Thursday 15.3.:
Drive down from SLC to Boulder (at least 4 hrs.), then ca. 14 miles on Burr Trail road (turn left in the center of Boulder) to The Gulch. Meet there at night.
Friday 16.3.:
Early morning do the car shuttle, drive one car to the Little Death Hollow trailhead, ca. 20 miles away. The rest pack,... Then hike down 8-9 miles and camp on a hill above Escalante River between Boulder Creek and The Gulch.
Saturday 17.3.:
Hike into The Gulch, through the narrows (possible wading), at one point probably must exit the narrows and come back in, as there is a waterfall - may require some climbing, exit the Gulch (supposedly about 10 m class 4 climb = exposed scrambling - I will bring a rope) and hike across the plateau to Horse Canyon (10-11 miles). Camp at the bottom of Horse Canyon.
Sunday 18.3.:
Hike Little Death Hollow to the car (ca. 8 miles). Supposedly very good narrows, maybe some pools (short wading) and chokestones (moderate climbing-nothing serious) in the canyon.
Remarks:
There will probably be some climbing (mainly the second day), but I don't think it will be serious. I will climb up without the rope and then help to pull the backpacks and people up with a rope. We will see....
As for equipment, one useful thing will be wading shoes (old tennis shoes, or, rubber waders which one can buy at any store for ca. $10 - I will bring those for me). Then good hiking shoes, clothes for both cold and warm (=shorts, t-shirt, pants, fleece, rainjacket,...).
As for the weather, I expect it to be in 50s and 60s during the day, and 30s at night.We will see when the forecast comes out.
Waterwise, there is flowing water in Boulder Creek, lower Gulch, lower Horse Canyon and lower Little Death Hollow, which means that we should be fine. I will bring a water filter, which should be fine for the whole group. As a backup, I will bring iodine tablets. I think 2-3 liters per person would be OK, we can refill during the hike. Maybe several gallon containers would be good to bring for carrying water to the camp. The first day camp is planned on the plateau above the creek, i.e. further from the water. The second is in the canyon, so water should be close.
We should meet/agree on food,.... the week before the trip.
Map (610 kB) of the trip plan.
Several copied pages from the guide books of the area.
U of U / Chemistry / HEC / Voth Group / Cuma / Travel / English / Escalante 01
URL: http://voth.chem.utah.edu/~mcuma/esc_e01e.html
