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 Cascade Bill (William Mooseker) | Home > Backpacking Trips > 2001 - 2004 Trips > Escalante Canyon - Utah > 
Escalante River - Utah 2003

Troop 24 Kickass Trekkers


Escalante River - Utah
March 2003

by Cascade Bill Mooseker

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Second of Many Crossings of Escalante River

To Go to Specific Day
Click on links below:

Go to Day 1
Go to Day 2
Go to Day 3
Go to Day 4
Go to Day 5
Go to Day 6

Old Farts on this trip:
Bill Mooseker, Gary Shively

Former Scouts on this trip:
Shelby Stong, Roger Shively, Kyle Meissner, Danny Stallings, Kevin Shively

This was our fourth trip to the Utah Canyons. Our previous treks were through canyons that were relatively dry and any running water would at best be a minor trickle. The Escalante on the other hand is a major river. We weren't mentally prepared for the fact that we would have to cross it many times each day.

In retrospect, we were lucky that we made the trip in March rather than later. The effect of snowmelt in April and May significantly increases the flow in the river, which would have made much more difficult, if not impossible, to comfortably (not to mention safely) make the number of river crossings necessary. The fact that the Snow Pack for Utah in 2003 was below average was also in our favor.

In addition, in March, leaves are just beginning to come out. The bushwhacking that we had to do was hard enough as it was without doing it through fully vegetated terrain. We were also lucky in that we didn't have any extremely cold weather until our last day, when we were in the upper reaches of the relatively dry 25 Mile Wash. It is unthinkable even to imagine making a crossing of the Escalante in freezing temperatures.

Photos ending in "r" taken by Roger

The descriptions under the photo thumbnails in the album sometimes contain links to maps or additional information. These are identified by "Blue” text for links.

Note: September 2025 - I have added maps (JPG files suitable for printing) for each day of the hike from online CalTopo maps described below. I have also added a table for miles traveled along with the elevation gains and losses between the points shown on the map.

Links to Caltopo maps for that day's hike are given in the description under the map thumbnail. Viewing the Caltopo map online also gives the option of using several different base layers (I have used the Google Satellite layer for this album).

Maps are best viewed at "Original" size. To view at "Original" size, click on Thumbnail to enlarge the map, then click again to access the original resolution. Move the cursor to the point on the map that you want to enlarge and then click the cursor to zoom in or out.

An explanation of how I have derived the distances and elevation gain/losses can be found HERE.

Note: September 2025 - I have replaced the original low resolution images that I had taken with with high resolution ones scanned in from negatives. Photos by Roger were taken with a digital camera and have not been replaced. I have also added videos from the trip to the album.

Troop 24 Kickass Trekkers: "The High Adventure Troop" Alumni Backpacking Trip
-Cascade Bill Mooseker


Date(s): March 2003. Album by Cascade Bill Mooseker. Photos by WHM & Roger. 1 - 269 of 269 Total. 661 Visits.
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DAY 1
Day 1: Hiking down Harris Wash from the Trailhead to Camp 1
The online version of this Caltopo map can be found HERE.

Due to a lucky break by getting our shuttle ride switched from Monday morning to Sunday afternoon we didn't have to camp at the trailhead as planned but were able to go down the wash almost to the Glen Canyon NRA boundary for our first camp.



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Tabulation of distance hiked and elevation gained.  Waypoints correspond to those shown on the Caltopo Map.

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Our original plan was to camp at the Harris Wash trailhead Sunday night and meet Escalante Outback Adventures shuttle on Monday morning to transfer the car to the 25 Mile Wash trailhead. Fortunately, the EOA guy was in his store in Escalante when we arrived and he agreed to do the shuttle that afternoon.  Here we are unloading the Suburban at the Harris Wash Trailhead.

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While Bill and Gary drove to the 25 Mile Wash TH to meet the EOA shuttle to bring them back, the guys had a little fun at the Harris Wash Trailhead - Here Danny and Shelby have tied branches on their heads and are impersonating deer.
"these are the sexiest deer i've ever seen... except t..."
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Danny as deer.

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Shelby browsing.

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Shelby, Kyle, and Danny atop a little mound near the Harris Wash Trailhead.  You can see that the country is fairly open with no discernable canyon.

