Fool’s Canyon, Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument, October 6-14, 2018

Wanted: 7 companions to accompany me as I continue my lifelong exploration of the Canyon Country, and especially the slickrock-rich Escalante country. We will head to a destination that we have never yet visited: Fool’s Canyon, deep in the wilderness beyond Scorpion Gulch, our October 2012 destination.

Fool’s Canyon lies in the Grand Staircase/ Escalante National Monument.  Whether the name of the destination is entirely appropriate for the Mountaineers is an exercise for the reader. It is reached from the Early Week Bench trailhead, off the Hole in the Rock Road, south of Harris Wash and north of Coyote Gulch. I'm looking forward to exploring a new piece of the Escalante, despite crisscrossing much of this country over the years. Our camp will be near a water pocket called Gates Tank at the upper end of Fool’s Canyon. The country is lower, rockier, drier, and more desert than the upper Escalante country that we often visit. Camp will be at about 4800 feet elevation. This is a good destination for a cool mid-October outing. The moon will new on October 8, making for fine star gazing from a high camp that isn't pinched in by canyon walls.

The trip dates will take advantage of the Columbus Day holiday. We will leave Los Alamos on the morning of Saturday October 6, heading to Escalante, Utah to overnight. We will stay at the Circle D motel, found at http://www.escalantecircledmotel.com/. On Sunday we will leave Escalante at 8:00 AM to drive ourselves and our gear to the trailhead, pack it onto the llamas (avoiding heavy lifting, which BJ can provide), hike about 6 miles into camp, and set up in comfort - kitchen tables, social circle with chairs, two-burner stove, and wine cellar. We will hike out on Saturday the 13th, arriving in Boulder, Utah sometime in the afternoon. Participants should make a room reservation in one of the 3 Boulder lodgings: Boulder Mountain Lodge, Pole's Place, or Circle Cliffs Motel. On Sunday we will head for home, driving back over Boulder Mountain and through Capitol Reef National Park.

Our packer will be BJ Orozco, who will provide 8 llamas to carry our gear to camp, so participation will be limited to 8 people. The packer cost per person will be approximately $480 plus tip.

The day outings will involve hiking across the desert, scrambling up rock formations, and descending into Fool’s Canyon and perhaps the Escalante River. We should be able to take advantage of cool weather to enable moderate to strenuous outings, with some amount of low-level scrambling on the rocks and concomitant rope work.

Since we are limited to 8 slots, there is a possibility that the trip will fill quickly. I see participants who would like to hike with the group on all-day explorations.

Please contact Bill at bill@priedhorsky.net if you would like to join in. To confirm a slot will require a $300 deposit. I'm looking forward to another great time.