THE GOLDEN CATHEDRAL
I’ve wanted
to hike to the Golden Cathedral in Neon Canyon in the Grand Staircase Escalante
National Monument ever since I first read about it in Michael Kelsey’s
guidebook. The Golden Cathedral is a
unique feature. There, Neon Canyon’s
slot turns vertical, dropping through a series of natural bridges before
opening into a redrock chamber. Early in the season, there is a pool at the
base of drop. The canyon above is dry,
though it must create a spectacular waterfall during a flood.
The Golden Cathedral
is not easy to get to. Neon Canyon is a
minor tributary of the Escalante River, many miles downstream from highway 12
and the town of Escalante, Utah. It’s
quite a few miles upstream from Lake Powell, too. The only practical way to get there, outside
of an extended backpacking trip, is from the Egypt Trailhead. This trailhead is located at the end of 9-mile
road off of Hole in the Rock Road. The
spur road is pretty rough. There are
varying opinions on the internet, but most sources suggest that high clearance
4WD is necessary.
I’d made
several trips to Escalante over the years, but never in a 4WD vehicle. On our last visit, we were driving a high
clearance SUV, but it didn’t have 4WD. I
was thinking about attempting the drive, but we were talked out of it by a Park
Ranger. For this trip, I was
contemplating all sorts of options. I
considered renting a Jeep in Escalante, or hiring an outfitter to drop us off
and pick us up. Ultimately it wasn’t
necessary, since we lucked into getting a 4WD rental. We were definitely going to take advantage of
it!
We left the
Upper Calf Creek Falls parking area and drove back towards Escalante. Before town, we turned off on the historic
Hole in the Rock Road. This road was
built by Mormon pioneers in 1880. The crossing
of the Colorado River was considered an engineering marvel, as it required 6
weeks of blasting through the cliffs to allow the passage of the wagons. If you are interested in reading about the
history of the route, this is an excellent source of information: http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/pioneers_and_cowboys/hole-in-the-rocktrekremainsanepicexperience.html
The modern Hole
in the Rock Road is a good road, with the exception of the last couple of
miles, which are rough. We headed down
it, using Kelsey’s guidebook for directions.
This strategy was flawed.
Kelsey’s guidebook is great for coming up with ideas for hikes. It’s not great for providing details, like
how long or hard the hike is, or how to get to the trailhead. He does provide some directions, but they are
often vague or inaccurate. We had a
little trouble finding the trailhead for Upper Calf Creek because the book
references the wrong mile marker. Even
worse, Kelsey stubbornly makes all references to distance and elevation using
the metric system. The metric system may
be scientifically superior, but topo maps are in feet, not meters. Mile markers and highway signs are in miles,
not kilometers.
Kelsey
indicated that the turn off for Egypt was about 32 kilometers down Hole in the
Rock Road from highway 12. That is about
20 miles. We knew it was a bit of an
estimate, so we started looking for the turn after 17 miles or so. We drove for several miles, but didn’t see
anything more substantial than the occasional faint track. After another couple of miles
we reached an unmarked road, but it looked very primitive. After another mile
we reached another primitive road.
Neither looked right. We
continued, but reached Cat Well a few minutes later. At that point I knew
we had missed it.
I had the
topo map on my GAIA app, which showed our location. Unfortunately the topo
map doesn’t show the road to Egypt, so it wasn’t very helpful. We drove back up Hole in the Rock Road. We tried both primitive roads briefly, but
neither seemed right to me. The other
maps and guidebooks weren’t any help, either.
Finally we decided to head back into town. If we could get a cell signal there (iffy) we
could find better directions on the internet.
If that didn’t work, we’d stop at the ranger station and get help.
We were 16
miles from highway 12 when we passed a wide road with a sign that said
“Egypt”. The sign was facing towards us,
but there wasn’t a corresponding sign for traffic coming from highway 12. Plus, we weren’t even really looking when we
passed by the first time, because, you know, 16 miles isn’t particularly close
to 20.
The 9 mile drive to Egypt was an adventure. Most of the road was fine, but there were
some rough spots. Twice we drove through
dry, rocky riverbeds. The high clearance
was definitely a necessity. It may be
possible to make it without 4WD, but attempting it would be risky due to
occasional steep or sandy areas.
We made it
the trailhead at the end of the (somewhat) civilized road. An even more primitive road continues north
from here, but I don’t know where it goes.
There were a couple of cars at the trailhead, but no people when we
arrived late that morning. We packed up
under sunny skies, with temperatures in the low 90’s. It really warmed up fast, after being in the 40’s
(or lower) early that morning. We
followed one of several paths leading east towards the rim of the plateau. When we reached the brink, we gazed out at an
expansive view across the canyons of the Escalante. There was nothing but sandstone slickrock for miles in every direction, with domes and fins
of rock rising into the sky from the depths of the canyon bottoms. The Roadrunner and Coyote would be at home
here. It would’ve been worth the long
drive out here just for this view, but we were just getting started.
A steep
descent over slickrock followed. Cairns marked several different routes, and I
was uncertain about which one to follow.
I figured that they would all end up in the same place, but which one
would be easier? We ended up staying far
left, which offered a smooth but possibly steeper route down. That evening we came up the opposite
side. That route wasn’t as steep, but
there were more loose rocks and we had to zigzag around a lot to find a way
through.
