Cosmic Ashtray • Hike • Utah • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Oct 19 2024

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Escalante Hikes, UT

Hiking		Oct 19 2024
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	17.38 Miles	2,500 AEG

Hiking	17.38 Miles	7 Hrs 24 Mns		2.49 mph
	2,500 ft AEG	25 Mns Break	8 LBS Pack

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Lower Calf Creek Falls

Upper Calf Creek Falls

Cosmic Ashtray

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johnlp

trekkin_gecko

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Day 3 of 5 in Utah

After checking out of our place in Kodachrome SP, we headed to Escalante. Once again, due to weather, closures, and surprise openings, we adjusted our itinerary.

Lower Calf Creek Falls
6.44m / 800' AEG

This is a beautiful hike through a deep riparian canyon. The cottonwoods were just starting to change. It’s a relatively easy family hike, and the waterfalls at the terminus are quite impressive.
[ youtube video ]
We only passed a few hikers on the way in, so make sure to get there early to avoid the crowds. We passed a couple hundred people on the way out, and both the lot and overflow lots were full.

Upper Calf Creek Falls
2.53m / 744' AEG

This one gets less traffic than the lower falls. There is no signage on SR12 for this hike, but there were a few cars at the trailhead when we started. This hike is entirely different from the lower falls, as it drops steeply over mostly smooth rock to a less impressive upper falls. Still very nice, though. The hike out will give your lungs a workout!

Cosmic Ashtray
8.43m / 976' AEG

What is a Cosmic Ashtray? The hike starts out on an old two-track trail, then moves to a cairned route on slickrock, traversing mounds. There are cairns off and on to give you an idea of where to go, but it helps to have a GPS track to find the ultimate destination.
[ youtube video ]
The surrounding landscape was beautiful, but the real payoff was the ashtray—fine red sand in a white bowl, with a white mound in the middle. We returned generally the same way we came.

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

2 archives

Oct 19 2024

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Escalante Hikes, UT

Hiking		Oct 19 2024
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	17.48 Miles	2,236 AEG

Hiking	17.48 Miles
	2,236 ft AEG

no routes

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Lower Calf Creek Falls

Upper Calf Creek Falls

Cosmic Ashtray

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johnlp

The_Eagle

drove from kodachrome to escalante, stopping at the visitor center
the ranger guy thought we would be okay on spencer flat road, maybe not on hole-in-the-rock road given recent rainfall
we decided to hit lower calf creek falls first
set out before it got busy
nice to have the sandy trail packed down a bit
only two gals there when we reached the falls
lots of people on our way back out
on to the upper calf creek falls trailhead
this hike is a much different experience: shorter, steeper, almost entirely on slickrock
we checked out the falls from the top and the bottom and headed back up
we kind of wanted to do one of the escalante river hikes, but ended up on one of my favorites, cosmic ashtray aka the volcano
a mile of sandy two track, then off trail on slickrock around some rock formations and up to the ashtray
very unique geological feature
retraced our steps and checked into cabins at escalante outfitters
pizza and a few games of uno made for a nice evening
so much to do in this area
next time, hole-in-the-rock road hikes, weather permitting

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hazhole

Oct 19 2024

johnlp

Guides 1
Routes 14
Photos 7,202
Triplogs 5,208

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Escalante Hikes, UT

Hiking		Oct 19 2024
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	17.48 Miles	2,236 AEG

Hiking	17.48 Miles
	2,236 ft AEG

no routes

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Lower Calf Creek Falls

Upper Calf Creek Falls

Cosmic Ashtray

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The_Eagle

trekkin_gecko

Day 3 of our Utah hiking extravaganza.
Lower then upper calf creek falls hikes followed by the cosmic ashtray.
Cool stuff. Long day. Worth the effort.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Oct 16 2018

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Hiking		Oct 16 2018
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	8.31 Miles	848 AEG

