Running in the Coyote Gulsh

Coyote Gulsh is one of the many spectacular places in the Escalante/Grand Staircase National Monument area of southern Utah.  The popular part of this hike is an approx. 8-mile section that goes down a meandering stream that is about ankle deep.  This stream gets larger and turns into a small river as you go down stream. It is surrounded by Canyon walls that are up to 1000 feet high, and that are often accompanied by side canyons.  As you hike through the gulsh, there are many significant sights including a large arch, a natural bridge, a number of natural amphitheatres, and 3 modest, but elegant waterfalls.  The foliage is varied and dense in many areas.  Awesome campsites are plentiful.  My father, who previously hiked through the area, described the place to me as “Nature’s playground.”

After a 32 mile drive down a dirt road called Hole in the Rock, and a 5 ½ mile hike through mainly unspectacular open desert in an area called Hurricane Wash that included an encounter with a small rattlesnake, I finally made it to the Coyote Gulsh.    Unfortunately, I started hiking late (just past noon), and did not get to Coyote Gulsh itself until about 3:00 or 4:00.  My plan was to hike the first 10 miles through Hurricane Wash and Coyote Gulsh, set up camp, and run the remaining 3 miles to the Escalante River, and then run back to my campsite.

After hiking approx. 10 miles, I set up camp as planned.  I purposely selected a campsite that was on the river, and across from a unique looking tree.  I thought that this was not only a nice campsite, but on that would be easy to identify on my way back from my run.

I was aware that is was late (about 7:00 p.m.), and that I had to hurry if I was going to be able to achieve my goal of running to the Escalante River and back-about 6 miles.  In addition to bringing about a quart of water in my Camelpak, I packed a map, compass, and a headlamp with me for my run.  I was traveling alone in a remote and unfamiliar area, so I wanted to make sure that I was adequately prepared.

The first part of the running was on trails that mainly followed the river through the canyon.  The trail was typical of what I had encountered so far in the Gulsh, mainly flat and meandering with numerous side canyons.  Often there were multiple trails, none of which were marked as this was in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) area.  After a mile or so, I encountered the first waterfall.  This required some scrambling on rock to get around.  I continued on my run, and I passed a couple that was camping next to the trail.  I imagine that they must have been somewhat startled to see someone running so far into the backcountry at this time of the day.

Additional scrambling was required to get around a second waterfall.  I was now getting concerned about the additional time I was using to get around the waterfalls.  The 3^rd waterfall proved to be the most challenging and time consuming.  At first I followed this trail on the canyon rim, thinking it would get me around the waterfall.  However, the ledge kept getting smaller, until it was almost non-existent.  At this point I was not running, in fact I was hardly walking.  I turned around, and found another route that was close to the creek.  Of course, this required more scrambling over rock. 

It was about this point that I knew I was suppose to encounter a “rock pile,” But because I had gone over so many rocks, I was not sure if I had already gone around it.  I knew that I was close to the Escalante River, but I was not sure of my location.  I was also very concerned that it was starting to get dark, and I did not want to have to be running in the dark, especially scrambling up rock to get around the 3 waterfalls.  I reluctantly made the decision to turn around go back before I got to the Escalante River.

As a result of going around the waterfalls rather quickly on my down, I was not able to remember how I had been able to negotiate them.  As I made my way around first 2 waterfalls on my way back, I could feel myself getting anxious about getting back before it was dark.  The last waterfall proved especially difficult, and I had to use a couple of difficult, and questionable maneuvers to get around it.  However, once I had made it around the last waterfall, I felt more comfortable, believing that I had finished the challenging part, and that it was only a little over a mile back to the campsite.

It was now really starting to get dark, and the scenery was not so distinguishable.  The fact that there were multiple trails at times, running parallel to each other made it difficult to navigate.  I tried to look for familiar sights, and I was seeing some.  However, it started to seem that it was taking longer than it should to get back to my tent.  Then all of a sudden I saw what I thought was the spot that I had originally considered using as a campsite, before I decided to move on to the campsite that I eventually selected.  At first I was not sure, and even started to continue running in the same direction.  I studied the immediate area very carefully, paying particular attention to a unique looking log, and it’s angle to the river.  I became pretty sure that I had passed my campsite, and decided to turn back. 

It was now almost totally dark.  I realized that although my headlamp would allow me to stay on the trail, it would not be much help in looking for my tent in the wilderness.  I began running in the middle of the river to help ensure that I would not pass my tent again.  At this point I started to get a little scared, and began anticipating each bend in the river.  In addition to it being almost dark outside, it was starting to get cold.  I was wearing a T-shirt, running shorts, and wet running shoes.  At about the time that I was really starting to worry, I thought I saw the tree that I had set up my tent next to, and there was my tent.  I cannot describe how relieved I was.  For about 10 or 15 minutes, I just sat in my tent contemplating how good it felt to be inside my simple shelter, and how small I felt in such a vast area.

 This run allowed me to experience many intense feelings like exhilaration, fear, humbleness, and contentment.  As usual, I look forward to going back to this area next year so that I may have another adventure.  Although next time, I will be a little more careful about choosing a campsite.

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