Another Trip Report Of Canyon Hiking

This story is by our local “Gear Junkie.”  His guide is the same one Barb and I used when we hiked there a few years ago.

Some Suggestions For Our Trip

Originally this trip was designed around staying at a National Park lodge. That’s why, at first, we thought of Yellowstone or Glacier Park. Since we changed to a canyon hiking trip,  we thought it would be fun to stay at the Zion Lodge or the Bryce Lodge after   the hiking portion of our trip. Both of these are close to the route we take if we are driving from Las Vegas to Escalante.  Comments?

 

 

 

 

 

     Bryce

The Best Reason

Of course, the best reason to try a new activity is because you can justify buying new gear. Like this, I kid you not, “The Happy Hooker” to help get you out of a sheer-walled canyon. Cool, huh?

Of Course, The Ladies Need A Special Course

I like the quote below about this class. What about us guys who are intimidated because we have to prove that we know more than the ladies?

“Even with canyoneering becoming more mainstream in the outdoor adventure scene, some women are still finding it hard to participate in this activity without feeling intimidated about taking classes around the opposite sex.”

What Is Canyoneering

There is a lot of discussion on whether or not canyoneering is a hike or an adventure sport. My opinion - “Who cares. Looks like fun.” This is a website with lots of info:

“Canyoneering or as it is called by other names throughout the world "Canyoning , Kloofing, Gorge Walking, River Tracing and Stream or River Trekking," refers to walking, hiking, scrambling, climbing, stemming, jumping, rappelling, and/or swimming through tight, narrow, and often times deep slot canyons. In the United States, Canyoneering is often thought of as canyons being somewhat dry - very rarely any flowing water with only standing pools.”

Flights and Drive Times

Driving directions from Salt Lake City to Escalante, UT

313 mi – about 5 hours 47 mins
Airfare $462

Driving directions Las Vegas to Escalante, UT

293 mi – about 5 hours 34 mins
Airfare $277

Driving directions Colorado Springs to Escalante, UT

570 mi – about 10 hours 14 mins

Airfare $249

Let’s Have Fun In Some Canyons

This is the area we’re talking about centered around Escalante UT:

 
View Larger Map

What could we do once we got there? Well we could hike into some cute, short slot canyons like this one called Peekaboo Gulch:

Lots of slot canyons described here around the Escalante River or near Capitol Reef Park. More information here. Some of these hikes would be several hours, some only a few hours. Our base camp would probably be a motel near Escalante. That can be decided later.

Average weather conditions for Escalante.

Another possibility is to do a more technical version of canyon exploring called canyoneering.

“A more extreme offshoot of simple canyon hiking, canyoneering is a multiskill sport that combines climbing, rappelling and swimming to descend steep slot canyons -- the narrow gorges in mesas, sometimes a yard wide and several hundred feet deep and often filled with frigid runoff.”

A video of this canyoneering

 

It would be good to get a guide to do some of the more adventurous slots and/or to do some canyoneering. A photo of one of the more famous canyoneering canyons from this article:

Many choices available including someone our friend who manages the Salt Lake City REI store knows. There is even a 3 day course on technical canyoneering.

Who –only fun people will be invited

When – after the middle of September

Where – fly into Salt Lake or Las Vegas

How Much - TBD