Lear. I hadn't hung out with Ryan much outside of work, but he was really a good guy, so I through this would be a pretty fun trip. Brad's choice was to go to Escalante National Monument. We drove to the visitor center in Escalante with a few ideas in mind and after talking to the person at the desk, we went with our first choice which was Coyote Gulch. It was a long drive down the Hole in the Rock Road. Brad had a rental car, though, so we could beat up someone else's car. We got to the trailhead at Hurricane Wash. It just happened to be an excessively hot April day. All Spring long the temperatures had been fantastic including a snowy weekend just one week before.
Hurricane Wash was nothing exciting at first, but began to get higher and higher cliffs as we trudged through the deep sand. Eventually, Hurricane Wash met up with Coyote Gulch where we walked for a short period of time before finding a nice bench to pitch a tent. We got our stuff put up then wandered down canyon to see as far as we could go. There were supposed to be some awesome arches and bridges down canyon. We were happy to enjoy the shady canyon rather than the hot sun. Eventually we came upon a large arch right in the side of the cliff. I couldn't believe just how massive this arch was as pictures just do not give you a good scale to go off of. I was disappointed to find a group camping right below the arch known as the Jacob Hamblin Arch. If you want to camp below an arch, at least give us some space.
Instead we had to go around the corner to enjoy it on our own. It was sure a long trip around and on the other side of it was actually a bathroom, like both a bunch of toilet paper strung along the canyon walls and an actual physical outhouse. I was not a big fan of the placement of this toilet, but I was even less of a fan of the fact that people could not make it to this toilet and were still pooping next to the stream. We continued down canyon and it was just kind of the same, a very gradual downhill walk as the stream puttered along through the sand.
In a few places we had some nice rock formations, but for the most part it was just a meandering stream through high rock walls. We were making good time, but did not have a ton of daylight left. We were hoping to make it all the way to the Coyote Natural Bridge. It was supposed to be one of the highlights of this whole area. It was getting to the turn around point and we were wondering if we were going to find it, when suddenly up above us in the stream course, there it was.
Once again, I was impressed by the scale of it and the formation itself. We enjoyed it and took some pictures before finally turning around and heading back up canyon. We made it to our campsite as dark was approaching. We each had our fairly unappetizing versions of backpacking meals and were happy to eat them quickly. Brad, unfortunately, did not get much hammock time on this trip, as we hung out for a bit, but we were ready for some shut eye.
In the morning, it was time to pack up and hike out. We got a leisurely start, but wanted to hit the trail before the sun's rays beat down on us too strongly. It didn't work too well because as we were walking up the hot, dry wash to get out, it sure felt later in the day than we wanted. After getting to the car, it was not done, though, because Brad had more on his agenda. A trip out to Zebra Canyon which was up the road a way. There was no sign at the trailhead, but the other cars and the established social trail out there were a good sign that Zebra Canyon would be at the end of this trail.
It was once again a sand fest. Ryan and I complained jokingly to Brad, but everyone was still in pretty good humor about the heat. The trail led us out to another dry, sandy wash. We slowly plugged along through this wash looking for whatever hardened surface we could get to rather than walk in the sand. We were surprised by following the GPS to see that our canyon was coming rather quickly, but it sure did not look that way. This little, tiny, unassuming canyon eventually led to a beautiful formation with walls that really were similar to a Zebra. Not really white and black, but pink and brown. We did not go far back in the canyon before we ran into a wall that would not allow us to continue any farther.
Actually, Brad went a little bit farther, but we let him check it out and he found out that we could not go much higher than he already made it. Plus if he did, it would have just led to another flat sandy wash, which in this heat was not a place that anyone wanted to go. Ryan especially did not want to be out in the heat, as he forgot his had and was stuck wearing a beanie in the hot sun. Considering he burned easy, this was the best option to avoid a painful sunburn. We enjoyed the canyon for as long as we could handle just hanging there to avoid the hike out, but eventually we had to turn around.
We did the hot hike out again and it was back to the car. We were thrilled to get to the gas station where we could enjoy a cold beverage. From there it was a couple hours drive home. We were happy to get so much good stuff in with only a few days off to do it. I always enjoy a visit from Brad because he comes with so much energy to get out and explore. We were looking forward to the following weekend when we got to see our friends get married and once again hang out with some good friends that had moved away.
