The Grand Escalante Loop | Thru-Hiking 33 Days in Southern Utah
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- The overview video for my 33-day, 425-mile hike AROUND Escalante in southern Utah. Hiking in the spring of 2023 was unique with wet conditions after a winter with record-breaking snowfall. Follow along as I see some amazing sights, enjoy the super bloom, and talk to the animals!
Highlights of the trek include: Death Hollow, Phipps Arch, Zebra Canyon, Harris Wash, Choprock Canyon, The Waterpocket Fold, Stevens Canyon, Coyote Gulch, Fortymile Canyon, Willow Gulch, Fiftymile Canyon, Fiftymile Mountain, Mudholes Ridge Route, Sit Down Bench, Last Chance Wash, Canaan Peek, Powell Point, Barney Top, and more.
If you want to dig deeper and see more -- check out the extended VLOG series (coming soon) for more details and stories from this hike including discussion on navigation, new gear, day-to-day life on the trail, and more. See my website for a detailed map of the route and additional information.
Thanks for watching! 🌞✌
00:00 Intro
00:26 Boulder Mail Trail and Death Hollow
02:20 Phipps Arch
03:44 Upper Zebra Canyon
05:43 Harris Wash
08:39 Choprock Canyon
11:30 The Super Bloom
13:37 Waterpocket Fold
16:13 Stevens Canyon
20:08 Stevens Arch and Coyote Gulch
23:37 Sunset Arch, Moonrise Arch, and Rocket Arch
24:33 Fortymile Gulch
31:06 Fiftymile Gulch
34:15 Climbing Fiftymile Mountain
36:07 Mudholes Ridge Route
38:30 Sit Down Bench and Last Chance Wash
40:14 Yellow Paradise Slot
42:56 Canaan Peak area
45:41 Climbing to Powell Point
47:36 Snow on Barney Top
49:09 The Final Stretch
www.AcrossUtah.com
Lots of variety in your over-view video. Now I'm even more anxious to see your extended version on video.
Thanks! I always appreciate you for following along. 🌞💗
This is getting me excited for the extended version!
Great to hear! Thanks for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
I cannot think of a better ambassador for southern Utah than Jamal Green. June 1st needs to be declared Jamal Green day in Utah!
Haha -- thanks, but..."Who's Jamal?!" most would ask! 😀 I actually feel guilty at times for not being more active in some of the conservation challenges which face the area (and elsewhere). BUT... hopefully by showing off the beauty and promoting good practices (Leave No Trace) -- that will inspire others. Thanks for watching and the comment! ✌
Another amazing hike Jamal with spectacular views and professional presentation. I.always enjoy watching them!!
Thanks, Beat! So glad you are "following along" and enjoy the videos. I appreciate it and the comment. 🌞✌
Southern Iowa = crawdaddy. Minnesota = crayfish.
Thank you for sharing your adventures!
Thanks for watching and the added regions/names. In my 2019 video through this same area I shot more footage of them and talked about growing up in Missouri and calling them crawdaddies, but they had many different names around the country. 👍🦞
Once again you take us along on another epic hike, The Grand Escalante Loop. Thank you for capturing the absolute beauty from the canyons, rivers to the snowy mountains tops!
Thanks so much, Dawn! Love it that you "follow" along and always appreciate your comments. Cheers! 🌞
What a year to be out in that gorgeous Utah country... flowers, wildlife AND SNOW!! Like others, I'm anxiously waiting for the daily detailed versions. Thank you for the tremendous efforts you put in to making and sharing these videos with us!
Yep -- it was definitely a unique year and though I expected some snow at the high elevations after the crazy winter -- I wasn't expecting THAT MUCH snow! Thanks for watching/commenting. 🌞✌
Yeah! Been checking in to see when we could enjoy another adventure with you in Utah!
Awesome -- glad you enjoy it. Thanks for watching! ✌
Yay Jamal is back!
Thanks for the "Yay" and for watching! 🌞✌
OUTSTANDING ! Thank you Jamal, can't wait to view the dailys
THANKS! I appreciate you for watching and the comment. Cheers! ✌🌞
Whoo hoo!!! Here we go!!!!!
🌞✌
Yay, another 33 videos by Jamal to view and thoroughly enjoy!
