This page describes the individual hikes available to basecampers on the 2006 trip. Hike descriptions are drawn from several sources (see the list below).

Antelope Canyon [Page area]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
3 - 5 miles round trip	Easy	3 hours	n/a
Close by Lake Powell and Page, this spectacular canyon is one of the most-photographed in the world. This is the premier photography site of the trip and the light play when the sun is directly overhead, shining down on the smooth, curved flowing walls of the canyon is so beautiful and surreal that it is disorienting. The canyon is on Navajo land and there is an entrance fee (varies from $8 to $15) for entry, for which participants will be responsible.
Wire Pass / Buckskin Gulch [Page area]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
6 Miles	Easy/Moderate	4 hours	180 ft.
We will enter at the Wire Pass trailhead and make a loop through these two fantastic slot canyons. The Wire Pass Narrows are some of the most impressive in the Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. Buckskin Gulch is less impressive, but longer. The amphitheater at the confluence of the two canyons is an ideal lunch spot and affords some excellent photo ops of faint petroglyphs - look for the long snake - and wonderful striated sandstone walls. The $5 per hiker entrance fee is covered in your trip cost. Some rock-scrambling, rocky descents and possibly some wading involved (if there has been a recent rain).
Grosvenor Arch [near Kodachrome]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
less than 1 mile	Easy/Moderate	1 hour	200 ft.
The most impressive sandstone arch in the area, this frequently-visited site is right off the main Cottonwood Canyon road. There is a short, paved path that takes you from a picnic area with primitive restrooms to a viewing/photo area in front of the arch, but you can continue on a trail that circles to the left of the arch where you can see a smaller pothole arch high on the flank of the main arch. You can also scramble up the sandy sides of the arch and reach a photo/viewpoint where you can observe the arch from above and behind. Lots of photo angles.
Kodachrome Basin State Park - Panorama Trail
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
2.9 miles (short loop) or 5.4 miles (long loop)	Easy/Moderate	2 hrs/3 to 3 1/2 hrs	260 ft/300 ft
Described as "An exceptional day hike leading through the colorful Entrada Sandstone formations of Kodachrome Basin State Park." This trail provides an excellent introduction to the park landscape and takes you through the white chimneys of sand pipes (formed by sand which filled in geysers way back when there was geothermal activity in the area) and the orange cliffs, spires and fin-like ridges of Entrada Sandstone. Since we will be camping in the park, we will have several opportunities to take this hike.
Willis Creek Narrows [near Kodachrome]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
4.8 miles round trip	Moderate	3 hours	180 feet
Described as "An easy half-day hike through a dramatic narrow canyon in the White Cliffs..." This is an extremely pleasant hike through a very pretty slot canyon. On my last visit to this canyon there was a small stream running through the canyon and it was almost cold down deep in the slot. Look for tree stumps wedged high in the canyon, evidence of previous flash floods, and be prepared to scramble over boulders and pour-offs. Last year I found columbines and wild roses growing along the sides of the wash just outside the narrows. The reds, oranges, ochers and browns of the canyon contrasted with the green of the pinons and pines in this wash all the way down to the confluence of Sheep Creek and are very striking and photogenic.
Bull Valley Gorge [near Kodachrome]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
7.5 miles round trip	Moderate	6 hours	480 feet
This hike is an alternative to the Willis Creek hike (above) and starts from a nearby trailhead. This is a more difficult hike with more rock-scrambling and chimneying down narrow cracks in the sandstone to get to the bottom of the slot. A locally-famous feature is the pickup truck lodged in a narrow part of the slot canyon, evidence of a fatal accident in 1952. The truck now forms the base of an earth bridge over the canyon. If there has been a recent rain, we will skip this canyon since the presence of cold water pools makes footing dangerously difficult.
Devil's Garden [Hole-in-the-Rock Road near Escalante]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
2 - 3 mile loop	Easy	1 - 2 hours	n/a
This is actually less of a hike than a meander through a wonderland of bizarre wind and water-shaped sandstone statues. There are no real trails here, but you can wander through a couple of acres of slickrock, arches, potholes, caves and odd-shaped hoodoos. Excellent mountain vistas in the background. Look for Metate Arch and Mano Arch on side roads as you approach the Devil's Garden parking area. A vault toilet is provided, but there is no available water here.
Peekaboo Gulch, Spooky Gulch and Brimstone Gulch [Hole-in-the-Rock Road near Escalante]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
6 - 8 Miles round trip.	Moderately Difficult	4 - 6 hours	600 feet
This hike begins on the desert plateau floor and drops down into a broad sandy canyon with slot canyons running in from the sides. The entrance to Peekaboo Gulch requires a short climb up a rock face to an open hole in the canyon wall. Peekaboo is unique in slot canyons in that the floor of the gulch is not flat, like most canyons, but uneven as though it were bored out of the sandstone by a giant auger. The gulch continues for a short distance into the cliff face and is open to the sky at most points. Peekaboo twists and turns and provides for some impressive light play and shadows. The gulch terminates in a pocket which permits access to the top of the canyon rim. Spooky Gulch lies right next to Peekaboo Gulch and can be entered from the canyon rim by walking down the sandy draw which quickly narrows and cuts deep into the sandstone. Spooky is dark and, well, kind of spooky. When we did this hike in 2002 there was a nice little pigmy rattlesnake coiled up under a big boulder that everyone had to scramble over to enter the gulch. He was interesting and pretty, but he effectively blocked the return route. Spooky Gulch quickly became VERY narrow, forcing hikers to squeeze sideways through spaces in the sandstone that made me extremely uncomfortable, and I am not normally claustrophobic. This is not a hike for people who don't like tight places and the light is not adequate for photographs (even if you could twist around enough to get your camera out.) I will not be going through Spooky on this trip, but we may be able to talk one of your hike leaders into leading it. All of them are considerably skinnier than I am and, arguably, more foolhardy. Seriously, this can be a very scary canyon. Brimstone Gulch, further down the canyon, is also very tight. and, in fact, comes to a dead end, leaving you no option except to backtrack or chimney out. Again, we may be able to talk a hike leader into leading adventure-nuts into this canyon as well. I'll be in the van making sure the air-conditioning works properly. SPECIAL NOTE: This is a long, hot hike. Bring sun protection and plenty of water and watch for snakes.
