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| Backpack | 28.50 Miles |
8,348 AEG |
| | Backpack | 28.50 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 8,348 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Two distinct summits viewed from Ochoa Ridge back in early March caught my eye, so naturally they were added to my ever growing todo list of Canyon summits. The summits that caught my eye were the Tabernacle and Solomon Temple. Although, at the time, I actually misidentified Solomon Temple and called it Sheba. Either way, I knew I wanted to get back for the two prominent summits in an area of the Canyon that I had not spent that much time in. I cross loaded from my usual Canyon partners for the two objectives and went with a team of Karl, Dave and Spencer. Our initial plan was for a Tabernacle and Solomon linkup in a semi ambitious overnight trip utilizing a creative variation of the Escalante Route.
A 4:15 a.m. start from Lipan Point after setting up our shuttle with Kathy in the morning. We made it to the river in 3 hours and 45 minutes and walked another 20 or so minutes to the end of Basalt Rapids and launched our boats there. The float to Rattlesnake went smoothly and we enjoyed it. In particular, I liked the portage through Unkar and the prehistoric sites along the way, to include a pretty dilapidated granary that was visible from the river just after our portage at Unkar. After filtering ample water and taking a few minutes to rest, we were off for the Tabernacle by 12:15. It only took us an hour and 20 minutes to reach the summit, but we were feeling the heat after the steep ascent. After a quick discussion, we all agreed we could probably gut out Solomon Temple too, but we decided that getting back to the river and enjoying our surroundings was more appealing than another 2 hours or so in the heat, tacked on to our steep descent. The descent seemed to get warmer with every step we took and it was a bit of a knee rattler, so we were all relieved to get back to the river and our sliver of shade at Rattlesnake Beach.
With our new found confidence on the river, we decided to remove much of the walking from our itinerary and ended up floating to Hance Rapid, which included several portages and more spectacular scenery and good times. An incredible way to see the Canyon. It had been 8 years since I hiked the full length of New Hance from the river, so it was like a new trail to me and I actually enjoyed our final leg out of the Canyon.
A fantastic weekend in the Canyon with another good group. We have had a productive spring in the Canyon. I can't wait to get back to this area for a few days with the float and approach beta dialed in. So much for shoulder season, it's getting hot up there. |
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