Awesome -- glad you enjoy the content. A bit of bad news... I'm not going to do a TRUE daily vlog this year, but instead going to combine multiple days into episodes (different number based on the section.) Due to the terrain and battery issues I actually shot less this year and some days were really short on content. I think there's still a bunch of good details/stories to share, but in the end that will happen in fewer videos. All the same... thanks for watching! 🌞✌
Yes! Waited all summer for this!
Awesome! It always takes a bit longer to finish these up than I expect -- but I was determined to get this one done before the end of (official) summer. The series will take a bit longer, but hopefully not TOO long. Thanks for watching! ✌
Always a pleasure to watch your videos! Thank u(tah)
Thanks, Bearno! 🌞✌
If its any consolation, I whistle your intro tune while starting every episode. Party on Jamal, and safe trails!
That's great! My friend told me that his young son does a dance to the song now -- so I guess I can never change it! 😉✌
Jamal, you're my hero. I hope to be as skilled as you one day so I can do the same hikes across that beautiful state.
Thanks -- that's very kind. There are definitely plenty of established routes where one can learn/test their skills in southern Utah. I always suggest starting small just to see what works and doesn't work for you. Good luck! 🌞✌
Loved this loop you did this spring! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it -- thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
This one is awesome.
Awesome -- glad you liked it. Thanks for watching and the comment! ✌
Awesome Awesome Awesome video thanks for another incredible video every year in May I go to Escalante to go hiking with friends hopefully one day we can cross paths thank you again for these incredible videos that you share with us greetings to mister shadow
Thanks! Yes -- very likely we might cross paths down there one day then. Until then... Cheers! 🌞✌
Always great to see your videos . I’ve watched every video and I have to say this one is epic very beautiful ❤thx
Thanks! Glad you enjoy the videos and "follow along". Cheers! 🌞
Awesome hike! Thank you for all the work you put into these videos! I love them and have fallen in love with the Colorado plateau!
Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Hot damn! Been so looking forward to seeing what you've been up to.
Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Another great installment; always a good day when an Across Utah! vid drops.
Looking forward to the daily editions!
(You got a new backpack! And a Granite Gear to boot!)
Thanks! Yep... new backpack, new tent, and several other new pieces of gear. I actually talk about all of these in the extended series as some of the new stuff was good, some... not so much. I might even split it all out into a "New Year, New Gear" episode. TBD -- still debating how I want to divide up on the extended content. Thanks again for watching! ✌
Thanks for sharing, I wish I was there with you on that hike, what an adventure.
Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Hearing that familiar Across Utah soundtrack, then watching the spectacular scenery unfold, I admit I got goosebumps! Thank you Jamal for sharing your adventures with us. I can't wait for the extended version!
That's awesome -- glad you enjoy it that much. I appreciate you for watching and the nice comment. Extended series coming before too long. 🌞👍
Same here! Feels good to be back on trail with Jamal!
Awesome trip. Looking forward to the vlog.
Thank you! I appreciate you for watching and the comment and the SuperThanks! The extended series coming before too long. 👍
🙆 Aaaah finally... when I seen you had a new post I was super excited and decided to watch via Big Screen! I do believe I see a new pack! Woohoo! The blooming flowers are so colorful. Actually love seeing those desert storms, you never know what you're going to get rain, hale, and possibly snow. Your route this year seems so amazing! I am liking this "overview video". But... the anticipation... for the in-debt vlogs!
Thanks! Yeah, I too liked seeing the different weather system this year, though all the rain/clouds did impact my charging ability. Glad you watched on the big screen. My stats show that nearly half of my viewers now watch via a mobile device which surprises me (and bums me out a bit!) Thanks again for watching and the comment. 🌞
Another wonderful hike Jamal, such an amazing area i visited in 2003. Enjoyed a hearty breakfast in Escalante before travelling down the hole in the rock road.
Thanks -- I appreciate you for watching and sharing your experience. It think I was on Hole-in-the-Rock Road that year too doing a series of day hikes including Peekaboo, Spooky, and Brimstone. Seemed like a different world back then! Cheers! 🌞✌
That is some gorgeously exquisite o gosh I have no adjectives for the beauty of this land. This Michigander is in awe of the western United States 🇺🇸
Yep, it's a pretty awesome area -- especially if one loves unique geology (like me!) Thanks for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
Excellent!!
