Photo Friday! Backpacking Coyote Gulch

Back in April I took a little trip to Utah and visited some cools spots in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument--some old friends, some brand new. A highlight was a 2-night backpack trip into Coyote Gulch, in part because I'd intended to do this in 2023, but was stymied when I broke my foot. It was good to finally get there.

As usual, I have too many photos I want to share, and will have to break this into two posts!

Day 1
There are at least 3 ways into lower Coyote Gulch (that don't involve boats). Two of them involve a 4WD road (probably mostly passable to sedans) and some moderately unnerving scrambles. We chose the 3rd way, which means a longer hike (and an excuse to stay out 2 nights instead of the one most people gave the area).

We dropped in via Hurricane Wash, an easy hike in in the morning's coolness, a bit longer on the way out in the heat.

We in fact started about 9:20, by the time we finished fussing with gear. We weren't too worried about heat that morning, as the overnight storm I mentioned in the report on Willow Gulch had left snow on the mountains not that far above us.

That ridge isn't usually white.

Before we start hiking down Hurricane Wash, a couple of things to know about this hike. One is that the TH is about 35 miles down the unpaved road, mostly in good shape but sometimes kind of bad with washboards. The other is that Coyote Gulch is a pack it ALL out hike. Be sure to take a WAG bag and use it. The gulch is narrow, mostly creek bed, and has too heavy use for campers to be digging cat holes. 

That said (and done), it's a gorgeous place!

The first couple of miles are pretty wide open, looking down into the sandstone wonderland. On a pleasant morning it was a nice walk.

Eventually we entered a narrows, where the streambed runs between fairly high cliffs, maybe 25 or 30 feet apart.

At first, it was just some nice shade.

This was where we found the reminders that it had rained the previous night, and rained hard. The mud was slick and sticky, a reminder of what could happen to the road. Other places all the moisture was gone, but in the narrows the sun and wind hadn't yet done their thing.

Here at the narrowest part, there was no escaping the gluey goo.

The goo is cool-looking, though.

 

After about 3 miles, we are walking at the bottom of something more properly called a canyon, where the shade keeps everything cool.

Even the previous night's snow/hail is still cool!

 Dropping into Coyote Gulch.

 
We weren't sure what to expect in terms of water--there was supposed to be reliable water in Coyote Gulch, but maybe not until we reached our camp. Instead, we found water in Hurricane Wash, and a good-sized stream (for the desert) in Coyote. Getting to camp with dry feet proved beyond my skills as the trail swung back and forth from one side of the creek to the other.

The reason for the many crossings should be clear here.

Our target for the day--a little over 8 miles in--was Lobo Arch (aka Jacob Hamlin Arch). It was nice to spot the arch in the early afternoon.

 

Our camp spot was just through the opening, but it's not very accessible that way. We had to walk another half mile around the end of the fin (with 2 more creek crossings) to reach the place where we wanted to stop.

Looking back around the corner

Finally set up camp. Ordinarily we'd "cowboy camp" in a desert setting like this, but the combination of the previous night's storm (and lingering chill), and our camp being of necessity right by the trail, led to the decision to use our tents.

Home, sweet home!

One drawback of our selected campsite was the narrow, deep canyon at this point. The sun went off about 3:00, and didn't come back. A few last rays shone through the arch to help dry our shoes. With no sun, and us being hungry and tired, we were soon chilly as well. Hikers coming through late in the afternoon probably thought it was odd to see us wearing our puffy jackets!

Last light.

 

I think that's enough photos for today! Next week I'll share our layover day (with a hike to Coyote and Cliff arches) and the hike out next weekend!

 

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025   
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.

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