Coyote Gulch advice

[tgeorge1792]

Hi all,
I'm heading on Tuesday to do Coyote Gulch in Escalante with two friends. Will be backpacking for 3 days/2nights. We only have one car, so we are planning to go out and back the same route. My question is, what is the best entry? Red Well, or Hurricane Wash? I've heard Red Well is more scenic. But not sure. We are worried that Crack in the Wall may be too difficult to find/deal with, etc...Thoughts?
Also, do I need 'river shoes' for the hike or can I just use a pair of old sneakers and call it a day?
Thanks for the help,
Tony George

[Don]

Man, you're all of the place asking the same question. Redundancy probably won't get a better answer and might just be annoying enough to get no answer.
I deleted your thread in the canyoneering section in order to try to focus the conversation here, in backpacking, where a three day non-technical-backpacking question seems to fit better.

I liked the Hurricane Wash route we did last year; a loop which is great, some boring-across-the-plateau hiking but well worth the canyon loop. (You already noticed my TR here.)
I went in older light hiking shoes and tend to think sturdy sneakers will be fine.
The crack was easy; the trail goes right to it and from there it's obvious where to go through. From the crack back to the car without wandering is a bit more challenging but a GPS waypoint of the car makes it simple.
Looking forward to your trip report!

[mattandersao]

I did the Hurricane Wash entrance and exit (only because my Jeep fell apart right at the trailhead) it was long, semi-boring, and hot in the afternoon but convenient and easy. I talked t0 a few people in C.G. and they suggested the Chimney Rock route. Crack in the wall doesnt sound too difficult just the dirt road to get in there. As for shoes all i brought was a pair of water shoes. I wore them for both the overland and water hiking. My feet were blisters by the end but....I would have like to have had a pair of something dry to wear around camp.

[hike2kolob]

I did a 3 day 2 night trip through there over 15 years ago. Here is the route we took, which I thought was great without a car shuttle. All the best parts.

Tom describes this trip as a day hike on his website: http://canyoneeringusa.com/utah/esca/coyote1.htm

We took a detour and spent a night in Stevens canyon.

Day 1 - Park car on plateau and hike down the trail to the "crack." Descend big sand hill and head up the Escalante to Stevens Canyon. You will pass Coyote Gulch coming in from the left. Go up Stevens Canyon, explore, camp that night.

Day 2 - Backtrack out of Stevens and around the corner to Coyote Gulch. Go up Coyote and explore and camp.

Day 3 - Hike up to Jacob Hamblin Arch and take the "Exit" described on Tom's website. It is a little of a "butt pucker" with some exposure, but we did it with full packs on. Do the slog bushwacking across the plateau back to your car.

River or canyoneering shoes are not required for this route, but sticky shoes are helpful on the way out. The 3 day pace is very casual.

Good luck!

[Wasatch]

Do the Crack in the Wall (entrance), (exit) Jacob Hamblin Arch. The Crack is pretty easy to find. You will see the best parts of this canyon by far.

[denaliguide]

if you are going to exit at jacob hamblin arch you want to drive down the forty mile ridge road a little over 4 miles. parking is at an old water tank/corral (its been a while since i was there so maybe it's not there anymore). the parking spot is obvious though. this is the same road you would continue to walk when headed for the crack (which is another 4 miles). i would not recommend trying to enter at jacob hamblin arch. downclimbing this route would be hazardous.

i have parked at the water tank and headed out crosscountry generally north west. this drops you into hurricane wash about a mile or so above the confluence with coyote gulch. if you can find point 4637 and a spring in the bottom of hurricane on your map you will be able to get into the bottom of the canyon near there.

heres a shot of the exit route out of coyote just below jacob hamblin arch. not really difficult. just exposed. from the top it is a cross country route and not marked , so it does require a bit of map reading to make it back to the water tank where your car is.