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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
1606 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2011 : 11:35 PM
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After the amazing scenery of Bryce Canyon (http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=38915), we continued on to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The national monument is more isolated than the National Parks and gave us a good opportunity to enjoy the solitude that is typical of much of the area.
We were planning on hiking Willis Creek but the visitor centre in Cannonville advised us that the road to Willis Creek was not in good condition for our vehicle. We drove on to the visitor centre in Escalante and they told us that the Hole in the Rock road to the Coyote Gulch area was in great shape. Most of the road was well graded but the last few km were a little rough. That said, we did see a normal car make it to the parking area.
Some pictures on the drive in, including a stop at Devil's Garden:
      
Don't expect a lot of guidance at the parking area. There were no maps and after missing a cairn, it took a bit of exploring to find our way down into Coyote Gulch. Once we were down in the gulch, we turned right and used our GPS to confirm the entrance to Peekaboo.
 
The first bit is a scramble and then it's a fun slot canyon hike. We found that Peekaboo alternated between a canyon and a wash and we kept going until we hit our turnaround time. A cairn suggested that some people cross over to Spooky after the first main canyon section of Peekaboo.
       
We then crossed over to Spooky and found a place to hike down into it. Unfortunately, in the process a rock slipped out from under me and I fell on our GPS, breaking the screen. Does anyone want to buy a Garmin etrex Vista HCx that still records tracks perfectly but doesn't have a working screen? Spooky also alternated between a canyon and a wash. At a few points, we opted to go overland including the last section of the canyon where we had to back-track when we chose not to pass through a difficult section of boulders.
      
The drive back to the paved rode provided great scenery.
   
This was an excellent introduction to slot canyon hiking. |
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 Utah's canyon trekking,deck chair packing desert explorer who dreams of visiting Canada someday
3988 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2011 : 4:27 PM
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I was so chubby in spooky that I scraped up my chest and belly. Great place. Too many cairns. We knocked most of em over. There were tons of them. I was in peekaboo and there was only water at the beginning. The potholes were empty. Saw you had some water.
Too bad about the gps. I love my garmin.
Nice pictures. Did ya go across the road to the site and cave where the two German brothers
used to have a rock polishing and tumbling business way back in the fifties? Kinda neat
to walk around in their little house in the cave. Truly a "MAN CAVE" hehe When I was there 14 years ago, there was
still a lot of their supplies and tables, cots and such. It's right across the road from spooky parking lot. Used to never be a parking lot there.
Glad you got to go. Yes, try as they might, there just simply isn't enough money in the govt to pave any of the roads into the GSNM. It is growing in popularity as with all places due primarily to the internet. The web has opened up practically the whole world to anyone who has access. I hope they never pave any of the roads. But, they will. they will
Is it still FREE to go into the Grand Staircase from the town of Escalante ??
Funny how the locals call the town escalant and the river escalan-tee
Crappy food in Escalante. yuck. I don't think there's a national chain eatery for over a hundred miles.
thanks for the memories of a great trip I took years and years ago in 1997.
jerry |
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Satirical photoshop junkie who frolics in the mountains of the Chilliwack River Valley
Chilliwack, BC
Canada
6908 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2011 : 5:53 PM
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
1606 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2011 : 12:07 AM
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Hi Jerry,
We didn't go across the road. I had no idea that other place existed. More great history.
We watched 127 Hours tonight. Already yearning to get back to Utah.
I'd be more upset about the GPS if I haven't used it that much. It was well used and I got my money's worth a long time ago. Replacement is in the mail.
Cheers,
Steve
quote:
Originally posted by Rented Mule
I was so chubby in spooky that I scraped up my chest and belly. Great place. Too many cairns. We knocked most of em over. There were tons of them. I was in peekaboo and there was only water at the beginning. The potholes were empty. Saw you had some water.
Too bad about the gps. I love my garmin.
Nice pictures. Did ya go across the road to the site and cave where the two German brothers
used to have a rock polishing and tumbling business way back in the fifties? Kinda neat
to walk around in their little house in the cave. Truly a "MAN CAVE" hehe When I was there 14 years ago, there was
still a lot of their supplies and tables, cots and such. It's right across the road from spooky parking lot. Used to never be a parking lot there.
Glad you got to go. Yes, try as they might, there just simply isn't enough money in the govt to pave any of the roads into the GSNM. It is growing in popularity as with all places due primarily to the internet. The web has opened up practically the whole world to anyone who has access. I hope they never pave any of the roads. But, they will. they will
Is it still FREE to go into the Grand Staircase from the town of Escalante ??
Funny how the locals call the town escalant and the river escalan-tee
Crappy food in Escalante. yuck. I don't think there's a national chain eatery for over a hundred miles.
thanks for the memories of a great trip I took years and years ago in 1997.
jerry
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Peekaboo and Spooky Gulches - GSENM - Utah
