Ever since Jason and I explored Escalante last year, we’ve been eager to hike through Coyote Gulch, which is located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I convinced a surprisingly-large share of my family to join us for a journey into that scenic gully this spring.
Coyote Gulch is a slim 25-mile canyon with walls up to 900 feet high that eventually unites with the Escalante River as it flows toward Lake Powell. Coyote Gulch’s verdant ribbon of cottonwoods and willows is hidden beneath scorched sandstone cliffs; the presence of desert pixies and imps feels almost certain amongst its secret streams and curious alcoves.
My family was spread out between Escalante’s limited hotels, cabins, yurts, and camping spots as we prepared for our trek. Jason and I stayed at Escalante Yurts again because we adore that place. Out of the sixteen family members that came to Escalante, fourteen convened early the morning of our hike ready, or not so ready, to commence our adventure.
There are multiple spots from which to enter Coyote Gulch. Since we were not camping overnight, we opted to start at Fortymile Ridge and take the Sneaker Route. The Sneaker Route dives over 100 feet into the canyon at about a 45-degree angle in a location close to Jacob Hamblin Arch and other notable features. Ropes are not essential for this class-5 drop, but they are essential for those that would prefer not to tumble down what is essentially a cliff. We used ropes.
Once inside Coyote Gulch, we wandered to both Jacob Hamblin Arch and Coyote Natural Bridge. Then, we split up, and some of us pursued ancient ruins while the rest of us searched for a pictograph panel, the Black Lagoon, and various waterfalls. Jason and I were among the three members of the latter group. We didn’t find any lagoons, black or otherwise, but we had a great time investigating.
After hiking ten miles, many of those through a few inches of water, the blisters on our feet were as inevitable as the boisterous retellings of our victory. Yet, all our trekkers had a splendid time, including the ten-year-old.
The next day, Jason and I hiked through Escalante Petrified Forest State Park with my sister’s family. The Trail of Sleeping Rainbows was just as cool and colorful as we remembered and fun to share with our enthusiastic nieces and nephews.
We departed ways with my sister after that and did two short hikes amidst lightening-streaked skies and cloudbursts. The first went past some ancient granaries and only required a little over half a mile of walking. The second, the 100 Hands Pictograph Trail, led to four petroglyph and pictograph sites, 100 Hands being the most well-known of these.
For those searching for the petroglyphs and pictographs sites along the 100 Hands Trail, the 100 Hands Panel can be found high on a sandstone wall just west of the Bighorn Panel. You should see it within a few minutes of passing Bighorn; it’s easy to miss. The Shaman and the Hunter Panel can be reached by taking the left spur when the trail hits a T. The right spur goes to an alcove where more petroglyphs can be seen; these ones, however, are fairly faint.
On the way home, we didn’t miss out on the chance to eat at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder. If you are passing through Boulder, I highly recommend stopping at this joint. Don’t let the town’s scant 225 residents mislead you, Hell’s Backbone Grill is consistently rated one of the best restaurants in the state or THE best. Hello brisket and creamy habanero enchiladas! Yum!
Exploring Coyote Gulch would have been ample reason for us to amble down to Escalante. The petrified wood and pictographed stone we encountered were just ancient icing on the cake, but you don’t have to take my word for it.