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Heading out late in the day after a long car shuttle.


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We got a late afternoon start down the wash. This is in the wash very near the trailhead.

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Soon sandstone walls appear on our right heading down the wash.

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Gary, Shelby, Kyle, and Roger.

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The "fence" mentioned in the guidebooks to keep cows out of the lower wash - 3 miles from the trailhead. However, We did see some very wild cattle later that trip down in the Escalante Canyon.

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We found a sandy spot opposite a side canyon just short of the NRA Boundary  for our first camp.

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Shelby and Kyle have fun with a deer backbone they found in camp.

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DAY 2
Day 2: Camp 1 to Escalante River (Camp 2) Part 1
The online version of this Caltopo map can be found HERE.

This was a long day down the wash with a side trip exploring a side canyon opposite the Narrows. Most of the hikers coming up the wash told us the Escalante was too high for fording but we ended our day with a nerve wracking ford of almost crotch deep Escalante to our best camp of the trip a little down stream of the mouth of Harris Wash.

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Day 2: Camp 1 to Escalante River (Camp 2) Part 2


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Escalante 2003 Day 2

Tabulation of distance hiked and elevation gained.  Waypoints correspond to those shown on the Caltopo Map.

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Breakfast at Camp 1 - Danny and Shelby.

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Bill at Camp 1
"bill, you are immortal"
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Packing up - You can see the good use Shelby puts his lawn chair to.

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view of camp - you can see the canyon walls across the wash.

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Super Tiogas for Kyle and Shelby.

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The Gang: Danny, Roger, Gary, Kevin, Kyle, Shelby, and Bill.

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Garry on a rock outcrop at Camp 1. This outcrop provides a good spot to sit - a lot of Escalante camps don't have any such spots.

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Danny getting his music ready for the hike.
"here, my walkman is broken, causing me to panic"
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Heading out - this is just down canyon from our camp.  You can see the canyon walls are quite impressive here.  The NRA boundary is just around the bend.

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Heading down Harris Wash near the Glen Canyon NRA Boundary


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Gary and Kevin at the Glen Canyon NRA Boundary

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As you can see, the wash has quite a flow of water here - the water shoes sure come in handy.  Just down canyon you can see the Harris Wash narrows (noted on the map above as D2-05 Rincon Narrows).

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Harris  Wash Narrows - This is the narrowest spot in Harris wash.  The river has pinched out a meander and left it high and dry as it carved this channel through.

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Looking back upcanyon from the Narrows.  A side canyon joins the wash here on  the left.  We dropped our packs and explored up this side canyon.  We didn't notice it at the time but the scratches on the rock behind Gary could be writing - Enlarging the photo, I can make out "Wayne"  on the first line, then .......UR on the second.  I can't decipher the 3rd (Maybe 1934??). - It's definitely not an ancient pictograph but could be historical.

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We explored the side canyon coming into Harris Wash at the narrows.  It was rough going  but with good views. Note the fallen cottonwood spanning the wash.

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If you look closely (Enlarge thumbnail) you can see Roger standing on the cottonwood that has fallen across the wash.

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We ditched our packs and explored a side canyon (Rincon Narrows Marker on the Caltopo Map).


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Shelby, Kevin, and Kyle at the big cottonwood.

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Bill exploring side canyon.

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The stream from the side canyon has cut this alcove.

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Shelby, Danny, and Kyle - Leaving the Narrows - as you can see the sky is clouding up.

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Another shot of the narrows

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Close up.
"we appear to be forming a wall in hopes of stopping a..."
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Roger - at bend in wash.  You can see that you wouldn't want to be here during a flash flood.

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Heading down Harris Wash


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Gary heading down the wash.

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Shot showing the stream coming down.

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We lost our sun and soon had some showers - here we are taking a break almost all the way down the wash.

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Danny crossing over the bench. From here  you can see the next bend, which is where the Harris Wash meets the Escalante.  The magnificent rock formation on the right looks like a castle guarding the entrance to Harris wash.  You can see this formation from the Escalante as well. Contrary to what the other hikers told us, we were able to cross the Escalante (although it was pretty daunting the first time as it was almost at crotch level).