Lower Calf Creek Falls [Escalante area]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
6.2 miles round trip	Moderate	4 - 6 hrs	250 feet
This hike is described as one of the premier hikes in the Escalante region. The trail begins in the Calf Creek recreation area. The hike is mostly easy and includes intrepretative markers keyed to a brochure that explains features of the vegetation and geologic formations. Look for the pictograph panels on the cliff walls and the two Indian ruins built into the Navajo sandstone. Calf Creek is normally running and you can encounter beaver dams, trout and, at the end, an impressive and scenic 126-foot waterfall that plunges into a cold pool. The trail leads through a narrows (not as impressive as the ones you will have seen by this time), box elders, water birches and Gambel oaks. We can swim in the frigid pool at the foot of the waterfall if the day is warm enough, so bring your swim suits along on this one! Don't forget your camera - Calf Creek Falls is stunningly beautiful.
Upper Calf Creek Falls [Escalante area]
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
2 miles round trip	Moderately Easy	1 to 1 1/2 hours	610 feet
This short trail leads from a roadside parking area through Navajo slickrock and tumbled volcanic boulders. The path down the slickrock is steep, but cairns mark a rough trail and the sandstone provides a sound hiking surface. Toward the inner gorge of Calf Creek, you will see abundant wildflowers (depending on the season and the rain) and patches of ponderosa pines and Gambel Oaks mixed with Cottonwoods. There are two trails at the end, one to the top of the falls, one to the pool at bottom. Watch for large patches of poison ivy here.
Navajo Loop Trail [Bryce Canyon]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
1.4 miles round trip	Moderate	1 - 2 hours	521 feet
This popular trail makes a short 1- to 2-hour loop from the rim at Sunset Point down to the floor of Bryce Canyon. The trail visits favorite hoodoo formations such as Wall Street, Twin Bridges, and Thor’s Hammer. The difference in hiking time will be determined by how many photos you take and how long you stop to admire the incredible scenery.
Peekaboo/Queens Garden Trail [Bryce Canyon]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
6.6 miles round trip	Moderate	3.5 hours	600 feet
The following description of this hike is from David Day's book, Utah's Favorite Hiking Trails (Rincon Publications): "Bryce Canyon National Park is one place where you can see a lot of fantastic scenery in a very short time. There are numerous trails below the rim, especially in the area between Sunrise Point and Bryce Point where most of the strange rock formations are found, and a number of variations of this hike are possible. The 6.6 mile hike I describe here is actually a combination of three separate hikes suggested by the Park Service: the Queens Garden Trail (1.6 miles), the Wall Street Trail (0.7 mile), and the Peekaboo Loop (4.8 miles). I suggest you do them all together because the only really strenuous part of any of the hikes is the climb out of the canyon. Why not see as much as possible before climbing out?"
Observation Point - Hidden Valley [Zion]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
8 miles round trip	Moderately Strenuous	4 hours	2159 feet
"A long day hike from the floor of Zion Canyon to the top of Observation Point. This popular trail offers a long and steep climb from the floor of Zion Canyon to the rimrock that soars high above it. There are excellent views all along the way, featuring the lower reaches of Zion Canyon, a brief firsthand look at the narrow slot of Echo Canyon, and views of the cliffs above upper Echo Canyon during the final climb. Observation Point itself is perched high above Zion Canyon, and is the most accessible of the rimrock overlooks that line the canyon wall. Hidden Canyon offers an intriguing 1-mile total side trip into a secluded hanging canyon. " from Hiking Zion and Bryce National Parks © Copyright Erik Molvar & Tamara Martin Published by Falcon Publishing. All Rights Reserved This is one of my favorite all-time hikes and arguably the best hike in Zion. - Chuck
Middle Fork of Taylor Creek [Zion]			PHOTO
Distance	Difficulty	Hiking time	Elevation gain
5 miles round trip	Easy	1 hour	450 feet
This is a really nice hike in a part of the park (Kolob Canyon area) that is more remote than the central valley where all the tourists congregate. The last time we took this hike there was no one on the trail except us (of course it was snowing and not the best time to be there ourselves, but that is another story). The trail follows the streambed of Taylor Creek and crosses the creek several times. Wear shoes that you can get wet. The old homestead cabins are interesting and the 'blind' double arch, Double Arch Alcove, is spectacular. Nice views on the approach road as well.

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notes and sources

Hike descriptions are drawn from several sources, including Utah's Favorite Hiking Trails by David Day (Rincon Publishing), Hiking Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks
by Erik Molvar & Tamara Martin (Falcon Publishing), 100 Hikes in Utah by Steve Mann & Rhett Olson (The Mountaineers Books), Hiking Utah by Bill Schneider Edited by Ann Seifert (Falcon Publishing), Southwest's Canyon Country by Sandra Hinchman (The Mountaineers Books), Hiking Grand Staircase Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region by Ron Adkison (Falcon Publishing), Exploring Canyonlands and Arches National Parks by Bill Schneider (Falcon Publishing) and Hiking in Zion National Park: The Trails published by the Zion Natural History Association.

See where you are going: Follow this link to the Austin Photo Gallery page for the Escalante Photos. We have been there three times before and you will find photos of most of the places we will visit on the 2006 trip.