Coyote Gulch

This is the story of our 3 day backpacking trip into Coyote Gulch. An adventure filled with uncertainty, wonder and awe. Enjoy!

To Escalante
May 10, 2018

We were up at 5:45 to get camp packed up as early as possible… After all, we had a minimum 8 hour drive to reach our destination down the Hole In The Rock Road. The drive was fairly uneventful and time did seem to pass relatively quickly for such a long haul.

We stopped in Hatch, UT for lunch at a place called Bikes, Burgers and Beds. It was a funky little 50’s diner and the folks working there were nice.

When reaching Escalante, we stopped at the Visitor Center to register with the ranger and pick up the required WAG Bags.

For those who are not familiar, a WAG Bag is a bag that you poop into containing chemicals that break down the feces into a gelatin form. Due to the amount of use Coyote Gulch gets they have enforced the carry your poop out policy.

We then made the very long slow and bumpy ride down the Hole In The Rock Road to the Fourty Mile Ridge Road and the trailhead to Coyote Gulch. The wind had been blowing hard all day and at the trailhead it was no different.

Several years back, I came down to the Escalante area to hike Neon Canyon and experienced how bad it can be to try and camp out under those conditions. The red dirt blows into every nook and cranny of everything! Filling the tent with the stuff! I did not want to experience that again! So we decided that we would empty the back of the Jeep, cover the camping gear as best we could with tarps, and sleep in the back.

So now it is 7:30pm and we are waiting for the sun to set before unloading our gear. The wind does seem to be subsiding ever so slightly but still blowing pretty good. We are not sure we want to subject ourselves to trying to backpack under such conditions and probably won’t decide until we see what it is doing in the morning…

So for now, we sit and wait…

9:15pm… The wind has subsided to a steady breeze. We have our gear stowed in the front seats and under the Jeep. The Dream Island is sprawled out in the back and Harmony has already retired for the night… I sit at the back of the Jeep in one of the camp chairs and finish my night cap before settling in for the night…

Down Into Coyote Gulch
May 11, 2018

We were up at 6:30 to partly cloudy skies and the bad wind had dissipated… Let’s do this! We organized gear and ate some oatmeal as quickly as we could,locked up the Jeep and headed off across the desert following a faint trail and the GPS.

Reaching the slickrock, we had to keep a close eye out for cairns marking the way to The Crack In The Wall.

At the top of The Crack, the views were expansive and awe inspiring! Anxiety crept in as we prepared to drop down into the crack. Harmony dropped in first and then I lowered the packs down to her before following.

At the halfway point we reached the spot where it is necessary to lower the packs over the cliff with a length of paracord we had brought for this purpose. Harmony would have to go down first so that she could unclip the carabiner from the pack and I would pull it back up and repeat with the second pack.

Getting down the second half of The Crack, she opted for the less constricting but more exposed climb, up on the top and outside down the rocks! I was worried as I watched her traversing the exposed rock and disappearing out of sight! But of course she made it just fine and I scramble back to the packs and lowered them over the edge down to her. Then continued down The Crack opting for the constricted slot which was a very tight squeeze!

We saddled the packs back up and headed down the steep sand dune below the cliffs. We reached the canyon bottom about 2 hours after leaving the Jeep but couldn’t help but think about how difficult it would be climbing that on the way out.

Once in the canyon bottom, we found a lovely little spot to set up camp. With camp set up, and a bite to eat, we immediately went for a refreshing stroll through the creek. Then Harmony took a nap while I caught up on the daily journaling up to this point.

After a couple of hours, we ventured downstream to pump water for the hydration bladders. We found a little waterfall that we had seen on the way in and stripped down to our undies and went in… It was sooooo refreshing in the desert heat to rinse off! Then we got our gear organized for the day hike up the canyon and back tomorrow and went for another stroll in the creek.

We had dehydrated meals for dinner. They really have come a long way since I was first introduced to them as a child backpacking with my parents… But would have preferred something fresh! And we are both craving our favorite chilled beverages…

Hiking The Canyon
May 12, 2018

We were up at 6:30am with a big day ahead… Hit the trail at 8:00am after breakfast. Our goal for the day… Hike up Coyote Gulch from our camp to Jacob Hamblin Arch and back. At this point we are not quite sure the actual mileage but guessing 12+ miles round trip.