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DAY 3
Day 3 Map 1: Escalante River from the Mouth of Harris Wash to just Upriver from Neon Canyon
The online version of this Caltopo map can be found HERE

This was a long day along the Escalante with an extended break at Choprock Canyon where we did some exploration and inspection of a petroglyph panel near the mouth of the canyon. I don't know how many times we crossed the river but the crossings were so numerous that you soon lost count.



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Day 3 Map 2: Escalante River from the Mouth of Harris Wash to just Upriver from Neon Canyon


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Escalante 2003 Day 3

Tabulation of distance hiked and elevation gained.  Waypoints correspond to those shown on the Caltopo Map.

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Danny - another in a string of tentless nights extending back to 1999.  Danny had found a nice spot with a rocky overhang, but when Shelby caught a small scorpion where he was going to sleep, Danny moved to this spot - far away from any rock outcrops.

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Would you sleep near this?

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Looking Southeast from our camp on the Escalante.  The canyon below the mouth of Harris wash is wide and open as you can see here.

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Rock formation on our side of the river - All the camps in Harris Wash near the Escalante were occupied so we had to cross the Escalante with some trepidation because we had met a stream of people coming back up the canyon who told us the Escalante was too high for fording. We were pretty worried as we had to go a long ways down the river to get to 25 Mile Wash.  Fortunately, the river was only mid thigh deep and we crossed without incident.

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Another view of the "Castle" and the mouth of Harris Wash.

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A cactus at our camp.

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Getting ready to pack up.  You can see the overhanging outcropt that Danny wanted to sleep under before  Shelby caught the scorpion.

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Kyle and Kevin - packs on.

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Kevin, Danny, and Shelby - ready to roll.

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Looking back towards the mouth of Harris wash, which is out of sight to the right of the picture.  The "castle" we saw the previous  day as we came down the was is visible here on the right across the river.  You can see that the guys have their packs on and are ready to roll.

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With packs on, we leave Camp 1


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The canyon was nice and wide as we started out but it wasn't long before the river meandered over to our side of the canyon, forcing us to cross to the other side.  This view is looking down river.

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Gary & Danny Crossing the Escalante
Our First crossing of many for the day


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Our first crossing of many that day - Kevin in midstream.

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I'm glad the early morning sun was out as that water was cold.

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Danny clearing his head at the first crossing.

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Crossing No. 2 - and pretty soon you lost count of how many times you had crossed.

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Interspersed with the river crossings was hiking over long sandy benches

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We took a break on this bench.

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Danny, Gary, Kevin - getting ready to head out after a short break.  It was really warming up.

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Gary,Kevin, Kyle, and Shelby

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Literally hiking down the river


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This was a pretty hairy crossing - we crossed from right to left and then had to go back to the right side past this rock outcrop.  The water was very deep as it came around the bend up against the rock.

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Roger and Kyle entering the water at the outcrop.  You can see from the wake at Roger's leg that the current was pretty swift.

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Garry, Kevin, Roger - Kyle is trying to find the best way in.

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Shelby and Kevin tried to make a go of it along the outcrop - you can see that the water has gone above their shorts - Mr. Commish won't like that.  You can see the sandy beach at the end of the outcrop where we have to pull out.  These double crossings wear you out.

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Another crossing - you can see that the vegetation along the banks is very thick which makes it difficult sometimes to get in or out of the river.

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Here is another "Double" crossing - you can see ahead that you have to stay on the left side but the outcrop forces you to cross to the right bank.  There is no point in fighting the vegetation, so you just go along the bank and cross back over when you are opposite the beach up ahead.

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Roger in midstream - you can see Danny up on the bank behind the bushes - He liked to cross barefoot, so he always took his shoes off.  This is a typical crossing as you have a plunge down the bank into the water.

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Gary coming across

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Here comes Kevin and Bill.

we had to cross this stupid river so god damn many times (04/15/04) - Danny


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Finally Danny comes across.

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While it was hard to get in the river at times, it was even more difficult to get out sometimes - here Shelby deals with a steep muddy bank.

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Another "Double" crossing - the river meanders between the canyon walls on either side.  At least on this one we had a beach to pull out on before we did the second crossing.

