Coyote Gulch and Escalante Logisitics

[Chris Hyatt]

Hey all!

Was looking at a trip at Coyote Gulch Utah and realized that was too short for me if I did only the traditional loop.  Does anybody know if it is possible to continued hiking down the escalante and then loop back up to the water tank like below:

http://caltopo.com/m/4LHS

[George H]

I don’t know if that first fork of Willow goes. But you will need a packraft to make it down there and see for yourself.

[Alex H]

Or you could do a reverse loop and go up the Escalante, up Scorpion and then cross back over to Coyote. It is definitely doable.

[Chris Hyatt]

So it’s doable without a packraft?  My goals are just to make the trip longer and in a loop so I can end up where I started.  I am concerned the escalante river may not have a contiguous bank to walk on so I don’t want to get down in there unless I am sure I can go all the way through.

[George H]

The trip on your map cannot be hiked. You’ll need a boat.

What Alex suggests is going upstream on the Escalante, away from the lake, and looping around using Scorpion. Look at a map: Scorpion is 2 canyons north from Coyote.

And look at Google Earth. The lake level and bank representation is up to date.

Good luck. Lots of long loop hikes in the Escalante without packraft assistance, just not the one you sketched out.

[Alex H]

Here is a trip report on a section hike of the Hayduke we did where we went up Coyote, across to Scorpion and then down to the Escalante.  It is easier to go down the Escalante generally, like going down any river/stream with willows so you don’t have to fight them quite so much.  The hardest section will be the approximately 20 miles from Scorpion to Coyote and you will have to beat willows and wade but no boat required.  My understanding is the stream side growth is not as bad as in the past due to flash floods in the past 10 years.

The passage over between Scorpion and Coyote is easy.  Instead of parking at Jacob Hamblin you might want to start a loop at Red Wells.

[Chris Hyatt]

So something like this?

https://caltopo.com/m/4LHS

[Alex H]

No Chris more like this, which would be day three in my trip report, your map is going down Fools canyon which I don’t think goes. You could make a 5 day trip out of it, I was incorrect above it is about 20 miles from Scorpion to Coyote. You could also start at Jacob Hamblin and do an in and out from it but it is more of a scramble climb.

Have you done much in that area?  You could also check out Steve Allens Canyoneering 3, Loop Hikes in the Escalante.

[Chris Hyatt]

Thanks for the info all! I will check out my options.

[Amy Lauterbach]

First, please take a look at https://amyl.smugmug.com/Backpacking/UT-OR/200904-Escalante-River/  for a trip report of a transit of the Escalante River Canyon.  Obviously how far downstream below Coyote Gulch you can go depends on the level of Lake Powell, but currently the lake is down more than 86 feet below full pool, making many lower side canyons accessible.

There is no need to consider packrafting on the Escalante unless you really luck out with a high water event.  Otherwise, packrafting there is mostly raft pulling across sandbars, through shallows, over rock obstructions and around half submerged trunks of dead russian olive trees.  The river is easily walkable from one end to the other as long as you don’t mind getting your feet wet.

Fool’s is accessible from at least three points: from the Escalante itself and from both north and south rims on old constructed cattle trails.  The upper reaches of Fool’s all end in pour-offs and you cannot reach the rim from within the canyon at these points.

Steve Allen’s books are the best source of information about hiking in the Escalante area and we have field tested many of his routes and found the book’s descriptions to be accurate, insightful, and very helpful for trip planning.

Planning a loop hike in Escalante is simple as travel across the uplands between any of the side canyon entrances to the main canyon is easy as long as you know how to navigate across trailless terrain. Just pick any side canyon, go down to the river, hike the Escalante to another side canyon, go up it and traverse back to your car.

James for Amy and James

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