Hiking	8.31 Miles	4 Hrs 22 Mns	2.17 mph
	848 ft AEG	32 Mns Break

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had recommendations for this one from @azwanderingbear and @azbeaver, and had read @steph_and_blake's description
today ended up being the best remaining weather for the trip even though we had cool temps and a brisk wind
trailhead is off spencer flat road, east of escalante, and might not have been passable the next two days
got going around 10:45 or so
followed steph's track pretty closely on the way
about 3/4 mile on a sand path, then along the base of some slickrock buttes, inititally east then southeast
after the path, completely off trail on slickrock

my first impression of this hike was that the cosmic ashtray aka the volcano aka islomania dome was simply a cool destination
the journey was awesome, too, with great views of the snow covered henry mountains and surrounding terrain
wrapped around the buttes more to the south, then a short ascent to the lip of the ashtray
very striking first appearance
dropped down into the shallow part of the slickrock bowl and took a break while sheltered from the wind
an amazing geological sight
there are waypoints floating around on the internet, but it was nice to have a gps track
didn't really need the track on the return except for finding the sandy jeep trail
interesting rock formations, thousands of moqui marbles, stellar views and slickrock

a great hike - highly recommended - my favorite of the trip
stayed at escalante cabins tuesday and wednesday nights

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hazhole

1 archive

May 06 2018

Steph_and_Blake

Guides 100
Routes 63
Photos 2,548
Triplogs 184

76 male

Joined Nov 21 2015
Grand Junction,

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Hiking		May 06 2018
		Steph_and_Blake • Triplogs 184

Hiking	8.00 Miles	475 AEG

Hiking	8.00 Miles	5 Hrs	2.00 mph
	475 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

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no linked trail guides

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See Description.

_____________________

Stephanie and Blake Barnard

May 06 2018

AZWanderingBear

Guides 27
Routes 61
Photos 2,620
Triplogs 700

69 male

Joined Jan 23 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Hiking		May 06 2018
		AZWanderingBear • Triplogs 700

Hiking	8.40 Miles	1,055 AEG

Hiking	8.40 Miles
	1,055 ft AEG

no routes

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AZBeaver

Steph_and_Blake

Fun out and back hike with a nice payoff. The start had some sand to slog through, but most is on slick rock. Great scenery along the way. Had to be thousands of moqui marbles (iron concretions) with some being quite large. One area had lots of pieces of volcanic extrusion from a thin layer breaking apart above us.

The Ashtray is visually stunning and different from anything I've seen yet. The orange sand is wind deposited and sifted fine and free of anything else. There are some moqui steps carved into the rocks face for accessing the sandy floor, but they looked a bit sketchy. With some rope at least one of our group would have tried dropping in.

I scrambled up to the highest point above for some photos. If you do that, be careful. There are a lot of large sandstone slabs that have broken loose and are ready to give you Mr Toad's Wild Ride to the bottom. But it is a nice view.

_____________________

All you have is your fire...
And the place you need to reach

2 archives

May 06 2018

AZBeaver

Photos 326
Triplogs 124

71 female

Joined Jan 04 2014
Phoenix, AZ

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Cosmic Ashtray

Southwest, UT

Hiking		May 06 2018
		AZBeaver • Triplogs 124

Hiking	8.40 Miles	1,055 AEG

Hiking	8.40 Miles
	1,055 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

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AZWanderingBear

Steph_and_Blake

One week after getting back from a 12-day trip floating down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, (my 4th trip!), I was invited to join my husband and two friends, Steph and Blake, who are experts at “overlanding” to explore what lies north of Lake Powell. So, we headed to southern Utah, again, exploring the Kaiparowits Plateau. This area is bounded by Lake Powell on the south, Escalante to the north, Hole In The Rock Road to the east and Cottonwood Canyon Road to the west. We hiked a fantastic area near the Hole in the Rock Road to the Cosmic Ashtray. This fun, 8-mile round hike takes you through sand and mostly slick rock. There’s great scenery along the way. Thousands of moqui marbles (iron concretions) with some being quite large dotted the area. One area had lots of pieces of volcanic extrusion from a thin layer breaking apart above us.

The Ashtray is visually stunning and different from anything I've seen yet. The orange sand is wind deposited and sifted fine and free of anything else. There are some moqui steps carved into the rocks face for accessing the sandy floor, but they looked a bit sketchy. With some rope, I would have tried dropping in. See more info on the Cosmic Ashtray at:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science- ... 180955188/

_____________________

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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