Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument
Personal Notes:
Boulder Mail Trail Hike
This page contains our personal notes on our hike along the Boulder Mail Trail in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.
| Sunday, May 29, 2005 | |
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Route In
8:28 a.m.
It took us a bit of looking to find the road to the Boulder Mail Trail trailhead. We had varying instructions and we, at first, drove past the turnoff. From Highway 12 you follow the signed road to Hell’s Backbone Road. Just after you turn onto this gravel road watch for a two-rut type road leading off to the left (south). It’s the first such road that you will see. Follow this rutted road back through the trees until you come to the Boulder Airport, a relatively flat, cleared area with a wind sock and enough space to land a small plane. There was, in fact, a small Piper or Cessna sitting at the end of the runway.
Cross the runway (watch for approaching planes) and the trailhead and parking area is easy to see just on the other side. We found a nice shady spot right away, but there were quite a few vehicles already parked.
There is a registration area and signs marking the trail. The guides that we used to find this location all mention hiking along the McGath Point Road for the first mile. But evidently there is a new trail that cuts through the trees from the registration area. It is clearly marked.
The GPS Coordinates for the parking area are 37 53.030N; 111 27.864W; at an elevation of 6,767 feet.
The trail starts off through the pinyon/juniper forest and winds through several sage covered “meadows” and along the head of a shallow side canyon. Eventually you come to a short ledge that seems to be the edge of Sand Canyon.
Sand Canyon
9:10 a.m.
We began our descent into Sand Canyon. The GPS Coordinates are 37 52.224N; 111 28.781W; at an elevation of 6,551 feet.
Up to this point we saw a long string of ants crossing the trail, an old garbage dump of rusted cans, bottles, and other parts, several cow or sheep skeletons, cow hoof marks deep in cryptobiotic soil, and many insect and lizard tracks in the soft sand of the trail.
9:26 a.m.
At GPS coordinate 37 51.940N; 111 29.043W; at an elevation of 6,386 feet, we left the trees and sage behind and really started descending into Sand Canyon. A large bowl of Navajo Sandstone opened before us, and we could make out where Sand Creek passes, but we found ourselves wondering just where we will come up on the other side. As we descended we passed through what looked like an old fence line, made up of downed trees and several old weathered boards.
Down toward the bottom of Sand Canyon we encountered three young fellows climbing out, obviously having backpacked in and camped in the area the night before. Then, in an area where the trail flattens out briefly across the white sandstone we found a couple just breaking camp. They said they had hiked in late the night before and were headed toward Death Hollow to spend the next night.
Shortly after passing them we encountered a group of eight college students from Chicago who were heading back to the trailhead. We assumed they had spent the night in Death Hollow. We met them right at the stream crossing. The stream was running very full and was difficult to cross. Once they all made it we made our crossing. The first gap wasn’t too bad, just a short jump across the roiling waters. But then we came to a wider spot where two narrow logs had been placed. We had to place our feet on one wet log, just inches above the water, and then lean over and grab the other log with our hands and inch our way across. We had to lean forward toward the rushing water. It was an awkward position, but we both made it okay. In warmer months, when there is less water, this crossing would be easy.
The stream water split into three channels in this area, so we had to cross one or the other several times before we reached an area where the trail climbed back out of the canyon. For most of the rest of the way we had to climb, mostly across slickrock.
Boulder Telegraph Wire
10:22 a.m.
We encountered the old Boulder telegraph wire for the first time. It is strung from tree to tree over the mountain. This spot was at GPS Coordinates 37 51.635N; 111 29.878W; at an elevation of 6,249 feet. The trail seems to parallel the old wire for most of its length. In some areas the wire runs along the ground. In other areas you have to be careful because the thin wire hangs low across the trail and a tall person could get caught in it.
Death Hollow
11:28 a.m.
We came through a lightly wooded area with juniper, pinyon, sage and ponderosa pine. It’s strange to see the ponderosa pine sticking out of the white Navajo Sandstone. Suddenly we were at the edge of Death Hollow, and everything opened up and away from us. So we explored a bit, with Anne trying to get up to a higher ledge where we might have been able to get a better view of the gorge. It looks fantastic, with sheer sandstone cliffs over a thousand feet high. But we didn’t want to go all the way down into there and then have to climb back out and make it all the way back to the trailhead.
So we stopped and ate some lunch. We had hiked 5.2 miles to that point. That will give us just about 10.5 miles round trip. Our walking speed averaged 2.6 mph. That’s not too bad, since much of it was up hill, and there was lots of loose sand. We spent 2 hours and 6 minutes of moving time.
The wind was strong and gusty, and cool. Anne put on her wind breaker. But the views are fantastic. The GPS Coordinates for where we stopped are 37 50.571N; 111 30.827W; at an elevation of 6,459 feet.
Return Hike
12:07 p.m.
We packed up and started the trek back to the trailhead.
On the way back we met the young couple who had camped near Sand Creek. We also met (nearer the trailhead) a couple of families out hiking, and a pair of 40ish guys out backpacking. The air got a bit warmer, but it wasn’t oppressive like it could have been. There was some cloud cover that really helped, and an occasional breeze from behind that pushed us along.
At one point we were coming down a slickrock face and my boots slipped. I ended up on my knees, but didn’t get hurt. That’s the first time I’ve fallen in years.
As we climbed the last bit of sandstone, below the area with the old snag fence, I found a broken mule shoe. I left it on top of a cairn for others to see.
2:48 p.m.
Back at the trailhead we changed from our boots and drank more water and then headed back to Escalante. The loose sand on the trail really got to me. It’s like two steps forward and one step back. You can spend a lot of energy pushing through that. I think this is a strenuous trail as much because of the sand as the steep climbs.
