Woodchuck 2001 - Adventures in Arizona and Utah
Backpacking through the canyons of Escalante (Utah)
We spent a few days backpacking through the canyons of Escalante National Monument. Hiking through the desert was an
intense experience. The heat (of course) was considerable, and it was compounded by the dryness of the air -
perspiration evaporated immediately, so it was difficult to estimate how much water we were losing. To compensate, we
just kept drinking as much water as we could hold (about a gallon each per day).
The beauty of the landscape was dramatic as well.
This is where we camped the first night out, under a rock overhang in Willow Gulch. Camping under an overhang
was picturesque, but not a terribly practical idea. The rock held and re-radiated the heat from the day before,
so night brought us little reprieve from the temperature.
Walking on the (mostly) dried bed of a northern arm of Lake Powell, into which Willow Gulch feeds.
During a break from hiking, Denise and Mike went exploring on a ledge far above the rest of us. They're the
part of the picture that isn't rock.
Forty Mile gulch, heading away from Lake Powell. When we decided to go to the desert, I really didn't expect
to be hiking through water...
...but in some places it was so deep that we had to carry our packs over our heads. The water was about up to my
arm pits. This was the most difficult part of the route. Notice the steep canyon walls; they continued for about
a mile in either direction from this point, giving us very little opportunity to stop and rest. We just had to
keep going (sort of like The Incredible Hulk,
but without the depressing music in the background).
At the end of our second day of backpacking, we pitched our tents on the first spot of dry land we could find. It
was much airier than our first campsite, which paid off when the sun went down and the temperature (finally)
dropped. I took this picture the next morning, when I realized that I probably wasn't going to die of heat
exhaustion after all.
Side note: I could see more stars THROUGH THE WALLS OF MY TENT than I ever did in Maryland, due to the dryness of
the atmosphere, the lack of city lights, and the relative lack of pollutants.
This waterfall was immediately downstream from our second campsite.
Some fine backpacking cuisine. I never want to eat Ramen, Top Ramen, or Snap Ramen (???) again. Actually, I wasn't
too keen on eating it in the first place, but it's easy to pack, cheap, and marginally filling.
On the third day, we walked a few miles further up Forty Mile gulch, then had to climb out of the canyon and back
into the desert.
More of the same. Man, it was hot. On the way back to the car, we passed a canyon that looked exactly like the
place where R2-D2 was captured by the Jawas.
Walking on the (mostly) dried bed of a northern arm of Lake Powell, into which Willow Gulch feeds.
During a break from hiking, Denise and Mike went exploring on a ledge far above the rest of us. They're the
part of the picture that isn't rock.
Forty Mile gulch, heading away from Lake Powell. When we decided to go to the desert, I really didn't expect
to be hiking through water...
At the end of our second day of backpacking, we pitched our tents on the first spot of dry land we could find. It
was much airier than our first campsite, which paid off when the sun went down and the temperature (finally)
dropped. I took this picture the next morning, when I realized that I probably wasn't going to die of heat
exhaustion after all.
This waterfall was immediately downstream from our second campsite.
On the third day, we walked a few miles further up Forty Mile gulch, then had to climb out of the canyon and back
into the desert.