Escalante, Utah: 10/9 – 10/12/18

On the drive from Goblin Valley to Escalante, we reached an elevation 9,400’ In Dixie National Forest.    Look what we saw.  The date was October 9th.

When we arrived in the town of Escalante, we checked into the sole RV Park and there was no sign of snow.

Our first adventure was a hike at Box Death Hollow.

It was only about a 30-minute drive from our campground.  This was an easy, eight mile out-and-back hike that followed a stream that was flowing between the canyons.  It is mostly a level trail with only occasional slight inclines, and we had to cross over the stream at  least 15 times in each direction.

At at the beginning of the hike, I was messing around with my phone when Scott noticed some animal friends just ahead of us.  They were gone in the two seconds it took me to look up.  He found it funny that I didn’t see them, and I didn’t know what he had seen.  We continued following the trail crossing the stream every now and then.

It wasn’t long before I identified the prints in the sand.

Less than an hour later, I stopped dead in my tracks as a stare off commenced.

I was was a little afraid since the bull was looking straight at us as if warning us to stay back.  Scott calmly told me to keep going at the same pace.   I could no longer make eye contact and was happy when we crossed over the stream and began to lose sight of them.  I can’t believe I so was afraid of this big, black non-bear animal.  After two hours and approximately four miles of walking, we stopped to eat lunch.

After a short rest, we chose to head back, instead of continuing on, which meant approximately two more hours of hiking ahead of us to return to or starting point.  We would cross the stream another 15 times!

The next day, we went to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

As you can see, it’s another big playground.

On our way back to the truck, Scott called me over to where he was standing as he wanted me to see something.   I hesitated but slowly walked over to him.

This is the first time I have EVER seen a tarantula out of a viewing box and in its natural habitat.  OMG!

Our campground in Escalante was only an hour outside of Bryce National Park.  The following day, we made the short drive so we could take at least one hike.  Our timing was not going to allow us to spend more than one day there.

We started at Sunset Point and hiked down Navajo Loop.  At the start of this trail, you get a birds eye view of Thors Hammer, the popular rock formation.  Here it is.

I very much much enjoyed this winding steep trail as it went down into the canyon.

At the bottom, we turned on Peek-a-boo Loop.

Now, it was time to go up.

Let’s just say that I am not that fond of hiking up.  Today was a bit harder for me with my coughing and irregular breathing.  Scott captured me live on the start of this hike.  I am quite happy!

Here is another clip an hour later after we climbed back up Peekaboo Trail.  My pace has slowed.

Even though I struggled with the uphill portions of this hike, it truly was spectacular.   Loved the switchback steps heading back to the top.

Glad we did it, and once was good enough!