Pollywog Bench - Escalante 2015
The area east of the Escalante River in Grand Staircase National Monument is difficult to access. The area south of Stevens Canyon is called Pollywog Bench and it receives even fewer visitors. I have wanted to go there for a long time. The area is described in Steve Allan’s excellent guidebook, Canyoneering 3. In October 2015, Bob Madson and I planned a 5-night backpack. Unfortunately, we had a series of 5 rainstorms over a period of 4 days These storms caused flash floods in the canyons and made moving around difficult and dangerous. We were very lucky the we camped in alcoves that kept us dry. We did explore the area around the South Fork of Stevens Canyon but didn’t make it to Pollywog Bench. That will have to wait for another time.
SHORT ITINERARY
Day 1 - Hike from Coyote Gulch TH to alcove near confluence of Coyote Gulch and Escalante River.
Day 2 - Hike across Escalante River to the Arch Route (under Stevens Arch) up into Stevens Canyon and into the South Fork. We found a nice alcove camp above the 1st dry fall. Called it Upper Alcove Camp.
Day 3 - We did an exploratory hike. I found the route out of the South Fork that led to Pollywog Bench. But not have enough time to go very far. We had heavy rain in camp that afternoon.
Day 4 - Moved camp downstream a bit. Called it Lower Alcove Camp. Day hiked in the area.
Day 5 - Tried to hike back to Trailhead but were stopped by rain and high water. “Turn Around Day.” Returned to Lower Alcove Camp.
Day 6 - Layover day waiting for water to go down in the canyon. Stayed in Lower Alcove Camp for the 3rd time.
Day 7 - Hiked out. No problem crossing the Escalante River. Spent the night by the car at Coyote Gulch TH.
Day 8 - Hiked to Sunset Arch in the morning and started driving later. Had to do a lot of road work to get back to Escalante.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Warning - If you are not familiar with the Escalante area, you will need a map in hand to make any sense out of the route descriptions that follow. Looking at the first two map photos might help. Or you can skip the following description and just look at the annotated photos.
Day 0 - Oct 15
I drove to the town of Escalante and slept in my van in front of Bill Wolverton’s house.
Day 1 - Oct 16
I visited with Bill in the morning. Bob arrived about noon. We left my van in Escalante and drove down Hole-in the Rock Road in Bob’s Honda Civic. Our driving objective was the Coyote Gulch Trailhead by the Water Tank on 40-Mile Ridge. Leaving the car, we hiked east to the Escalante River and descended Crack-in-the-Wall. We camped in a very nice alcove very close to where Coyote Gulch meets the Escalante.
Day 2 - Oct 17
Stevens Canyon is the first major canyon upstream from Coyote Gulch. The usual route is to hike upstream along the Escalante River for a mile or so wading the stream as necessary. Turn right at Stevens Canyon and proceed East. Our plan today was to hike into the South Fork of Stevens Canyon which comes in from the South several miles up the Main Fork of Stevens Canyon. However there is another way into Stevens Canyon. We crossed the Escalante, hiked up a rough trail on the other side to reach a high ledge that passed through Stevens Canyon Arch. I call this route the Arch Route and it stays high above Stevens Canyon for a long way. Some dicy down climbing drops you into Stevens Canyon later on. We did this, reached the South Fork, and hiked until stopped by a dryfall. This was passed on the right and led to a nice camp under an alcove, where we spent the night. We called this Upper Alcove Camp.
Day 3 - Oct 18
The first rainstorm occurred during the night. After breakfast, we hiked north to a saddle which provides access to the ridge between the Main Fork of Stevens Canyon and the South Fork. Getting on the ridge required a 5th class move and then a stretch of 4th class. I proceeded ahead while Bill retreated back to the South Fork to explore upstream from there. I spent most of the day hiking along this ridge, first east and then south. I found the route onto Pollywog Bench but did not have time to explore it very far. I hiked back the way I came to our camp. Just after I returned about 5 PM, rainstorm No 2 occurred, which resulted in waterfalls everywhere. We spent the night in Upper Alcove Camp again.
Day 4 - Oct 19
We decided that we would hike out as soon as we could. But not today. We moved our camp a short distance downstream to a big alcove below the dryfall. We called this Lower Alcove Camp. We hiked down to the confluence of the South and Main Forks and found a rushing torrent. We spent the day exploring areas nearby. I found the Moki step route described by Allan which goes directly to the saddle we hiked to yesterday. I had no interest in doing the route but got a kick out of finding it! We had another big rainstorm in the early afternoon. We slept in Lower Alcove Camp.
Day 5 - Oct 20
We tried to hike out today. We managed to get downstream to the point where we had to climb back up to regain the Arch Route. (The route that goes under Stevens Arch.) And then it rained again- the 4th time. The rock was too wet to climb and the Stevens Canyon flooded and became too high for us to move up or down stream. We waited for several hours until the water subsided and then returned to the Lower Alcove Camp. We called this “Turn Around Day.”
Day 6 - Oct 21
Water was still too high to hike out. It appeared that there would be more rain. We did some short hikes around camp and took it easy. We were running low on food and fuel. Bob had brought an alcohol stove which did not work as efficiently as hoped. Luckily, we were able to cook with wood in the alcove. The 5th and last rainstorm occurred that night. Our 3rd night in Lower Alcove Camp.
Day 7 - Oct 22
Today we hiked out. There was still water flowing in the canyons but we were able to manage it OK. I was worried that the Escalante River might be too high to cross but it was not a problem. We hiked back to the Water Tank on 40-Mile Ridge. We camped next to our parked car.