Thanks, Davo! Much appreciated. 🌞✌
Jamal! This has to be your Escalante masterpiece! Your Grand Escalante Loop is a brilliant route, stringing together many of my favorite places and others that I have yet to visit. I'm grateful that a friend had alerted me that your compilation video is up. We were both flying high as a kite last night after watching this. I can't wait to see your individual episodes! Thank you so much for the work you've done on these beautiful vids.
Thanks! I was pretty happy with the route. On my site one can see the map in detail along with the original full plan and some alternates that I suggest. I just got back from another short trip, but otherwise the extended episodes will be coming starting next month. Thanks for watching! 🌞✌
@@Acrossutah Thanks for the reply! I'll head on over to your site to check out the map.
Endless praise to your struggle and sacrifice to inform us citizens of the incredible beauty you hike thru.
Endless praise to you. Subscriber for life, and I watch all your videos, sometimes multiple times.
TIP to viewers, bump your viewing up to 2160p 4K, to enjoy this terrain to the utmost. Incredible editing of your 360 camera to the floating views you edit them into.
16:00 re "stuck in the domes" does that refer to the terrain is so similar, it becomes disorienting? So much of the same up and downing over domes, which seem to go on for so far, that when one's in the troughs, that it becomes disorienting as to overall progress?
I ask re the domes, because in Arizona, between Phoenix and Tucson, there's a stretch of up and down hills that stretch out in a patch, and hiking then through that patch of ups and downs, hills like tiny mountains, once in the thick of the whole stretch of them, it becomes disorienting and long ago meaning early 1900s or earlier, it could be deadly getting "lost" in them. (When I saw this patch in Arizona the first time, I wanted to just hike straight across it, but i was warned it messes with your head, you get lost, due to the similarity of the ups and downs and so many small hills so similar, and I never tried it.)
34:43 super excellent timing to catch the tadpoles turning into their frog/toad stage of development, in the huge size just about frog/toads. Hikers who hike a LOT, over their lives see tadpoles and then toads/frogs, but that final huge tadpole almost frog stage is special, so excellent catch.
amen to that!
Thanks so much -- very appreciated! RE: the domes... I'll dedicate more time to this in the extended version, but basically I tried to short-cut a route into Stevens Canyon through the Navajo Domes area and it was more difficult than anticipated. Coming from the top I found most of the domes were just slightly too steep to descend. It ended up being a maze of sorts and though it was a bit disorientating, it really was just tedious requiring a lot of back and forth, up and down via trail-and-error route finding. Thanks for watching!
your photography and editing has improved so much! wow! 😀
Thanks! Yeah... I used to be super casual with my videos, but now I apply a bit more effort/time. Some better gear too. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! 🌞✌
The domes, yeah I remember those, caught me by surprise, going up to Cliff lol! Love it Jamal!
Yep! I'd always wondered why some trip reports/suggestions I'd read showed a round-about route to Cliff going much father east from Stevens. Now I know why! The domes are so deceiving as it looks like there'd be several ways to get up/down, but it definitely took me a bit of trial and error to find a way down that wasn't crazy steep. Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
@@Acrossutah Thanks for the videos! looking forward to the detailed ones! That edge of the Stevens Canyon route looked epic though!
What a scenery, what a professional presentation bud! This looks simply spectacular!
Thanks! I appreciate you for watching and the comment. Cheers! 🌞✌
Jamal, I was going through withdrawals not seeing any new vids. I actually started re-watching your Zion to Green River series again this afternoon...lol. Thank you!!
Awesome -- great timing then and happy I could provide some new content. I'm glad I reversed the order this time and the extended series will begin rolling out before too long. Thanks for watching! 🌞✌
Another gift, seeing Utah at its unique best. Camera techniques are masterful. Artistry throughout. World class.
Thanks -- I really appreciate that. Cheers! 🌞✌
Just wanted to chip in how awesome your video series are. Definitely psyched to see the day-by-day videos as they come out!
Thank you -- I appreciate you for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
This makes me happy! Yay Jamal!
Happy to hear that. Thanks for watching and the nice comment. 🌞
Thanks!
Awesome -- BIG thanks for the SuperThanks! Very appreciated. 🌞✌
Been waiting for this!
