Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Getting Ready for Coyote Gulch

I am off backpacking with a colleague from work next week at Coyote Gulch in the Escalante drainage north of Lake Powell in Southern Utah. This is a pretty popular destination and so there are lots of decriptions of the hike. One of the most popular routes is to drive to the trailhead along Forty Mile Ridge and walk about 2 miles to the rim of the Escalante Canyon. Here there is a crack in the wall that will take you down 15-20 feet or so to the top of a large sand dune. You can see this very clearly on Google Maps below.


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The exit that seems to be most often used is a ridge of sandstone just east of Jacob Hamblin Arch, at the center of the map below:


View Larger Map

My colleague talked with his son, who has done the hike before, and he said that going in and out this route is, "doable". Now, I know that doable for him is not the same as doable for me, but he also realizes that this is true for his dad, my colleague. So he and his brother invented the term, "dadable", meaning my colleague could do it. He says the route is "dadable". My question is whether or not the route is "Kerkable", which I define as "can be done in a wheelchair."

I have been looking around for some indication via text or photos of what this way in and out looks like. I found the following today:

UPDATE 3/25

1 comment:

  1. All I can say is that your colleague must be crazy.

    Dave Spencer

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