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Spring had finally arrived and it was time to take the boys out for my annual birthday desert camping trip. April was off running 22 miles for her marathon training so the Boys, Whitney and I left the house early Friday and made our way down to the Swell. We set up camp in our normal spot in Temple Wash then made our way down to Goblin Valley to do a bit of hiking. The weather was perfect as we wandered our way to the top of the Curtis formation above the goblins.

Whitney

The wind really started to pick up so we made our way back to the car and drove over to the Temple Mountain area to check out the old town site.

We made our way back to camp and hiked around on the slick rock with the boys as we waited for April and the Roots. After everyone set up their tents we drove north a few miles along the front of the Reef to Farnsworth Canyon. I am a big fan of this short little canyon, it’s perfect for the kids and sees little traffic.

The wind kept things pretty cool during the night before it slowly tapered off. The clouds were a bit dense for star trails so I just  took a few long exposures around camp and called it a night.

Alene and Tyler

April and I

Saturday morning we were up and moving not long after the sunshine hit our camp site.   We drove the few miles down the road to hike up to the Wild Horse Window just north of Wild Horse Creek on the Reef.   We had tried to do this hike a number of times over the last few years but had never made it all the way up to the window due to sick kids, heat, or lack of daylight.

On the hike down Whitney, Bowen and I cut south into  Wild Horse Creek to hike the short slot at the end of the Canyon

After a quick lunch we drove over to Little Wild Horse Canyon to do some more hiking.  Bowen (3yo) lead the way almost all the way to the end of Little Wild Horse with no assistance at all.  Due to his size advantage it can be tricky to keep up with him in the narrow sections of the canyon.

Snow

We wrapped things up at  Little Wild Horse arond 3:30 and made our way back to camp for a little relaxing before heading out to Goblin Valley. We wandered around the valley and let the kids run wild as we messed around with some levitation shots.

Saturday night was pretty clear so I  set up to do some star trails.

I was pretty lucky to get invited to tag along with some old friends on their yearly spring backpacking trip in Escalante. I have always wanted to visit Coyote Gulch and have heard lots of great things about it so needless to say I was extremely excited to get down south and start hiking. We met up early on Wednesday morning and arrived at our starting point near Chimney rock at 12:30. Soon after we were hiking down the sandy hill and into Coyote Gulch.

Less than two miles into our hike we left our heavy packs on the side of the trail and made a 1.5 mile hike up Sleepy Hollow to the dry fall at the end of the technical section of the canyon. The mouth of Sleepy Hollow was pretty scrubby but the middle portion of the canyon had some excellent alcoves and crystal clear pools so it was definitely worth it.

A cool little tunnel under a very large boulder.

The end.

After a quick rest we were hiking down Coyote Gulch on our way towards Hurricane Wash and Jacob Hamblin Arch.

Jacob Hamblin Arch

We set up camp under the huge alcove between the bends of Jacob Hamblin Arch. Before dinner I did a bit of wandering around the area taking photos of the Arch. I was able to scramble up into the arch from the west side and take a few photos before climbing back down the east side. After dinner and the canyon was dark I set up my camera for a series of star trails and did a bit of light painting.

Thursday morning I was up early and ready to see some waterfalls. I took a quick photo of our campsite then Shay and I were off hiking down the canyon towards the Swiss Cheese falls.

Camp under the large alcove near Jacob Hamblin.

The area around the Swiss Cheese falls and the choke point did not disappoint and I spent almost two hours shooting photos of the water flowing over the sandstone. I took a few portraits but with the long shutter speeds (1/3-1/2 sec.) that came out pretty blurry. This was by far my favorite area in Coyote Gulch.

After my nice long photo break we were back on the move. We hiked down canyon beyond the Choke Point and Coyote Bridge in search of a campsite for our second night in the canyon.

The Choke Point of Coyote Gulch

Coyote Bridge

We set up camp in a little alcove just over a mile down canyon from Coyote Bridge just beyond the first set of falls. I set up my camp and started making some food while everyone else prepared for a day hike down to the Escalante River two miles down canyon. I ate my late lunch and took a quick power nap before I loaded up my day bag with camera gear and worked my way down canyon shooting photos of all the waterfalls. I made it to within one mile of the Escalante before I ran into Charles who was returning back from the river.

Yet another power nap and more snacks at camp and I was hiking back up canyon to shoot photos of the falls we passed earlier that day.

After shooting waterfalls the entire afternoon I wandered my way back to camp just before dark. The last of our group had returned from their hike, they ended up hiking well beyond the Escalante and inside of Stevens Arch. I must admit I am still pretty jealous of their hike but shooting all the falls was still a pretty good time.

Camp in the dark

Day three I was up bright and early and the first one out of camp hiking up canyon towards Coyote Bridge. I took a few selfies before I headed back up canyon to the Swiss Cheese falls for more photos.

We spent the rest of the day wandering our way up canyon and eventually back to the car and into Escalante for some grubbin mexican food. We decided to make the long haul back to Utah county and made it home around 1:30.

Map of the trip

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