Coyote Gulch (Glen Canyon National Recreation Area)
The Escalante River and its
tributaries provide many of the most interesting hikes into the
desert canyonlands of southern Utah. Unfortunately the last 30
miles of the Escalante was flooded by Lake Powell after the construction
of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1964, but enough attractions still
remain to make the Escalante drainage a very special place for
outdoor enthusiasts. Coyote Gulch, a side canyon of the lower
Escalante, is one of the most popular hikes in the vicinity.
With its impressive natural bridge, two arches, and Anasazi artifacts,
it is a particularly good place to sample the wonders of the
Escalante drainage.
There are at least five ways to
get in and out of Coyote Gulch; hence a number of variations
of this hike are possible. Most people begin and end their hike
at either Hurricane Wash Trailhead or Red Well Trailhead. The
hike down Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River and back from either
one of these trailheads makes a very pleasant, if somewhat long,
backpacking trip for the whole family. If you are the adventurous
type, however, you will probably prefer the route described here.
It does require a modicum of rock climbing ability, so if that
makes you uncomfortable I suggest you end your hike at Hurricane
Wash Trailhead rather than Jacob Hamblin Arch Trailhead.
Day 1
The Forty Mile Ridge Trailhead
is located on the top of a small knoll in the middle of a large
sandy mesa. From there a broad, well-used trail leads across
the desert in a northwesterly direction towards the Escalante
River. For the first half mile the sandy trail is easy to follow,
but soon the sand is gone and you will find yourself walking
on slickrock. There are no footprints, of course, on the slickrock,
so you will be following rock cairns until you reach the canyon
rim. There are occasionally spaces of several hundred feet between
cairns, but the route to the rim of Escalante Canyon is nearly
a straight line, so you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding
the way. Nevertheless, pay close attention to the cairns. If
you don’t arrive at precisely the right point on the canyon
rim you won’t be able to find your way down the Navajo Sandstone.
Your access into Escalante Canyon
is through a narrow crack in a boulder just below the last cairn
on the Forty Mile Ridge trail. The crack is about 18 inches wide
and fifty feet long. If you walk sideways down through this crack
you will emerge at the top of an enormous pile of sand that extends
nearly all the way from Coyote Gulch to the top of the Navajo
Sandstone. Look down to the west and you can see the confluence
of Coyote Gulch and the Escalante River about 0.6 mile away.
The trail is obvious and easy to follow now. It winds downward
over the sand for nearly a mile until it intersects Coyote Gulch,
about a half mile west of the Escalante. As you descend a huge
natural arch will soon come into view above the confluence. This
is Stevens Arch.
After you reach the bottom of Coyote
Gulch you will probably want to drop your backpack and take a
side trip to see the Escalante River. It is only a 15-minute
walk down the canyon. If you have the time and the inclination
for more exploring it is also usually possible to wade or walk
along the banks of the Escalante. The water is seldom more than
two feet deep (although if the level of Lake Powell is higher
than normal the water here may be much deeper). Five hundred
yards upstream from the Coyote Gulch confluence there is another
fine view of Stevens Arch. The mouth of Stevens Canyon is 1.4
miles above Coyote Gulch.
Continuing up Coyote Gulch you
will pass two or three small waterfalls, and then as the streambed
enters the Kayenta Formation the valley becomes wider and ascends
more gently. Occasionally the trail will climb out of the streambed
to circumvent a waterfall, but it never strays far up the side.
After about an hour you will see Cliff Arch coming into view
high on the north side of the canyon. As the name suggests, the
arch juts straight out from the sandstone cliff, like a giant
teacup handle. Slightly upstream from Cliff Arch is a gorgeous
waterfall. The drop is only about fifteen feet, but the setting
is magnificent.
From Cliff Arch to Jacob Hamblin
Arch Coyote Gulch is at its best, with plenty of scenery and
nice camp sites. This is about the halfway point in the hike,
so you may want to start thinking about a camp site as you continue
on.
Day 2
Forty-five minutes or so after
leaving Cliff Arch you should start watching for a particularly
fine Anasazi pictograph panel on the north side of the canyon.
It is located 1.6 miles beyond the Arch, about 100 feet above
the trail near the bottom of the Navajo Sandstone. You will come
to a small side canyon with a stream entering Coyote Gulch on
the right just before you reach the site. Unfortunately, it is
easier to spot the panel if you are walking in the opposite direction,
so stop occasionally and look back. When you reach it you will
see an obvious spur trail branching off to the right and climbing
up to the panel. There is also a small Indian ruin near the pictographs.
If you have sharp eyes you may see a few pottery shards and small
corn cobs in the area. Please do not remove them, though. These
treasures belong to the canyon, and are there for all to enjoy.
0.7 mile past the pictographs the
trail passes under Coyote Natural Bridge, and 1.7 miles beyond
that Jacob Hamblin Arch will come into view. Jacob Hamblin is
an immense arch, cut through a fin of sandstone created by a
meander in the streambed. It probably would not look so big were
it on top of the mesa, but being confronted with this enormous
geological sculpture in the narrow confines of the canyon makes
one feel as insignificant as an ant. There are several nice camp
sites near the arch, and a good spring about a hundred yards
downstream on the north side of the canyon.
The route out of Coyote Gulch is
also near Jacob Hamblin Arch. Walking downstream from the arch
you will notice that the streambed makes a long, sweeping turn
to the north as it curves around a sloping fin of sandstone that
comes down from the south rim. The fin reaches the canyon floor
about 150 yards below the arch, and from there it is possible
to scramble up and out of the canyon. The difficult part of the
climb lasts for only 100 feet, and if you can get up the first
20 feet you will have no difficulty with the rest. Look carefully
at the stone face near the bottom and you will notice depressions
in the stone which you can use for toe holds. You can thank the
prehistoric Indians for these toe holds. They were chipped out
of the stone at least a thousand years ago by canyon dwellers
who used this same route in and out of the canyon. A hundred-foot
length of rope will come in very handy at this point for pulling
up backpacks and, perhaps, some of the less agile members of
your party. If you don’t feel comfortable with this route
you can also exit the canyon through Hurricane Wash which crosses
the road 7.8 miles further upcanyon.
Once you reach the rim of the canyon
walk due south for two miles to intersect the road along Forty
Mile Ridge. The trailhead where you left your shuttle car is
on the top of a small knoll, and it should come into view after
about a mile.
Hike provided by www.utahtrails.com