Escalante Adventure 2006 – Day 6

Day 6 was a little bit of a sad day, since this was the day I would hike out, alone. And to rub it in, my party critter had faded away in the last couple of days. I was leaving early in order to make the last day of my college reunion; everyone else was leaving the following day.

After some puttering around and packing, I was ready to go. I waited until the dayhikers were nearly ready, then said my goodbyes and headed out.

I went upstream along the river, rather than back towards where we had come in. It was a straightforward hike: warm, but very quick, since the terrain was familiar, the trails were good, and I was alone.

After a while I began to encounter signs of other people. I entered the area of private land with the crabby signs about staying on-trail, and soon after there was the noise of machinery, perhaps a generator. Then a house tucked away through some bushes, and a dirt road, power lines, and the whine of the highway.

I kind of like emerging gradually from the backcountry. While sounds like these are frustrating and depressing in such a natural environment, the alternative — bursting suddenly out of the woods onto the highway — is worse.

I encounter several other backpackers, and then tourists, and then the bridge over Calf Creek and the highway. Charles’ red truck is waiting faithfully for me.

I unlock it and change clothes. I wander over to the river and have lunch under the highway bridge, which was the only place I could easily get to the river. Then, I return to the truck, start it up, and I’m off. The trip is over.

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