Hidden in a remote basin in southern Utah, bordered by gargantuan landforms--the Circle Cliffs and Waterpocket Fold to the east, the Kaiparowits Plateau to the west, and the Aquarius Plateau to the north, the Escalante is a wild treasure.
The Escalante drops a vertical mile on its 125-mile journey to Lake Powell, tumblig through forests of aspen and ponderosa pine before carving through the many colorful slickrock sandstone formations of the Colorado Plateau. Smooth-walled amphitheatres streaked with desert varnish rise above the sandy canyon floor. Sculpted rock walls of weathered pink, purple, brown, yellow, white, gray and orange tower above the muddy Escalante River. Arches, mesas, domes, grottoes, and slots so narrow you have to squeeze through sideways, are all a part of the geology of the Escalante.
Ancient canyon dwellers have left signs of their passage on canyon walls and hidden away in side passages. Well-concealed cliff dwellings, petrolglyphs, pictographs and "moqui steps" carved on sheer walls, all attest to the tenacity of the Anasazi culture.
We make a loop hike through the Escalante, experiencing several ecological zones. The Escalante River canyons are laced with ferns, willow thickets and thick-barked cottonwood trees. Expect to encounter wildlife as small as a desert scorpion and as large as a coyote. The elusive cougar often leaves her tracks.
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