Packrafting the Escalante River in Utah's Grand Staircase National Monument.

Рет қаралды 731

Күн бұрын

Pack raft trip down the Escalante, launching on June 12, 2023 for four nights on the river. My friend Paul and I used Escape Goats in Escalante (great company) for our shuttle. The owner of Escape Goats meet us at our vehicle at Forty Mile Ridge trailhead in the early morning of our put-in day. He drove us, and our gear, in his vehicle to the Egypt trailhead - about two hours total time. About a 4ish mile hike to the Fence Canyon put-in which was well marked, either by cairns, a use trail, or obvious route. Roads into Forty Mile Ridge and Egypt trailheads were passable in a standard car. A few stretches of sand, but as long as you had some clearance and kept you momentum up its no problem. If the roads were really wet - all bets are off; 4x4 would be a necessity, if it is still at all possible. Inquire locally.
One thing that gave us pause, the size of the Escalante at the put-in at Fence Canyon. I've seen small irrigation canals look much more substantial. When we saw it for the first time we had an Oh S@#t moment. My friend, jokingly said that at least it looks like good bird habitat. It's fine!
Initial flow was approximately 17 CFS at our put-in at Fence Canyon near river mile 36. We found a good spring just a 100 yards above the river put-in (the use trail crosses right over it).Take out was at Coyote Gulch at approx. mile 75 where we hiked back out to Forty Mile Ridge trailhead via the Crack in the Wall. First night camp was at Moody Creek around mile 47.5. Second camp was around mile 60; third night around mile 70 and the fourth night was in Coyote Gulch, about a 1/2 mile up from the Escalante on a sandy bench.
The river was dropping a little more than 1 CFS/day so we estimated the flow to be around 11 CFS when we took out. Overall, the river was fairly easy to navigate with some imagination in spots. While the Escalante looks like a "standard" small river, we found there is only a 3-5' wide channel that had enough water to float, the rest of the river looks boatable but does not have enough water to float. The challenge was to "stay in the channel". For the most part, following the "bubble line" did the trick, just like at Lava Falls in the Grand Canyon.
The biggest challenge was getting accurate information on flows/conditions prior to hiking in. Opinions from different rangers at the Visitor Center and from "knowledgeable people" at Escalante Outfitters were all over the map. Online, you could find one KZbin that stated they floated the river at around 0.7 CFS on the Escalante Gauge. From our experience, much below 10 CFS would be difficult, although we met one group on the river who has run it as low as 7 CFS but packed light.
Some thoughts on the trip:
1. Bring a spare paddle, at least one per two boaters.
2. Bring at least one (preferably 2) collapsible 3 gallon dromedary bags for water. Most of the springs on the NPS maps are REALLY hard to find.
3. Bring a back-up water filter and a back-up pre-filter. Some coffee filters may be helpful if you need to filter the very silty Escalante water. Maybe some Alum too? The only other spring we found was riverside just below Scorpion Gulch. See video. You will find fresh water puddles that are a great source of water.
4. The area is remote, bring at least one GPS communicator (and know how to use it). I would highly recommend, in addition, a Sat phone (can be rented). If you had an emergency, a hike out would be very difficult and take time that you may not have, especially if the emergency is medical. Also be prepared to fix anything that breaks. Have a GOOD repair kit for your inflatable. By the way, the Alpaca pack rafts we had were awesome. Not the slightest sign of wear at the end of the trip. I would recommend packing your gear in the water tight storage bags Alpaca sells. I originally had my gear in a dry bag on the outside of my self bailer but that rigging was cumbersome getting into and out of the boat. For the decked boats, leave the spray skirt at home.
5. Bring some type of Vibram lug trail shoe or lightweight boot. I would not want to have to climb out of the canyon in sandals. Will also be good for the climb out of Coyote Gulch.
6. It can get COLD in the Canyon, even when you don't expect it. Plan accordingly.
7. In case I didn't mention it, bring a spare paddle.
8. Don't take flash floods lightly; the rain may be miles away and not visible, but it will make it down to the main river canyon. I saw a torrent coming out of a side canyon that produced a waterfall bigger than Yosemite's Vernal Fall in the Spring. Watch where you camp!
9. The Crack in the Wall is easily negotiated; hyped way too much unless standing on a stool gives you a fear of heights. Hike up the sand dune in the early am, the sand usually retains some moisture for better footing. If you are in decent shape, not a big deal.
Enjoy - it's magical!!!