Escalante to Monticello Hike

[Jammer]

Earlier this year I did another long hike across a chunk of southern Utah. This time it was Escalante to Monticello and ended up being 248 miles in 16 days. By the end I even learned how to say Monticello correctly!

Unfortunately I got sidetracked afterwards and never did a trip report. BUT... I finally got around to cutting down some of the video/pics into a musical highlight reel. Check it out if you wish. I bet you'll recognize some of the spots along the way.

- Jamal

PS - open fullscreen and watch in HD!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu1ElUVu51o

[jman]

WOW! That's very impressive. I liked your short showcase of Dark Canyon. What a neat area.

You hiked about 15/miles a day on average...That's a good pace...geez.
Any major difficulties you encountered not mentioned in the video?

[ibenick]

INCREDIBLE! I can't find the expletives to describe just how awesome that was. Best 15 minutes I've spent on the internet this week! Great choices on the music too. :nod:

:hail2thechief::hail2thechief::hail2thechief::hail 2thechief::hail2thechief::hail2thechief::hail2thec hief::hail2thechief:

[Udink]

Wow. Sweet, man! My kids watched it with me, and they even remembered you from your previous Across Utah video that they watched with me earlier in the year. Loved it! :hail2thechief:

[Jammer]

Thanks guys.

Actually didn't have too many problems this time out. There was a LOT of wind which slowed me down. The route from Trachyte to North Wash around Lake Powell was pretty slow too -- but otherwise no real drama. Dark Canyon is pretty great.

- Jamal

[Cirrus2000]

Wow - another amazing trip, Jamal. You are my hero! I would love to do a trip along these lines one day... Might have to wait 'til I retire, though. :haha:

[trackrunner]

wow :hail2thechief::2thumbs:

[Swamp Thing]

Inspirational. I can't believe that with your aggressive pace you had the time and energy to take the "third person" shots, especially of your river fording! :hail2thechief:

[Cirrus2000]

I can't believe that with your aggressive pace you had the time and energy to take the "third person" shots, especially of your river fording! :hail2thechief:

Yes - I meant to mention that, too! Setting up and taking shots like that add a lot of time to the day. :2thumbs:

[Sombeech]

Awesome :cool2:

[bigred72]

Awesome :cool2:

Ditto!!!
:hail2thechief:

[homerj]

So awesome!!! Would love to do something like this some day!!

[Don]

Man, thanks for posting! I still daydream about how cool your across the state trip was. I too would love to do something this cool someday...

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

[apcronnelly]

Truly Incredible!!:hail2thechief:
I really dig the soundtrack too!

[DOSS]

My Jealousy level is high.. I haven't gone and done anything like that for almost 10 years..

[IntrepidXJ]

Finally had a chance to sit down and watch the whole thing. Great work, looks like it was a great time!

[Michael]

Absolutely friggin' incredible! Thanks so much for taking the time to put this labor of love together and post it for all of us to enjoy. It makes me yearn to do another long cross-country backpack in southern Utah again.

[jamlution]

Great Video! Thanks for sharing

[canyonphile]

Holy cow! I missed this when it was first posted...what an amazing trip, and one of the best 15 minutes I've spent watching anything in a long time! :hail2thechief::rockit::clap:

I dream of doing trips like this, although probably not alone. What a totally remarkable experience, and thanks for taking the time to put it all together and share it. Like others have said, that took a lot of time and some planning to videotape yourself in there :2thumbs:.

I totally need to get a camera with video capacity now...:nod:

[accadacca]

:hail2thechief::hail2thechief::hail2thechief::hail 2thechief::hail2thechief:

And one for Pearl Jam. :hail2thechief:

[Jammer]

Most definitely props to Pearl Jam too! Something about that music which just makes great landscapes even better. Ben Harper worked out pretty good as well on my older vids.

Thanks,

- Jamal

[wes242]

Awesome video and adventure. Makes me want to get out and go hiking.

[agostinone]

Thanks tons for sharing. I found it simultaneously inspiring and depressing (I haven't tackled anything like that yet).

Have you every had problems with folks (or animals) messing with your cache (I did notice your polite--"don't F with my stuff" on your bags of goods)? How much time did you spend planning? How much additional time did it take to cache your goods?

[Jammer]

I've never had any problems with any of my caches. I used to sprinkle cayenne pepper on them to keep the animals away -- but found this just made a mess and was overkill. One time someone had placed a cow bone on top of a cache -- a la "I found your cache, but didn't disturb it." That cache was too close to a popular stop along Hole in the Rock road. Usually I make sure they are about 200 feet off a back-road at a place nobody has any real reason to stop -- always out of sight from the road. The national parks won't let you leave them within the park, but the national forests and BLM (including GSENM) are ok. Actually... Zion let me once near the Kolob visitor center but they were really picky about where/when and what I had to write on the container (and when the empty would be picked up.)

I usually spend several months planning the hikes. But... most of that is fun (ie reading other trip reports, scouring through maps, etc.) I'll spend 1-2 days in the area before the hike to set out the caches and pick up permits.

Thanks,
- Jamal