Day 35 - Escalante River

Our group of eight intrepid but novice backpackers and two incredibly experienced guides gathered for breakfast at 8am to meet, greet and bulk up for 5 days in the Escalante River area. We laid out all our gear to ensure we had the needed hiking, camping and survival supplies and drove to our trailhead for departure. 

We hiked along a trail following the course of the Escalante River for a mile or so before getting to our first of many river crossings. Wet feet were not something we could avoid so we simply hiked across and sometimes down the river. When the river ran close to the canyon walls we knew we would have to find a shallow entry to the river, then cross the river to the bench on the other side. 

Guides Andrew Skurka and Alan Dixon offered instruction along the way on map reading and route finding and information on local vegetation and geology and how the knowledge of both helped make your off trail travel more efficient. For example in geology their were two main rock layers-- a whitish Navajo Sandstone which tended to be steep in slope and smooth and on top of a reddish Kayenta layer which was shallower but brittle. Guide books described routes using these layers and ascents and descents were easier on Kayenta. Vegetation was important as some trees like Tamarisk and Russian Olive were thick and difficult to get through and Cottonwoods were signs of water as they grew on river banks only. 

We learned how to read contour or elevation lines on maps and to associate cliffs (lots of lines close together) or side canyon/drainages (V shaped contours widening as they came down) or flattish valleys (few contour lines).  Matching the features on the map to the ones around you is tough in Escalante due to the unusual geological features spawned from this long-ago-sea-bed but our map reading skills did improve with practice. 

We eventually reached our campsite below an exit up the canyon (shallow terrain we could scramble up) and stopped to camp. We fixed diner individually with ingridients prepared by Andrew, setup our tarps and tents in protected spots and then retired to quiet outdoor slumber.