Great -- hope it was worth the wait. Thank for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Woohoo.looking forward to your uploads of my fav part of utah gsenm
Thanks! This was kinda a "GSENM Greatest Hits Tour" (including GCNRA I guess.) Thanks again for watching and the comment. Cheers! ✌
Woot woot! Jamal is back! What a difference a year makes! From desolate desert to wildflower paradise. Amazing hike in our most favorite part of Utah. How's the new gear? (Pack and tent (?)). Looking forward to watching the daily vlog. Thank you for all your hard work making this. ❤
Thanks! Yeah... the difference between 2022 and 2023 really was incredible. There was a LOT of new gear on this hike -- some good, some OK, and some downright bad. I will definitely talk more about that in the extended series. Thanks again for watching/commenting! 🌞✌
Thank you Jamal!
Thank YOU for watching and the comment! ✌
This one’s my favorite. Just can’t beat GSENM. You definitely got it’s greatest hits. We were doing a 4 day Davis/Fiftymile loop in mid May, one of these days I wouldn’t be surprised if we cross paths!
You're right -- it was a bit of a "Greatest Hits Tour" for GSENM (and GCNRA). I originally considered doing Davis as an out-and-back from the bottom/middle -- but the logistics were too tough w/o doing the technical bit at the top. Someday! And yeah... eventually we very may well cross paths -- I tend to run into a few people I know from the channel each year it seems. Cheers! ✌
I so much appreciate the quality of your videography along with your accompanying narrative! I've been waiting all summer for your next hiking vlog!
Thanks -- glad you enjoy the presentation. The more in-depth episodes will be coming later this fall. 🌞✌
That was really good. The landscapes and the filming of them were brilliant. Utah just keeps on giving - there were yet more landforms I've never seen that leave me wondering "how?" The wildlife was interesting, and the desert in bloom was stunning. Parts of that hike looked very taxing (with or without the wind, rain, hail, snow drifts and insects) and of course you must have done some bits 2 or 3 times to set up the camera, film it and then collect the camera - your effort is very much appreciated and the results are great. Now I'm looking forward to the daily stories: seeing the summary first has whetted my appetite!
Thanks! I appreciate you for watching and the comment. The weather definitely made the trek this year a bit more taxing, but in the end I just took a slower pace and all was fine. I also had some gear issues which I'll expand upon in the series. But... all in all is was a pretty good hike and the flowers were amazing this year! Cheers! 🌞✌
we were hiking Mail Trail and Escalante river in May as well. Flowers were fantastic this year.
Weren't they though?! The flowers really were one of the highlights of this trip for me. Thanks for watching and the comment. ✌🌻
Great idea to do this loop. Love the choices you made as far as what route to take to complete it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I was pretty happy with how the route shaped up and on my site I noted some changes I'd make for anyone wanting to do a similar loop. BTW -- it got delayed, but I'll still be publishing an extended series for this hike. Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Glad to see ya back!!!! Can't wait for the daily videos! Thanks for sharing I love it.😊
Thanks! Glad you are looking forward to the extended series as well. Cheers! 🌞✌
Another "one of a kind" video... typical Jamal-Style, great footage, brilliant editing... and I love your music selection. Big hug from Germany and thanx for taking me along once again 🥰😎
Thanks -- that's very kind of you. I appreciate you for watching and the comment... and the hug all the way from Germany! Cheers! 🌞✌
I am so glad your videos are back! GSENM is the most beautiful part of the world to me and I am so excited to watch this hike
I agree -- it's one of my favorite areas. Thanks for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
Epic hike. It was very exciting to see episode after episode but to have highlights in one , is like winning lottery. ❤Thank you Jamal for your tremendous work. You took me to the places I never dreamed off. The scenery has a beauty hard to describe.
Awesome -- glad you enjoyed! I planned on doing the episodes first again, but then just a few weeks ago changed my mind to lead with the all-in-one recap video. We will see how it plays out, but I think it's for the best as now everyone gets to see the hike in broad strokes and those who want to dig deeper into the details can via upcoming episodes. Thanks again for watching and the comment. Cheers! 🌞✌
It's always great to see you going on and off the trails. Lots of love and respect from a solo mountain hiker friend from the Hindu Kush Mountains Lower Chitral District of Pakistan.
