5 Photos from a Solo Adventure in Escalante, Utah
My second time in Escalante, and it keeps calling me to go back!
The first time I only spent maybe half a day to hike Zebra slot canyon in Escalante. Since then I fell in love with this magic land so only a month later I decided to spend my whole 3 days weekend in this area.
Coyote Gulch is a must-do, even though you have to drive 43 miles and almost 2 hours on the bumpy dirt road. I definitely didn't enjoy that part at all, but knowing it would allow me to spend 3 days in this magic place...nothing could stop me.
I did Coyote Gulch and Hurricane Wash loop trail. It wasn't easy to follow the trail at the beginning and the end when you hike in the exposed desert. It's not well marked, so I accidentally went off trail a couple of times.
I started around 7 in the morning and after about 45 minutes hiking to the edge of the gulch, there's a rope you can grab down to the bottom. This is the view from the top looking down, some people camped down there. I have to say that's a really nice spot for camping.
After I reached the bottom, it's easy to hike since it's all flat and all you need to do is to follow the creek. Only a few minutes away there's another camping spot which is amazing. I spent a while taking pictures here.
After another 1.5 hours hike the gulch becoming a narrow slow canyon. I was like a little kid jump around taking selfies.
After that red rock slot canyon, I couldn't find the trail and it took me an hour to get back on the right track.
Right after Coyote Gulch, I drove another 21 miles on that road to Reflection Canyon. It took an hour and half and the road is a lot worse than the first 43 miles, 4x4 is recommended. This is a 20 mile round trip and trail is not well marked so you have to pay a lot of attention on finding the trail which I went off a couple times again.
Losing the trail for a while is usually ok, but when your water bottle is leaking then it's not funny at all. I brought an MSR trailshot filter, but I couldn't find the water source until the end. I thought a lot about the movie 'Wild'. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommended it. Hiking the PCT is one of my life goals.
On the way out of Escalante, I stopped at Devil's Garden. It was super sunny so I didn't spend a lot time there for pictures, but still worth to stop.
It's only been two weeks and I'm already thinking about going back again!
I love this magic land!
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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