Once at the
bottom we picked up the route along a sandy wash. The deep sand was tedious to walk through,
but in places it was unavoidable.
Eventually we left the wash, which probably becomes Fence Canyon. Fence Canyon was our initial goal, but it
can’t be accessed directly due to an intervening cliff. We stayed on the route, which is sporadically
marked with cairns. We did get off the
route once for a little while before I was able to steer us back in the correct
direction. Later we discovered that a
cairn had fallen over and we had missed a turn.
Before long
we found ourselves walking along the rim of Fence Canyon. This stretch featured more spectacular views. Eventually the route took us out onto a
narrow ridge between Fence Canyon and a major tributary. From here, switchbacks and mild scrambling
delivered us to the bottom of Fence Canyon.
Fence Canyon has water under the surface, and the moisture allows trees
and shrubs to grow. All of that greenery
allows deer flies to thrive. We found
that out shortly after reaching the bottom.
Due to the heat, we were only wearing shorts and t-shirts, so we didn’t
have much protection from the biting flies.
We made it
down to the Escalante River, which is shallow and slow in late June. We put on water shoes and started down the
river. Walking in the water was
peaceful, and there were very few flies.
After a short distance we reached a bend in the
river. We spotted a path climbing the
bank there. It cut through the woods to
rejoin the river farther downstream. We
went that way, but regretted it. The
files were even worse in the trees adjacent to the river. After that mistake, we stayed in the river as
much as possible.
Farther
downstream we passed a petroglyph panel.
It was impressive, but unfortunately it had been vandalized. Some moron had added his own drawings,
effectively ruining it forever. I was
surprised – usually people that do that sort of thing are way too lazy to walk
this far. Hopefully he got bit by a
rattlesnake or fell off a cliff on the hike out.
We reached
the mouth of Neon Canyon a few minutes later.
There is a huge fallen Cottonwood here, which makes a good sign. We hiked up the side canyon, thinking we were
only a few minutes from the Golden Cathedral.
Kelsey’s book says it is about 1KM, but it was actually about a
mile. Along the way we hiked through a
pretty canyon. Early on we passed under
a couple of alcoves that looked like arches under construction. Most of the hiking was easy, but there were a
couple of places where boulder scrambling was necessary. We actually passed two guys heading out shortly
before we arrived. Our timing was
perfect, as we ended up having the place to ourselves for a while.
It was late
afternoon when we arrived, thanks to the long drive and getting lost that
morning. It may be possible to catch the
Golden Cathedral with the sun shining down into it, but I’m not sure what the
optimal time would be. My guess is late
morning in the summer, but I’m not certain about that. I was content with our timing, anyway. It was late enough that the entire chamber
was in the shade. That provided optimal
conditions for photography. I took many
photos there, from every conceivable angle.
Aside from the photos, I really enjoyed standing at the edge of the pool
and gazing up through the natural bridges into the shadowy slot canyon above.
A bit later
another group arrived. Incredibly, the
college kid from Minnesota that we’d met the previous afternoon was with
them. The group consisted of 4 young
interns / employees with the National Park Service / National Forest
Service. They had been assigned to look
for a pair of missing hikers in the area.
Apparently, the hikers had started at Coyote Gulch a few days
earlier. Their plan had been to hike
down Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River, then up the river and up Fence Canyon
before finishing at the Egypt Trailhead.
Their car had been at the trailhead when we’d started our hike earlier
in the day. The guys we’d seen earlier
didn’t match the description of the missing hikers, and we hadn’t seen anyone
else. The search party hadn’t seen
anyone, either.
Christy and
I spent over an hour there. Eventually
we had to leave if we hoped to make it back to the trailhead before dark. The college kids had started out a few
minutes ahead of us. The hike back was
largely uneventful, but there were a few highlights. Just before reaching the Escalante River,
Christy spotted a big frog. We spooked
him, and he entertained us by climbing up a small but sheer cliff face. Later we caught up with the college kids at a
swimming hole. We were checking out the
fish there when somebody spotted a snake.
We watched him swim around in the pool for a couple of minutes before he
disappeared.
We did a
better job staying on route on the hike out.
We reached the car and the rim of the plateau shortly before
sunset. Our original plan had been to
find a campsite along Hole in the Rock Road that night. It was getting late though, and we were
surrounded by great places to camp.
There wasn’t anyone around, so we didn’t see any reason to leave. We picked one near the east rim of the
plateau. It had a great view, and
offered the promise of a fine sunrise the next morning.
We cowboy
camped that night, as there weren’t adequate trees for our hammocks. Setting up the tent seemed like a waste of
time. We had a nice dinner, drank some
beers, played some Widespread Panic, and enjoyed a colorful sunset and a sky
full of stars. The only mishap occurred
early on. I left my glasses in my camp
chair while getting something. Christy
didn’t realize it, and tossed a package of baby wipes into the chair. Incredibly, the impact was enough to break the
frames. Taping them didn’t work. Christy put a lot of effort into getting them
fixed over the next few days, but didn’t have any luck. I spent the last two weeks of our trip
without them. Luckily
I’m not completely blind, and I was able to replace the frames shortly after we
returned home.
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