Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah's Escalante [Paperback]

Steve Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1997 | Series: Canyoneering (Book 3)

Utah’s Escalante country: a vast jigsaw puzzle of desert canyons, draws, defiles, gorges, slots, and washes demarcating upland expanses of slickrock, benches, and ridges, above which stand towers, pinnacles, and peaks. Inhabited for centuries by the ancient Puebloans and now managed primarily by various federal agencies, it is a land of stark contrasts and unforgettable beauty.

This guide features 37 major hikes designed to satisfy any canyoneer from novice to expert, including 20 in the new Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. All hikes are designed as loops, eliminating the need to backtrack or car shuttle for those inclined to do the full routes. Dayhikers can choose routes from an hour to all day, backpackers will find multi-day hikes, and those who prefer charting their own course will also profit from the information here.

Aside from the detailed route descriptions, Canyoneering 3 describes 14 road sections plus side roads to ensure time will not be lost finding a trailhead in this often confusing country. Also included are sections on geology, history, equipment, and technical canyoneering. Thoroughly researched, this is now the most comprehensive guide to the wonderland of the Escalante.

Hikes include: Death Hollow; Sand Creek; Boulder Mail Trail; Big Flat Wash, the Escalante River, and the Bowington Road; Middle Boulder Creek; Upper Boulder Creek and Dry Hollow; Phipps Wash; Big Horn Canyon; The Escalante River and the Sand Slides; Red Breaks Canyon; Harris Wash; Egypt 3-The Slot; Lower Harris Wash; Fence Canyon, the Escalante River, and Twenty-five Mile Wash; Twenty-five Mile Wash, the Escalante River, and Scorpion Gulch; Spooky and Peek-a-Book Gulches-The Long Loop; Upper Brimstone Gulch-The Slot; Scorpion Gulch and the Scorpion Horse Trail; Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Gulches-The Standard Loop; Coyote Gulch; Stevens Canyon and the Waterpocket Fold; Stevens and Fold Canyons; The Pollywog Bench Area; Forty-mile Creek and Willow Gulch Everett Russ; Fifty-mile Creek; Sixty Point and Twilight Canyon; Llewellyn and Cottonwood Gulches; Davis Gulch; Clear Creek and the Cathedral in the Desert; Deer Creek; Steep Creek and Horse Canyon; The Gulch and Horse Canyon; Little Death Hollow and Wolverine Creek; Egg Canyon and Lamanite Arch; Silver Falls Creek and Choprock Canyon; Deer Point-An Ascent; Moody Creek Canyons

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Steve Allen describes the Escalante National Monument as "a twisted, complex web of sandstone; a jigsaw puzzle of canyons, draws, gorges and washes." His guide, Canyoneering 3, is the latest installment in a series that helps debunk myths of desert hiking being little more than strolling over flat, sandy landscapes. Allen walks the reader through 23 hikes with necessarily wordy descriptions, proving that Escalante is as complicated as it is picturesque. The author is regarded as a legend among canyoneers; you couldn't find a better tour guide to steer you through. --Ben Tiffany

About the Author

Steve Allen has explored the canyons of southern Utah for over twenty-five years. He has guided many trips for the Sierra Club and is an instructor for the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: University of Utah Press; 1st Edition edition (October 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874805457
• ISBN-13: 978-0874805451
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steve Allen's book runs loops around other hiking guides, August 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah's Escalante (Paperback)

I have hiked the Escalante country several times, but, of course, nothing like Allen did in researching the terrain for this outstanding book. This guide is soooo much better than any of the Kelsey series that a comparison is inappropriate. If you plan to hike in the Escalante country, Allen's book will return the purchase price in the gas you save by using his road mileage/trailhead guides. This is only a start, Allen provides excellent historical, conservation, and geological information. His hike descriptions contain essential information about time required (and, these are reasonable estimates, unlike the grand-standing machoism of Kelsey), skill level required, and important details to keep you on-route. And, Allen lives in the area, something few hiking guide authors can report. His knowledge of the desert canyon country has been well-demonstrated in his previous guides about the San Rafael. And, he displays excellent ethics in his discussions about low-impact camping and how you can get involved in saving this gem of amazing space, tight canyons, your public land. This is a wonderful work-horse book, for the pragmatic explorer. Sorry, it only qualifies as a "coffee table" book if you are a true adventurer of delightful desert country. Rob Jones

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Masterwork of Backcountry Description, March 11, 2000

By 

Tom Jones "canyoneer" (Kane County, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah's Escalante (Paperback)

Oh My God. Having delved into this book in preparation for an upcoming week in the Escalante, I am bowled over by the breadth and depth of this phenomenal book. Amazing. This covers in fine detail backcountry travel routes in the very large and very wild Escalante area. Does not even compare to any other guide I have ever seen. There is such a depth of detail... Plus Steve's enthusiasm for the southlands exudes from the text.

This is an extraordinary book. Emphasis is on longer adventures, but there are also good day trips. Folks looking for placid strolls down well developed trails should probably look elsewhere. Not only are there few developed trails in the Escalante, but they are not described here.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young Turk, January 2, 2005

By 

Young Turk - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah's Escalante (Paperback)

If you have not used a Steve Allen guidebook before, they are indispensable in Canyon Country. His love of these places is evident in the care with which he writes. Steve has been hiking the Colorado Plateau for over 15 years now extensively and much of that time was spent researching this guidebook for the Escalante area. You won't find routes listed in here that were only hiked a single time, they were hiked, reworked, and double-checked many times. Canyoneering is hard core, and the routes into and out of the canyons are areas to easily get lost in. Good directions and good maps are a must. Steve's books also have lots of interesting tid bits on local and natural history. Check out Canyoneering I and II if you like this one.