Llama adventure Harris Wash Oct 9-16, 2023

Dear Mountaineers,

I would like to propose an October 2023 canyon trip to Harris Wash in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. This adventure will take us to a lush gorge with a perennial stream flowing into the Escalante River, and make possible a series of day hikes to slickrock tops and side canyons – down to the Escalante, up to the Red Breaks area, etc.. We will camp somewhere in the middle of Harris Wash, which was our destination for May 2010. Photos of the 2010 trip can be found here. All the hiking will be off trail, and sometimes involves scrambling over rock ledges and ridges, or wading through creeks.

This will be one of our regular llama adventures, spending 6 nights in the canyon, with 5 nights of exploring from our base camp. Llama packer BJ Orozco may be our only guide, and stay with us for the duration of the trip. This makes for an early start for our outbound hike on our last day, but will likely require us to share the llama leading on the way to and from camp.

A llama trip gives us about 67 pounds of cargo per person, allowing for the comforts of community gear: tables, potty chair, two-burner stove, and about 60 pounds (to be finalized), including one’s dinner contributions, for personal gear like chairs and a contribution to the wine cellar.  chairs, tables, Coleman stoves, and a wine cellar. The fee for the llama packing will be about $500 per person, plus tip; there can be modest additional costs for expendables like propane and water filter cartridges.

There will be an annular eclipse of the Sun on the morning of the 14th, visible from most of this part of Utah.

Our schedule will be:

(optional) Sunday October 8: Leave Los Alamos, drive to Bluff, Utah (5 1/2 hours).

Monday October 9: drive to Escalante, Utah from home or Bluff

Tuesday October 10: meet BJ, head into the canyon, hiking 3-5 miles downcanyon from the trailhead to camp

Wednesday-Sunday: five full days in the canyon wilderness, with adventurous outings every day

Monday October 16: hike out, stay in Boulder, UT

Tuesday, October 17: drive home all or part way

Let’s carpool as much as possible.

For lodging en route and on the way back.

October 8: I have a block of rooms reserved at the Recapture Lodge. Make your own reservation, but let me know if you do so, so that I can release unused rooms.

October 9: Stay at the Circle D motel in Escalante. There are plenty of rooms at this point, so make your own reservation. https://www.escalantecircledmotel.com

October 16: I have reserved 4 rooms at Pole’s Place in Boulder (everything available), and a two-room suite (2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom) at Boulder Mountain Lodge. Call Pole’s Place (435) 335-7422 to book one of those rooms and LMK if you do, or let me know if you want to share the suite at BML. There seem to be a few more rooms at BML available also.

Let me know if you want to join in! The deposit to hold a slot will be $500. Bill