Escalante Adventure 2005

with Charles, John, and Reid

Welcome to our trip report! In May-June of 2005, the three of us (Charles Yeamans, John Garbe, and Reid Priedhorsky) went on a multi-week backcountry adventure in the Escalante River region of Utah’s canyon country.

The trip had three parts:

1. A dayhike in upper Middle Moody Canyon.
2. Ten days of backpacking, centered around Death Hollow (“Part A”).
3. Four more days of backpacking, in The Gulch with the Los Alamos Mountaineers (“Part B”).

These trip report pages were written and organized by Reid, with assistance from Charles, John, and a few others. The report is organized by day and is illustrated with photos and maps. You can click on captioned images for a larger version; for many images, a still larger (i.e. humongous) version is available under “full size”. Uncredited photos were taken by Reid, and the first-person point of view is Reid’s. All images are copyright 2005 by their respective owners, and all rights are reserved.

The best way to read this report is probably to start with the Maps page, where you can get your bearings and see exactly where we were, and proceed sequentially. Also, this report has a one-column layout, so you may want to narrow your browser window for easier reading.

Finally, we would love to hear from you! Reid’s email address is at the bottom of every page, and he is happy to pass on comments to everyone.

Addendum added Feb. 11, 2006: I just discovered my trip journal from when I visited this region in 1996, when I was in high school.

Contents

• Maps. Overview maps and an index to days by maps.
• Days 1-3. Travel from home to Camp I. Driving; May 17-19.
• Day 4. Explore upper Middle Moody Canyon and look over the pass into Hall's Creek. Drive to Camp II. Dayhiking; May 20.
• Day 5. First day of Part A. Hike down Sand Creek from Hell's Backbone Road to Camp III. Backpacking; May 21.
• Day 6. Climb west out of Sand Creek and over the ridge into the Right Fork of Death Hollow, to scout our planned route and make sure it exists. Dayhiking; May 22.
• Day 7. Hike from Camp III to Camp IV, i.e. over the ridge and down the Right Fork almost to the confluence with the main fork of Death Hollow. Backpacking; May 23.
• Day 8. Explore the narrows of Death Hollow. Dayhiking; May 24.
• Day 9. Hike from Camp IV down Death Hollow to Camp V in “Moonshadow Canyon”. Backpacking; May 25.
• Day 10. Explore “Moonshadow Canyon” and vicinity, including an overlook of our Day 9 route. Dayhiking; May 26.
• Day 11. Hike down Death Hollow from Camp V to Camp VI in a fabulous alcove nearly at the Escalante River confluence. Backpacking; May 27.
• Day 12. Hike from Camp VI down to the very flooded Escalante River, then down the river a little ways and, via the Bowington Road, to Camp VII at the Sand Creek confluence. Backpacking; May 28.
• Day 13. Explore the high country across the river from camp. Help two young women find their way out of the canyon. Dayhiking; May 29.
• Day 14. Hike from Camp VI to the end of Part A via an overland bypass. Drive to The Gulch trailhead and begin Part B by hiking in to meet the Mountaineers at Camp VIII. Backpacking; May 30.
• Day 15. Explore near The Gulch. Dayhiking; May 31.
• Day 16. Explore near The Gulch. Dayhiking; June 1.
• Day 17. Explore near The Gulch. Dayhiking; June 2.
• Day 18. Flood! Heavy rains cause flood near camp. Hike out to Deer Creek trailhead. Backpacking; June 3.
• Flower photo gallery. A special bonus page.

This report contains 19 maps, 191 photos, and 17,000 words. The photos included here were selected from a total of 712 taken by four principal photographers.