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For most of the way there isn't much of a trail - you just haul out into the brush and keep heading down river.  In a while some tracks will merge and there will be a trail of sorts.

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Roger in a Kodak moment.

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Putting the camera away after a shot. - this is pretty typical of the travels across a bench between river crossings.

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Away from the river - Hiking across a sandy bench


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Away from the river's edge it often opens up giving a nice view of the canyon walls ahead.

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We took a break for lunch - Roger and Shelby climbed up the southern wall of the canyon on a day hike.

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Shelby likes hanging around.

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Roger - in photographer mode.

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In honor of Buckwheat (See 1998 Bridger Wilderness hike) Roger strikes a pose.

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Roger on outcrop.

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Close up of Roger.

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Shelby - They got pretty far up the side wall - you can see that there is a big bend in the river beyond Shelby.

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Shelby - A composite picture - there is a small side canyon coming in across the canyon.

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Lynnwood's answer to the Crocodile Hunter - Shelby and lizard.  This was the grove of cottonwoods where we stopped for lunch.  It was possible to get a little shade.

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Saddling up - Roger.

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Ready to hit the trail - Kyle, Shelby, and Gary leaving cottonwoods where we had lunch.

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Bill pondering the route downriver - this is at the mouth of Choprock Canyon, the first major side canyon coming in on the north side of the river.

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Even though we had taken a long lunch break a short ways up the river, we decided to stay awhile at Choprock for a little relaxation and exploration.

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Kevin in the mud - Choprock Canyon mouth.  you can see the small stream beyond Kyle.

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Shelby and Kyle getting into the "mud" business.

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These are professional hikers on a closed course - do not try this at home.

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As usual the lawn chair has many uses - here it gives a perfect spot to cool down.

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The western wall of Choprock has a lot of wind eroded pockets - in this one a group of cacti have taken hold.

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A near and far shot (the same group of cacti beyond)

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Lizard

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There were enought pockets to make hand and foot holds - here Gary climbs up the side wall of Choprock.

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Kyle and Shelby - picking their way up the Choprock canyon sidewall.

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Shelby and Kyle find a spot to sit down in.

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Its pretty steep - Shelby going up the canyon wall.

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Roger and Kyle going up.

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You can see here the route the guys took up the side wall of the canyon.

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While they were climbing the wall, I found this large hunk of petrified wood - a whole cross section of a trunk.

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A little ways up the canyon is a large Petroglyph Panel.   Here are some Bighorn sheep.

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Sadly, there was quite a bit of vandalism of the petroglyphs.  Here someone has placed his initials on the head of the "Spaceman".  From what I could tell, the vandalism was historical - local ranchers from the 1800's to the early 1900's according to the dates carved in the rock.

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An interesting pattern.

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Gary and Roger crossing the river below Choprock Canyon


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As you can see, we spent a lot of time at Choprock and the sun is getting lower in the sky here as Roger and Gary are a few hundred feet from the mouth of Choprock.

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The sun is really sinking now - this is very near Fence Canyon.  When we hauled out I sent Shelby and Danny ahead to find a campsite.

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Shelby and Danny in true "Butt Sniffing" tradition walk past a couple of camp sites that have everything - scenery, water, etc. and settle for this piece of crap - no view, far from water,  - I wasn't too happy setting up my tent in this camp.  Shelby is cooking dinner he is just finishing the pudding here -  the Dragonfly and the FireFly roaring away.  Gary is filtering water while Kyle looks on.  If it weren't for the lousy camp all would be well.

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I'm pitching my tent - its a good thing there is no audio file as I was doing this.

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Danny as usual, hitting the books on his thermarest.

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The "Drying Tree" - no, it is not some new modern art work.  Look at the color of the (white??) socks.

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DAY 4
Day 4 Map 1: Camp 3 Near Neon Canyon to mouth of 25 Mile Wash
The online version of this Caltopo map can be found HERE

Heading out from our crap camp we visited a pictograph panel, made side trips to Neon and Ringtail canyons.