Thanks -- I appreciate you for watching again and the comment. 🌞✌
What a fantastic spring for water, wildflowers and wildlife in Utah. This video is just what this nation needs right now. Did you encounter many other people in the back country this year?
The flowers/animals were great this spring. I again saw very few people on this trek (more in Coyote Gulch than the rest of the hike combined, but even that wasn't *that* many.) I only saw other hikers on 7 of the 33 days! (though I did see people/cars on a few of those other days along road portions.) Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Getting my popcorn and settling in to watch!
Soooo many flowers! Alas, no Caterpillar Interlude...hoping for one in the daily vlogs. So happy to hear those are back.
Yeah... I did actually see far fewer caterpillars this year. But.. one *may* still make an appearance in the extended series. 😉 Thanks for watching and the comment! ✌
Hello again, love your hikes and videos and hope i can come back to Escalante one day
Awesome -- glad you enjoy them. It's definitely a great area with a lot to offer for outdoor activities -- so I hope you make it back as well. Thanks for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
good stuff/ we jumped around a little for this one, we want to see the day by day full versions and dont want to spoil too much but had to see some of it at least....
Thanks! Yeah... I was torn re: which way to release the content, but there weren't too many "surprises" this year so I thought the overview video first would work. More-detailed episodes coming in November. 🌞✌
Excellent compilation with some great videography.
Thank you! Glad you watched and enjoyed it. 🌞✌
Excellent as usual. Thank you for posting!
Thank you! I appreciate you for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Great to see ya!!! Wow and wow!!! The flowers were just amazing! The light beautiful! Can't wait to view the detailed version
Another great adventure. Thanks for taking us along. ❤
Thanks! I appreciate you for watching and the comment. Cheers! 🌞✌
Great stuff Jamal! Looking forward to the vlogs! I was looking forward to this seasons hike and you never disappoint. I'm hoping to get out there in April 2024. I just missed you in Escalante in 2022, I think.
Thanks! I have no idea where I'll be next year, but there's always a chance we might cross paths out there. I tend to run into a few people each year that are followers of the channel. 😀👍 Thanks for watching and the comment! ✌
Another, well, *amazing* journey. Looking forward to the more detailed videos, and especially the navigation discussions. Coming from a lifetime of backpacking in the mountains, I've found (in the few times I've tried) desert navigation to be something of a mystery. Lacking the experience with the terrain, it all kind of looks the same to me, even though I know it's not. So it'll be good to get some tips from you!
Awesome -- thanks! It's so funny, but I feel just the opposite re: navigation as in the desert everything just feels natural to me and in the mountains it always takes me a bit longer to get my bearings. I think you're right and it's likely just a matter of experience learning the various sightlines and landmarks. Thanks for watching and the comment! ✌
Thank you for putting together this extraordinary preview! Love that the super bloom coincided with your adventure, such breathtaking beauty! 🤩
“Off the beaten path” - no one does it better than Jamal! Can’t wait to see the extended breakdown of episodes! Cheers✌️
Thank You! Yes, the bloom was an unexpected highlight of this trip (I thought I might be too late, but it seemed like great timing really.) Thanks again for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
welcome back ‘bro - and vice versa
Thanks! Glad to have you "following along". 🌞✌
YES... that is so beautiful, and such great 360 work. You've really figured it out, especially the editing. Thank you Jamal, this is great and i can't wait for the day by day versions. Maybe next year those extra batteries will assist.. Thank you so much.. Jim
Thanks! The 360 stuff is still tricky/tedious at times, but I truly love the flexibility and uniqueness for storytelling (I just wish it was higher resolution!) Thanks again for the batteries -- they will definitely come in handy next time. I talk much about it in this video, but I really struggled charging stuff for much of this hike. All the rain plus a smaller solar charger rendered that process very ineffective. In addition my powerbank failed in the first week. 👎 Luckily I had a replacement at one of my caches. Thanks again for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
Excited to see the series! Looks like a phenomenal year to be in the desert. I had the good luck to be able to hike the Grandview trail in Grand Canyon this year - I can see why are you addicted to the desert!