Brad was in town, down from Alaska to attend Eric and Izzy's wedding. He was out a little bit early to enjoy the Southwest. He organized some people for a hike which ended up just being myself and Ryan McDonald O'Lear. I hadn't hung out with Ryan much outside of work, but he was really a good guy, so I through this would be a pretty fun trip. Brad's choice was to go to Escalante National Monument. We drove to the visitor center in Escalante with a few ideas in mind and after talking to the person at the desk, we went with our first choice which was Coyote Gulch. It was a long drive down the Hole in the Rock Road. Brad had a rental car, though, so we could beat up someone else's car. We got to the trailhead at Hurricane Wash. It just happened to be an excessively hot April day. All Spring long the temperatures had been fantastic including a snowy weekend just one week before.
Hurricane Wash was nothing exciting at first, but began to get higher and higher cliffs as we trudged through the deep sand. Eventually, Hurricane Wash met up with Coyote Gulch where we walked for a short period of time before finding a nice bench to pitch a tent. We got our stuff put up then wandered down canyon to see as far as we could go. There were supposed to be some awesome arches and bridges down canyon. We were happy to enjoy the shady canyon rather than the hot sun. Eventually we came upon a large arch right in the side of the cliff. I couldn't believe just how massive this arch was as pictures just do not give you a good scale to go off of. I was disappointed to find a group camping right below the arch known as the Jacob Hamblin Arch. If you want to camp below an arch, at least give us some space.
Instead we had to go around the corner to enjoy it on our own. It was sure a long trip around and on the other side of it was actually a bathroom, like both a bunch of toilet paper strung along the canyon walls and an actual physical outhouse. I was not a big fan of the placement of this toilet, but I was even less of a fan of the fact that people could not make it to this toilet and were still pooping next to the stream. We continued down canyon and it was just kind of the same, a very gradual downhill walk as the stream puttered along through the sand.
In a few places we had some nice rock formations, but for the most part it was just a meandering stream through high rock walls. We were making good time, but did not have a ton of daylight left. We were hoping to make it all the way to the Coyote Natural Bridge. It was supposed to be one of the highlights of this whole area. It was getting to the turn around point and we were wondering if we were going to find it, when suddenly up above us in the stream course, there it was.
Once again, I was impressed by the scale of it and the formation itself. We enjoyed it and took some pictures before finally turning around and heading back up canyon. We made it to our campsite as dark was approaching. We each had our fairly unappetizing versions of backpacking meals and were happy to eat them quickly. Brad, unfortunately, did not get much hammock time on this trip, as we hung out for a bit, but we were ready for some shut eye.
In the morning, it was time to pack up and hike out. We got a leisurely start, but wanted to hit the trail before the sun's rays beat down on us too strongly. It didn't work too well because as we were walking up the hot, dry wash to get out, it sure felt later in the day than we wanted. After getting to the car, it was not done, though, because Brad had more on his agenda. A trip out to Zebra Canyon which was up the road a way. There was no sign at the trailhead, but the other cars and the established social trail out there were a good sign that Zebra Canyon would be at the end of this trail.
It was once again a sand fest. Ryan and I complained jokingly to Brad, but everyone was still in pretty good humor about the heat. The trail led us out to another dry, sandy wash. We slowly plugged along through this wash looking for whatever hardened surface we could get to rather than walk in the sand. We were surprised by following the GPS to see that our canyon was coming rather quickly, but it sure did not look that way. This little, tiny, unassuming canyon eventually led to a beautiful formation with walls that really were similar to a Zebra. Not really white and black, but pink and brown. We did not go far back in the canyon before we ran into a wall that would not allow us to continue any farther.
Actually, Brad went a little bit farther, but we let him check it out and he found out that we could not go much higher than he already made it. Plus if he did, it would have just led to another flat sandy wash, which in this heat was not a place that anyone wanted to go. Ryan especially did not want to be out in the heat, as he forgot his had and was stuck wearing a beanie in the hot sun. Considering he burned easy, this was the best option to avoid a painful sunburn. We enjoyed the canyon for as long as we could handle just hanging there to avoid the hike out, but eventually we had to turn around.
We did the hot hike out again and it was back to the car. We were thrilled to get to the gas station where we could enjoy a cold beverage. From there it was a couple hours drive home. We were happy to get so much good stuff in with only a few days off to do it. I always enjoy a visit from Brad because he comes with so much energy to get out and explore. We were looking forward to the following weekend when we got to see our friends get married and once again hang out with some good friends that had moved away. 
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