french_de
10-22-2008, 03:17 PM
We woke up on the second day of our Escalante trip out at Chimney Rock down the HITRR after a night long October blazing of a full moon which lit up the Navajo sandstone cliffs across Coyote Gulch etching sinewy shadows and giving the area an incredible look. Joining us that morning were Landon and Holly and Nick from ZAC. With Ram and Wyoming Dave leading the way, we crossed Coyote Gulch and headed to an area that Wyoming Dave had scouted earlier. It is a great spot, situated between the two canyons Raven and Headless Hen, offering a place for staging both a morning and afternoon hike. Raven starts with a bang with an immediate down climb into a pothole. The canyon stays sweet for the first section with some moderate down climbs and stemming. There are no rappels in this canyon. The slots ramp up in severity as the canyon continues down. There are a couple of places to exit before the real fun begins - R rated stuff which includes a couple of silos. STRONG stemming skills are required to finish this canyon. Back to feet stemming works well but it looks like galumphing (sp?) is really the way to go.