Thanks! Yes, it was a very unique year in the desert and was definitely in stark contrast to last year! Congrats on the Grandview -- that's a good one too. Thanks for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
So exciting to see a video up by you, Jamal! I saved this to watch for a treadmill workout, so a few days late watching it. Amazing, and I need to know where those fields of yellow sego/mariposa lilies are 😍; I'm going to go have a detailed look at the map on your site! I've never seen the yellow ones before, but the pinkies (Winding Sego (Calochortus flexuosus) were in full force over along Hwy 95 in the Glen Canyon NRA in early May when we went during a car camping trip. The heavy snow winter brings out fields of them, and it's breathtaking! The wildflowers this year in general were off the charts amazing.
Anyway, this was a neat hike format for you, a loop hike! Certainly makes travel logistics a lot easier. What fantastic and varied scenery, with all the money shots of slot canyons, water, wildlife, and lots of sweeping views and sunset skies to take in over the month. I'm hoping to take off for a car camping trip to Escalante at the end of the week, so this is giving me even more inspiration to head out over there 😃.
I'll be looking forward to the daily vlog version as the videos come up - last years' trip got me through a lot of treadmill workouts, and it was fantastic. Glad to see you had no food/water/equipment mishaps.
Hope the rest of your summer went well, and you're enjoying these cooler days of fall.
Cheers,
Sonya
Thanks! And... oh yeah, gear mishaps will be featured in the extended series! 😱 I'm so bad with my flower names, so thanks for the references. I actually referred to the yellow ones as something else in my extended video so now I know to make an on-screen correction. Those were over near the Moody Canyons and then a bunch of white ones on Fiftymile Bench. The flowers really were a highlight this year. I don't have my interactive map with all the details up on my site yet, but the route is shown on my Master Map. Since you are familiar with area you probably already know the major points of interest. Thanks again for watching and the comment and hope all is good for you as well! 🌞✌
You did a great trip. 💯
Thanks! I appreciate you for watching and the comment! 🌞✌
I've never seen that part of Utah so green with all the wildflowers and cacti blooming. Amazing and beautiful. Some of those ridge walks were really impressive.
I agree -- this was easily the most spectacular year I've seen for flowers. Thanks again for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
Wow! That was an awesome adventure in one of the most beautiful of places. I can only dream of doing that as I am an old lady with a bum knee and bad hip. I can do little bits of hikes but not more than 5 miles or so. So thanks for showing us these wonderful places. Do you have any vids showing how you do your videos? Very nice work and editing.
Thanks! I really did begin this channel for others like my family/friends who couldn't join me on hikes for a variety of reasons -- so glad you are able to "follow along" as well. I don't have any "how to" video showing my process. I've thought about it though and might try it some future "off season". Thanks again for watching and the comment. 🌞
Aayyyyy! A new Jamal green video. Always gets me excited.
Awesome -- I appreciate that and thanks for watching! 🌞✌
Oh man...I can't wait for the daily vlog. How you got Kelsey'ed, how many bloons you found, how awesome were those Duke's smoked sausages, etc. 😜
Awesome -- thanks! That was my first time having Duke's (picked up on sale in SLC). They were good -- though something tells me not the healthiest option when eating as many as I did! Extended series with many more details coming before too long. Cheers! 🌞✌
So good to see you back. I love your videos. One question I have not asked over the years -- do you take precautions to not get a urinary infection from wading through the runoff water? I ask because I just had one and had to be on strong antibiotics. Remember that GoPro is still waiting for your pickup in that pond where you lost it last year near Green River.😃
Thanks! Nope -- that's not something I've ever been concerned about. Maybe I'm just lucky that it's never affected me. And Yep -- I still think about that camera from time to time. One day I hope to get back to that canyon to see the rest of it. It should make for a fun little subplot ("In search of the long-lost camera!) Thanks again for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
There's a route off the top of the Fold...head south like you did but after about a half hour you'll get to a saddle, make a right and poke you way down the domes and cracks. It's kinda tricky but it goes. One spot is unavoidable where most people need a landline of about 50 feet. It dumps you out into the upper basin of Stevens. From the top of the Fold you can actually see where you'll hit the canyon. The route you took is the old trail thru the domes...and as you found out, that's tricky in and of itself. Long walk to get there, too. I know that area like the back of my hand...don't even need a map anymore. You did a fine job.
