Ever since President Trump scaled back Bears Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monuments, many have wondered what comes next. Well, the U.S. Interior Department finalized plans to allow energy companies to use these public lands for extraction. The Trump administration will allow drilling, mining, and grazing where it was previously not allowed under the National…
Tag: Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Backpacking Coyote Gulch
If you want life list hikes, Utah has them in spades. High on the list for me and a few friends had been Coyote Gulch in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. This riparian canyon boasts a natural bridge, huge alcoves, numerous arches and a stream that flows year round. Well, after many years of dreaming…
Test Your Limits at the Grand to Grand Ultra
Running a marathon is no easy feat. Now multiply that by 6 and you’ve got the distance of the Grand to Grand Ultra, the first and only self supported stage footrace in North America. If the lure of covering 160 miles in 6 stages over 7 days isn’t enough, consider the terrain that this insane…
Lower Calf Creek Falls closed for construction
One of the most iconic landscapes of desert paradise in Utah will be off limits to the public for a month due to construction. The Calf Creek Recreation Area, located in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, will close on July 6th for approximately 30 days. This closure will affect access to the popular Lower Calf Creek…
Mountain biking to Hole in the Rock
The Hole-in-the-Rock Road near Escalante, Utah, is the route used in 1879 by Mormon pioneers on the way to settle the Four Corners region. Huge cliffs descending to the Colorado River blocked the way, so they blasted a slot through the rock where wagons could be lowered 1,000 feet down the the canyon bottom. This passage was named Hole-in-the-Rock, and evidence of the incredible event still remains. Lake Powell now occupies the bottom of the canyon where much of this accomplishment took place, but the road still exists and can be traveled year round by vehicle and by bike.
Utah skeleton is not Everett Ruess
Outdoor enthusiasts and history buffs alike were astonished last spring when the remains of Everett Ruess were found. DNA tests revealed that the skeleton found in a grave on Utah’s Comb Ridge belonged to the vagabond writer, which solved a decades-long mystery. But the University of Colorado at Boulder issued a press release on Wednesday, October 21, revealing the test results were incorrect.
Canyoneering in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
When it comes to outdoor adventure in Southern Utah, there is nothing quite like canyoneering through a sandstone slot. Canyoneering gets you down into the earth, where you are forced to touch and interact with the rock, sand and water. Canyoneering is dirty, wet, sometimes dangerous,