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Day 4 Map 2: Camp 3 Near Neon Canyon to mouth of 25 Mile Wash


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Escalante 2003 Day 4

Tabulation of distance hiked and elevation gained.  Waypoints correspond to those shown on the Caltopo Map.

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Camp 3 is in the books - here Kyle is packing up.

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In their haste to find the campsite, Danny and Shelby had walked past this petroglyph panel which was a couple of hundred yards back up the trail from our camp.  Here Kyle and Bill are looking at the panel.

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Shelby & Kyle at Petroglyph Panel

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Kevin, Shelby, Roger, and Kyle
Our camp was on the bench beyond the Petroglyph panel


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Petroglyphs - more "bearpaws" here.

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Kyle

A lot of different glyphs, some bearpaws. I didn't notice it at the time but up and to the left of Kyle there appears to be two boxers ??) if you enlarge the thumbnail.

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There were some very complex figures in this panel.  Note the similarity of the ball and wavy line at the bottom of the photo to the pictograph from Slickhorn Canyon (2004 hiking trips).

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I tell you one thing, I wouldn't want to meet these guys some night  in a dark canyon.

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View of Panel - there had been some historical vandalism of this panel similar to the Choprock Canyon panel.

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These were on a boulder at the Panel site.

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Figures cut into a boulder at the site.

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Shelby getting a close up of a panel detail.

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Close up of Panel figure.

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Guys at the mouth of Neon Canyon - getting ready to head up the canyon to the Golden Cathedral.

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Near the mouth of Neon Canyon.  This is a beautiful canyon that culminates in the Golden Cathedral.  The close in walls, green vegeation, cottonwoods, boulders make it a very scenic sidetrip.

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After a short hike up Neon Canyon we come upon the wonders of the Golden Cathedral


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Roger, Kevin, and Gary at the Golden Cathedral.

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Roger and Kevin - you can see the pool of water below the two circular openings worn into the dome above.

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Bill at the Golden Cathedral- this is a very special place.

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Stepping back a bit you can see how the canyon walls come together and over time worn the dome above the pool. It's hard to appreciate the scale of this until you see images of people rappelling down thru the roof openings such as THESE

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The light streams through the openings in the ceiling.

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Another view

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Roger

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Roger at the Golden Cathedral.

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Looking up through the roof openings.  it would really be something to see the water cascading down through these openings.

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Looking back down Neon Canyon from the Golden Cathedral - you make your way between the canyon wall and this house sized diamond shaped boulder.

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Kyle, Shelby, and Kevin - looking back up to the Golden Cathedral thru the opening between a house sized diamond shaped rock (as seen in the previous photo) and the canyon wall.

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Gary hiking back down Neon Canyon


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The morning light and shadows here show the magic of Neon Canyon.

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At the mouth of Neon Canyon after our side trip up to the Golden Cathedral -Getting ready to head down the river.

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Just beyond the mouth of Neon Canyon the trail goes across a wide bench and another petroglyph panel comes into view.

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Details of Petroglyph Panel

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Shelby - these vertical designs were eye catching.

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A series of bighorn sheep figures.

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Roger & Kevin crossing the river between Neon and Ringtail Canyons


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A shortways downriver from Neon Canyon lies Ringtail slot canyon.  At its mouth you have to do some boulder hopping and climbing to get into the canyon.

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After climbing a bit, the canyon walls close in forming a slot .

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Once you get used to the mucky bottom of the slot it is a lot of fun - here Roger and Kevin going around a bend.

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Kyle and Shelby make their way up the slot.

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Roger making his way up the Ringtail Slot Canyon.
(Note: this is the last video for the trip. I think I recorded over the rest)


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The chokestone in the bottom of the picture stopped my progress - I couldn't get under it and it looked too difficult to climb over so I took this picture of Shelby as he countiued up the slot.

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Looking back the way we had come.

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Kevin, Kyle, and Shelby going up Ringtail Canyon. (Enlarge Picture!)

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Shelby tries a little bridging.

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This is looking back at the entrance to the slot.

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After our side trip up Ringtail, we had lunch- Bill's shoes tell the tail of the slot - mud, mud, and more mud.

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Guys having lunch at the mouth of Ringtail Canyon - you can see the wash from Ringtail here.