Very cool -- thanks for the info. I'm curious to check it out closer now. Allen talks about a way out of upper Stevens to the Fold, but I've never even investigated it because he mentions something like "some climbing involved" which I translate to "avoid". 😀 I carry a short static rope for lowering/lifting the pack, but any climbing and/or serious scrambling with exposure is a no-go for me. Great area indeed. Thanks for watching and the comment. ✌
That Allen route is the one I'm talking about. It's more a steep section of slick rock rather than a "climb". I go right up it with a large pack, but some people want the packs hauled and might hold onto the rope going up as well. It's an "adventure" route. From upper Stevens, you can cross over to Fold, then go south above the river on the east side across Shofar, Hydra, Icabod, Beryl...wild country and no one goes there. You have to hunt for water. First time in you'd better be good with the map skills...it's all about breaks in the Navajo.@@Acrossutah
Fantastic well planned trip -- a classic. How was finding water on the mesas?
Thanks! In general finding water this year wasn't a big problem, but as you might have guessed atop the mesas is where it was in the least supply. The southern end of Fiftymile Mountain was the driest area, but once I moved north to the known sources it wasn't an issue. I'll note my sources on the map on my site. Thanks for watching and the comment. 🌞✌
Another great video! The description mentions a map of the route on your website. Where exactly would that be? Didn't see it either in the main map or the blog posts about this hike. Cheers!
Thanks! And yeah... my bad, I meant to get the map up on my site yesterday but failed as I wanted to add more to it first. Later today you will the track listed on my Master Map (by enabling "My Hikes") followed soon by its own stand-alone map with all the details (linked via a blog post.) Thanks for watching and the question. Cheers! ✌
41:48 It wouldn't be a "Genuine Jamal Hike" without a shout-out to Molly's Nipple! 😃
Yeah... that's pretty much accurate -- I've tried to refrain from singing about it, but still get excited. 😉 Thanks for watching and the comment, Glenn. ✌
Hey Mr. Shadow! Tell me about taking care of your feet, socks and shoes sloshing through all the water.
Well -- Mr. Shadow doesn't wear socks 😉, but for me... I normally just wear my normal hiking socks (wool blend) and try to alternate with an extra pair each day. I used to take neoprene socks for water sections. They were awesome, but I'm fortunate that my feet are not overly prone to blisters anymore and thus I usually don't bother with the neoprene these days while on longer hikes. Thanks for watching and the question! 🌞✌
Very nice! What a trip! Did you stay the night in a hotel after that?
Thanks! And... no actually, I ended driving all the way to SLC to my parents' place afterwards. The roads were in such bad shape I had to wait to pick up my cache containers a few later on my way back through the area. Thanks again for watching! 🌞
Great video. Thx for sharing. I went and looked at your detailed loop route as I am trying to design a 4-6 day loop hike in the Escalante area for me and several friends this Fall (late Aug / early Sept). I design all my hikes on Gaia GPS and when I try to use your hike at a template to create something, there doesn't appear to be enough trails to go beyond several days. With Gaia GPS printed maps and the app on my phone, we don't mind some off trail hiking, and, ideally, we are looking for something that doesn't require permits, extensive slot canyon hiking, or having to carry 15 pounds of water everyday. Do you have any suggestion for a 4-6 day loop hike in that area. Maybe we will need a 2nd vehicle? Thx in advance.
Thanks! There are a lot of decent options in that area for 4-6 days without straying too far from water. Most do require permits, but they are easy to get (no quota) and can even be self-written at some trailheads. Having a car shuttle could help, but it's also possible to make a loop out of many nearby canyons with some cross-country or road walking to connect the dots. Happy to chat more via email or check out my Master Map on my website and turn on "Other Route Options" to see some of the many possibilities for inspiration. Cheers! 🌞✌
@@Acrossutah Thx for your reply. I looked over your master map and there are lots of possible options. I will look into them more and reach back out to you if I have any additional questions. Thx for your support.
Curious what your average pack weight was on this trip?
I was probably averaging just over 30 pounds on this trip -- higher when fully loaded after a cache or when carrying a bunch of water, and lower when the opposite was true. I actually carried too much food on this trip so it might have been closer to 35 frequently. Thanks for watching and the question. ✌