The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a huge and spectacular park in southern Utah, and while many hikes in the area have become quite popular and are often well documented, this doesn’t mean these hikes don’t come without a set of – sometimes unexpected – challenges. As we drove down the dusty back roads of Utah towards a remote trailhead to begin our backpacking trip of Coyote Gulch in April 2014, I was blissfully unaware that I’d soon find out firsthand some of the challenges that the desert and canyons here have to offer.

The focus for this trip was to be the many sites along Hole-in-the-Rock Road, the main north-to-south road into the monument from the town of Escalante. My usual hiking buddy Ward and I drove into Escalante from the south along Cottonwood Canyon Road (another amazingly scenic drive), where we stayed the night before beginning our hiking adventures. On this trip, we would visit a multitude of slot canyons and natural attractions in the area, before finally visiting the ‘piece de resistance’ and subject of this article, Coyote Gulch (technically, Coyote Gulch is located in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, but the normal approach is from GSENM).

There are several ways to get in and out of Coyote Gulch. We chose to go in at the east end and hike upstream, intending to climb out at the mid-point near Jacob Hamblin Arch, but that turned out to be too steep. We drove in on Forty Mile Ridge Road (a sandy unpaved road passable by most vehicles until the last 2 ½ miles) and parked in the small parking lot at the end. We filled out our permit (available at the parking lot), and exchanged pleasantries with a pair of rangers who were going into the canyon, probably for trash cleanup duty, sadly.

A Hike Into Coyote Gulch Begins

Once we left our vehicle, it was a two mile mostly downhill hike across loose sand and sections of solid rock to our entry point into the canyon, following a route marked by widely-spaced cairns. At this point we were able to peer into the expanse of the canyon, and I must say, the view was absolutely spectacular. The vista of the chasm below and Stevens Arch in the distance show you just how insignificant we humans are in comparison to the size of earthly features. Crack-in-the-Wall is just as it sounds – a large piece of rock that has split off of the cliff face and has moved out a couple of feet from the canyon wall. Once at the edge, we lowered backpacks down by a rope, as it would be difficult (though not impossible) to slip through the narrower parts of the opening with a pack. Once our packs were lowered, we had to lower ourselves down into the crack by climbing over some large boulders and dropping a few feet onto the sandy base. We then slithered through twenty or more feet to arrive at the top of a large sand dune that extends all the way to the river below. As we slipped and slid down the 700-foot slope, we enjoyed the ever-changing views of the canyon and Stevens Arch.

Once at the river, we could have chosen to take a short hike to Stevens Arch, and I now wish that we had, as it is one of the largest arches in the country. Anxious to be on our way however, we began hiking upstream to the west, sometimes in the shallow water of the stream, and sometimes on its sandy banks. The hiking is pretty easy and extremely scenic. The creek meanders to and fro between the steep-sided canyon, which at times is quite narrow – not so narrow that it could be called a slot canyon, but the several-hundred-foot-tall Navajo Sandstone cliff walls surrounding you make it almost feel like one at times. Since the hike is in and out of water most of the time, we wore water shoes with wool socks, keeping our feet warm while allowing the water to drain out of our shoes.

Our hike continued through the afternoon toward our goal for the night. Along the stream we climbed past several waterfalls and rapids, including one quite unusual “swiss cheese” cascade where the water has worn holes and grooves in a dark reddish-brown rock layer. One of the highlights of the hike for me was Coyote Natural Bridge, which is a large natural bridge where water has worn through a rock fin. The stream flows under the bridge through a 50-foot tall and wide opening. There are some wide sandy beaches near the bridge, but after taking numerous pictures we continued on further up the canyon where we set up camp a short distance downstream under a massive alcove.

The size of this alcove (and others like it) is staggering – I stepped it off from the back wall to where I estimated that I was directly under its lip, and it measures about 100 feet! And then there is the height of the walls, which are several hundred feet high, making any man-made amphitheater tiny in comparison. We erected our tents on a sand and sandstone ridge under the alcove, had our dinner, and prepared for night. We also needed additional water, and my water filter had become clogged from the sand and silt in the stream, so I borrowed a filter from a Russian couple from Toronto who were camped near us. I prepared my camera for a shot of the stars under the towering overhang. As darkness fell, I found out why this canyon is called Coyote Gulch: the coyotes began howling and yipping and the sounds echoed up and down the canyon for many minutes. It was at the same time both a spooky and a totally cool sound.

Camping in Coyote Gulch offers a unique experience and an astounding night sky.

A Coyote Gulch Exit

The next morning we prepared for our passage out of the canyon. We spoke with some campers along the stream who directed us to a nearby spring where we filled our water bottles. We had enjoyed a relatively easy hike of six miles the day before, but getting out of the canyon is another story. I am not comfortable with high places, not good with steep dropoffs, and am generally a weak climber.

After exploring a potentially steeps and slick exit and determining it to not be feasible, my other option was to hike out of the canyon via Hurricane Wash and then along the roads back to the truck. Not the best alternative, but it was all I was willing to do. Continuing on up the scenic canyon for about a mile and a half, we came to a left fork which is the confluence of Coyote Gulch and Hurricane Wash. We took that left turn, and shortly after that, left the wet part of the canyons for good and trudged through the dry, sandy wash for what seemed like hours as the day got hotter and hotter.

With just a couple of miles left of the hike back to the road, we caught up with the Russian couple from Toronto. He said something like “I think it is only a short way” in his Russian accent. Well, a couple of miles in the heat is never a short way, but we did eventually get to Hole-in-the-Rock road and the parking area for the trail, after about seven miles of hiking. The couple offered a ride to one of us (they had a small car packed quite full, so both would not fit) back to our truck. Ward rode with them and I sat in the shade of a pickup in the parking lot, drinking water and cooling off.

This was a fantastic and memorable hike. The views of the canyon are constantly changing, and the Navajo Sandstone walls are massive and awe-inspiring, and the major features are like no others.

Need to Know

Information

Backcountry permits are free and available at any of the trailheads or in the town of Escalante at the Escalante Interagency Visitor Information Center (435-826-5499). Water can be acquired and filtered from the creek. If hiking out via Crack-in-the-Wall, the Hurricane Wash trailhead, or the Red Well trailhead, it is a long, dry, and possibly hot hike back to the vehicle.

Best Time to Go

March to mid-June and September to October.

Getting There

Escalante, Utah can be utilized as a staging point. Just east of town, the unpaved Hole in the Rock Road provides access to the trailhead of choice.

Books and Maps

A Falcon Guide: Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region covers hikes in the area, and for a map see the National Geographic Trails Illustrated Canyons of the Escalante trail map. For getting to and from the trailhead and exploring other areas in the state, an atlas like the Benchmark Utah Atlas can be helpful.

The Author

Steve Ancik is a landscape architect by profession whose hobbies include mountain biking, photography, hiking, and backpacking. He lives in Edmond, Oklahoma.

All photographs in this article © Steven L. Ancik.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 38 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.