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A little bit of trail here as we come to the end of a bench for another river crossing.

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Another "Double" crossing - at one of these we caught up to a group of college kids from California.  One of the kids asked Shelby where we were going. Shelby said he didn't know.  The kid replied, "Yeah, it's my first trip too."  Shelby said, "No, you don't understand - we've been doing this for 10 years.  None of us know where we are going - we just follow that old guy in the back" - About then I tumbled out of the brush and made the river crossing.  I kind of wondered why I got a lot of funny looks.

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Shelby say's the hell with climbing up on the bench I'm just going to hike down the river for a while. Below Ringtail canyon, the river has a lot more bends

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In the background is the mouth of Baker Canyon wihch comes in at a sharp bend in the Escalante. The trail climbs a bit above the river at this point.  Danny with his usual late start after a break has caught up to me at this point.

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Opposite the mouth of 25 mile Wash, we cross the river for the last time for that day - Here Gary and Roger are crossing.  The sun was sinking fast so we were looking for a camp site.

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We decided to camp on this sand bar just below the mouth of 25 mile wash - not a good place to camp if you are expecting flash floods.

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Bill clearing a space for his tent on the sand bar.  As you can see it got pretty cold when the sun went down so out comes the pile sweater and hat.

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No sweat for Danny - get out the book and the tape player.

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While we were setting up camp, a couple of strong wind gusts played havoc with our tents so Roger and Kyle went overboard guying there tent.

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Kyle in the general disorder of the camp.

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Another view of the tent guys.

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The canyon wall next to our camp was scalloped with these depressions made by  the ever present wind.

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Kevin finds a catacomb to take a rest in.

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Roger and Kevin.

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Shelby - just hangin' around.

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Having dessert - One of the problems with camping along the Escalante is that most camps have no sitting  logs.  We were lucky in this camp with this log. - Kevin, Bill, Gary, Kyle, and Shelby.  You can see the narrow mouth of 25 mile wash at top right (if you look carefully).

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Roger's photo project - get close ups of trip participants - This is Danny.

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Roger's Close up.

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Kyle

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Shelby

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Kevin

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Looking down river from our camp - The college group came by quite some time after we had pitched camp.  They finally found a camp aways downriver.  We never saw them again.

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DAY 5
Day 5 Map 1: Up 25 Mile Wash to Camp 5
The online version of this Caltopo map can be found HERE.

Leaving the Escalante River behind we head up 25 Mile Wash hoping that our river crossing days were over. We didn't know about the busy beavers damming up the trickle that was 25 mile Wash. Although the dams were not wide they were much deeper and muddier than the Escalante.

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Day 5 Map 2: Up 25 Mile Wash to Camp 5


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Escalante 2003 Day 5

Tabulation of distance hiked and elevation gained.  Waypoints correspond to those shown on the Caltopo Map.

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Heading up 25 Mile Wash - near the mouth of the canyon.  This is a very scenic stretch.

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Kevin heading up 25 Mile Wash - this arch is forming on the west wall of the wash.

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A short ways up the canyon, we came across this line of "army" ants.   They seem to be going in both directions.

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The only ruin we saw on our whole trip was this small one that was totally inaccessible.  There probably was a log ladder at one time that gave access, but that is long gone.

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A close up of the ruin - you can see how hard it would be to get up there.

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Another view

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Taking a break - Lower 25 Mile Wash: Shelby, Gary & Kevin.

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After our break, we decided to explore a side canyon  on the left (as shown on the map above) - Here  Roger works his way up the canyon.

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The canyon soon slots up - here Shelby and Roger are going into the slot. - There was a big pool (dry now) at the foot of this slot - it would be something to see a flash flood pouring thru the slot.

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Roger in the slot which is really tight at the entrance with a waist high choke stone at the entrance.

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Another view of Roger in the slot - looking back to the entrance.  You can see the choke stone in front of Roger.

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Shelby and Kevin going up the slot at the entrance.

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I didn't get far - It was really tight and  I didn't want to get stuck trying to get over the choke stone.

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Kyle and Bill - Packs on after our trip up the side canyon

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Gary's ready to go.

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The guys heading out after the break and exploring the side canyon.