The morning hiking was very pleasant with cool temperatures and a nice breeze. The views were absolutely awe inspiring! We passed several intimate little waterfalls. Some requiring scrambling and climbing the rocks to get passed! On one of them Harmony opted to actually climbing a tree to reach the ledge, where I decided to take the slickrock climb!

Around midway up the canyon we came upon a small side trail… Knowing about where we were, I was sure this was the trail leading to the Black Lagoon. We ventured up the trail through ever thickening trees, shrubs, poison ivy and deep dark stagnant bogs… We were like… Uh, do we really want to do this? Reaching a spot that required some real balance not to fall into one of those nasty bogs, Harmony decided to scout ahead to see if it was worth continuing on.

She returned minutes later saying, Come on honey you have got to see this! So I balanced my way across the log spanning the bog and through the last of the trees… What we were presented with was what I presume to be a large natural spring. About the size of a pond or small lake. It was situated right at the base of the expansive surrounding cliffs laced with lush moss and vegetation. Of course Harmony could not pass up the opportunity to go for a swim! It was an amazingly otherworldly oasis!

Reaching the next waypoint, we climbed a steep hill to find some petroglyphs and ancient ruins. We met a group of 3 nice people from Denver and talked about our itinerary.

About a mile and a half from there we reached the Coyote Natural Bridge. What an incredible place! With the creek running right through it! It was perfect to be there without anyone else and I took a large series of photos.

Then another mile or so and we reached Swiss Cheese Falls… Another very beautiful and photogenic location! Another couple of miles and we reached our goal… Jacob Hamblin Arch. Absolutely massive! We stopped for lunch at the arch before starting the long return trip back down the canyon.

The return trip was every bit as awe inspiring as it was on the hike up… Only more sore and totally exhausted.

We made it back to camp at about 6pm, about 10 hours after starting one of the most amazing hikes I have ever done! Only to find that the squirrels had got to Harmonys food bag. Including her dinner and breakfast!

Exhausted and grimy from the days hike, we made our way down to the nearby hidden waterfall for a quick cold shower and filter water for dinner.

Back at camp we shared my dehydrated Beef Stroganoff and a dessert of Apple Crisp… Then retired for the night to rest up for the big hike up and out The Crack the next day…

Out The Crack In The Wall
May 13, 2018

The alarm rang at 5:30am… Time to rise and shine! We needed to get an early start so we could make up through The Crack before the sun and temperatures rose too high.

The slog up to The Crack is grueling work!… Pretty much just a giant sand dune! One step up and slide a half a step back down! We made good time in spite of our frequent rests. As we neared The Crack we could see people at the bottom of it looking like they were shaking out a tent. By the time we reached the entry point of The Crack, they were hauling their packs up the cliff with a rope.

Then they offered what I never would have imagined… To haul our packs up for us! We joked around a bit by saying that if your going to steal them, please leave the water behind for us! But of course, haul them up! And thank you very much!

What a blessing that was! We would have been able to haul them up to the halfway point in The Crack, and struggled to pass them up the big step, but it would have expended a huge amount of energy… After all, it was hard enough just to haul myself up through it!

By the time we reached the top, the do-gooders were already disappearing over the slickrock in the distance. We ate and hydrated a bit, then set off on the 2 mile slog across the desert. By the time we reached the Jeep we were just about totally spent. So much so, we didn’t even have strength to repack the Jeep. Instead Harmony accepted sharing the front seat with her full backpack!

We crept our way slowly down the rough Fourty Mile Ridge Road till we reached the Hole In The Rock Road. Then I decided to show Harmony a piece of Mormon history… Dance Hall Rock. It was here that the Mormon pioneers, from November 1879 to January 1890, had spent many a night trying to keep their spirits up with fiddle music and dancing in this natural sandstone amphitheater while the expedition built a road to and over the cliffs of Glen Canyon.

We then made the long, long, very long and bumpy ride back up the Hole In The Rock Road to Escalante where we had burgers at a little place called Nemos. And then on to the Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch for our last night of the trip and some much needed pampering.

It had been an amazing adventure and one we are sure to not soon forget…