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| Old Tanner Escalante Butte, AZ | |
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| | Old Tanner Escalante Butte, AZ | | | |
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Old Tanner Escalante Butte, AZ
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| Hiking | 9.30 Miles |
3,500 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.30 Miles | 7 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.47 mph |
| 3,500 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | | | |
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| partners | | A last minute change of plans due to a stormy forecast. I met Pernell and Dave with the idea to descend Old Tanner and ascend the current trail, staying above the redwall. If the weather held we could also tag Escalante Butte. I wore approach shoes for the first time and I sure do like them for the off-trail shenanigans.
The top of Old Tanner - Kaibab and Toroweap - were pretty loose but the biggest danger was falling on cacti. We followed a drainage through the Coconino and Supai with only one bypass. It was fun seeing this section of canyon, which feels kind of like a corner. At the redwall contact we left the bed and followed decent game trails to the west. There were many gullies but only one was "involved". We found two large cairns, probably from the mining days, but no other traces. If sections of original trail are still there it's only because the sheep maintain them.
We had excellent weather (overcast and dry) when we reached the modern trail so we made a detour up Escalante. I found a second mylar balloon and retrieved it for some good "canyon karma". The route and scrambling were straightforward. I didn't savor the jump to the summit block, though. On our way down we took a shorter route straight from the ridge to the Tanner/75mi saddle, which was remarkably easy and fast. We got some light rain.
This was my first real hike in a month and the climb out was harder than usual. Still, it was infinitely better than our snowy hike in March. For the first time I reached the last switchback without realizing we were so near the rim. Usually, I think it's just one more corner for a whole 15 minutes. |
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