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Lower 25 Mile wash has many sandy benches such as this where the going is easy.

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Gary and Roger making their way up to the petroglyph panel.

On our way up the wash, Roger spyed what he thought was another petroglyph panel. It turned out to be a real find.

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A panoramic view  of the panel.

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Kyle & Shelby at petroglyph panel

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Kyle at the Petroglyph panel

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Roger, Shelby, and Gary - you can see the petroglyphs here. (Zoom Photo)

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Close up of the petroglyphs - a lot of bighorn sheep.

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This figure is impressive - I don't know if the use of the spalled area in the head was intentional but it sure is effective.

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Petroglyph figures.

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There was no vandalism of this panel.  Zoom in to get more details.

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Big Box Bighorns

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Roger got this shot of a flower in the rocks below the panel.

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Shelby climbed this little mound near the Petroglyph panel and struck this pose.

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There isn't much flow in the wash, but you still get your feet wet - Gary and Kevin with Bill far behind.

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The wash has undercut this alcove.

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Looking up canyon at the same alcove - a very deep shady spot.

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Just when you  think you have it made, you come across the stream that the beaver have dammed up - although it isn't very wide, it sure is deep and mucky.

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I got this shot of Kyle crosing over a high bench - a welcome relief from the brush and dammed up wash.

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Shelby - crossing the beaver dammed wash.  Once you're across you have to find some way to get up the bank on the other side, a task that was really difficult for me.

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Sometimes we were lucky enough to find a beaver dam to cross.

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Kyle crossing a "superdam" while Danny waits his turn.

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Another view of Kyle crossing the dam.  One misstep and it would have been a head to toe bath.

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Kyle in the brush that's so typical of lower 25 Mile Wash.

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After a while you don't bother to roll your trousers up when you have to wade - Kyle.

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Soon after crossing the NRA Boundary we found a sandy bench for a camp.  As soon as the sun wen down, it got very cold.

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You can see from Kyle's body language that it was really cold.

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Kyle downs his Chicken and Dumplings - the hot food was really good.

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Trying to keep warm - cold pudding for desert is too much.

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Gary and Danny - a nice Spring night in Escalante country.

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Shelby braced for the cold.

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Hot cocoa hits the spot - Danny.

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DAY 6
Day 6 Map 1: Continue up 25 Mile Wash to the Trailhead
The online version of this Caltopo map can be found HERE.

Heading out on an icy morning we continued up 25 Mile Wash fighting the brush and the beavers. About mid-day, the wash dried up and the so did the brush, thank goodness.



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Day 6 Map 2: Continue up 25 Mile Wash to the Trailhead

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Day 6 Map 3: Continue up 25 Mile Wash to the Trailhead

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Escalante 2003 Day 6

Tabulation of distance hiked and elevation gained.  Waypoints correspond to those shown on the Caltopo Map.

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Morning - Last camp.  It was still very cold.  We had planned to spend another night but we were close enough to the trailhead that we could make our way out that day.

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Bill packing up.  You can see that this was a nice camp.

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Thumbs up for getting out early.

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Keep on Truckin- Shelby (Another big Thumbs up)

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This combination of rock and brush was at the edge of our camp - Roger's art photo.

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Still cold even in the sun.

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Kyle & Shelby - Another Thumbs UP!

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We sure didn't want to wade in the cold and were grateful for this skinny log.

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Danny & Bill making their way up the wash.

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Taking a break Kyle spied this spider above our packs - if you placed you hands over it , it's legs would poke out.

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We took a break at the mouth of one of the Egypt slots (Egypt Slot 1 as shown on the Caltopo map) as it opens into 25 Mile wash - Here Shelby goes for a flying leap.

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Roger's shadow.

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Kyle and Roger loading up the packs at the mouth of the Egypt Slot - you can't make your way up from the mouth of the canyon here but we poked around the entrance before heading back up the wash.

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Another view from the mouth of the Egypt Slot -You can see the mud has dried up - walking through this stuff has a lot of nice sound effects.

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It was a long hike out, but it sure felt great to get to the car and clean clothes.

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Getting the troop gear out and finding those clean clothes.  Time for the long drive home after a very exciting trip.

 
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