Day 8 - Oct 23
In the early morning we hiked south to Sunset Arch and another arch nearby. The sun was shining and we wanted to give the road as much time as possible to dry off. We started driving out at 10 AM. We had to bypass some puddles on the dirt 40-Mile Ridge Road. The main Hole-in-the-Rock Road was full of gullies from the storm. We were lucky that another vehicle came by with a shovel and we a were able to fill in the gullies enough to get by. We eventually made it to Escalante and ate pizza at Escalante Outfitters.
Read MoreSHORT ITINERARY
Day 1 - Hike from Coyote Gulch TH to alcove near confluence of Coyote Gulch and Escalante River.
Day 2 - Hike across Escalante River to the Arch Route (under Stevens Arch) up into Stevens Canyon and into the South Fork. We found a nice alcove camp above the 1st dry fall. Called it Upper Alcove Camp.
Day 3 - We did an exploratory hike. I found the route out of the South Fork that led to Pollywog Bench. But not have enough time to go very far. We had heavy rain in camp that afternoon.
Day 4 - Moved camp downstream a bit. Called it Lower Alcove Camp. Day hiked in the area.
Day 5 - Tried to hike back to Trailhead but were stopped by rain and high water. “Turn Around Day.” Returned to Lower Alcove Camp.
Day 6 - Layover day waiting for water to go down in the canyon. Stayed in Lower Alcove Camp for the 3rd time.
Day 7 - Hiked out. No problem crossing the Escalante River. Spent the night by the car at Coyote Gulch TH.
Day 8 - Hiked to Sunset Arch in the morning and started driving later. Had to do a lot of road work to get back to Escalante.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Warning - If you are not familiar with the Escalante area, you will need a map in hand to make any sense out of the route descriptions that follow. Looking at the first two map photos might help. Or you can skip the following description and just look at the annotated photos.
Day 0 - Oct 15
I drove to the town of Escalante and slept in my van in front of Bill Wolverton’s house.
Day 1 - Oct 16
I visited with Bill in the morning. Bob arrived about noon. We left my van in Escalante and drove down Hole-in the Rock Road in Bob’s Honda Civic. Our driving objective was the Coyote Gulch Trailhead by the Water Tank on 40-Mile Ridge. Leaving the car, we hiked east to the Escalante River and descended Crack-in-the-Wall. We camped in a very nice alcove very close to where Coyote Gulch meets the Escalante.
Day 2 - Oct 17
Stevens Canyon is the first major canyon upstream from Coyote Gulch. The usual route is to hike upstream along the Escalante River for a mile or so wading the stream as necessary. Turn right at Stevens Canyon and proceed East. Our plan today was to hike into the South Fork of Stevens Canyon which comes in from the South several miles up the Main Fork of Stevens Canyon. However there is another way into Stevens Canyon. We crossed the Escalante, hiked up a rough trail on the other side to reach a high ledge that passed through Stevens Canyon Arch. I call this route the Arch Route and it stays high above Stevens Canyon for a long way. Some dicy down climbing drops you into Stevens Canyon later on. We did this, reached the South Fork, and hiked until stopped by a dryfall. This was passed on the right and led to a nice camp under an alcove, where we spent the night. We called this Upper Alcove Camp.
Day 3 - Oct 18
The first rainstorm occurred during the night. After breakfast, we hiked north to a saddle which provides access to the ridge between the Main Fork of Stevens Canyon and the South Fork. Getting on the ridge required a 5th class move and then a stretch of 4th class. I proceeded ahead while Bill retreated back to the South Fork to explore upstream from there. I spent most of the day hiking along this ridge, first east and then south. I found the route onto Pollywog Bench but did not have time to explore it very far. I hiked back the way I came to our camp. Just after I returned about 5 PM, rainstorm No 2 occurred, which resulted in waterfalls everywhere. We spent the night in Upper Alcove Camp again.
Day 4 - Oct 19
We decided that we would hike out as soon as we could. But not today. We moved our camp a short distance downstream to a big alcove below the dryfall. We called this Lower Alcove Camp. We hiked down to the confluence of the South and Main Forks and found a rushing torrent. We spent the day exploring areas nearby. I found the Moki step route described by Allan which goes directly to the saddle we hiked to yesterday. I had no interest in doing the route but got a kick out of finding it! We had another big rainstorm in the early afternoon. We slept in Lower Alcove Camp.
Day 5 - Oct 20
We tried to hike out today. We managed to get downstream to the point where we had to climb back up to regain the Arch Route. (The route that goes under Stevens Arch.) And then it rained again- the 4th time. The rock was too wet to climb and the Stevens Canyon flooded and became too high for us to move up or down stream. We waited for several hours until the water subsided and then returned to the Lower Alcove Camp. We called this “Turn Around Day.”
Day 6 - Oct 21
Water was still too high to hike out. It appeared that there would be more rain. We did some short hikes around camp and took it easy. We were running low on food and fuel. Bob had brought an alcohol stove which did not work as efficiently as hoped. Luckily, we were able to cook with wood in the alcove. The 5th and last rainstorm occurred that night. Our 3rd night in Lower Alcove Camp.
Day 7 - Oct 22
Today we hiked out. There was still water flowing in the canyons but we were able to manage it OK. I was worried that the Escalante River might be too high to cross but it was not a problem. We hiked back to the Water Tank on 40-Mile Ridge. We camped next to our parked car.
Day 8 - Oct 23
In the early morning we hiked south to Sunset Arch and another arch nearby. The sun was shining and we wanted to give the road as much time as possible to dry off. We started driving out at 10 AM. We had to bypass some puddles on the dirt 40-Mile Ridge Road. The main Hole-in-the-Rock Road was full of gullies from the storm. We were lucky that another vehicle came by with a shovel and we a were able to fill in the gullies enough to get by. We eventually made it to Escalante and ate pizza at Escalante Outfitters.