Down The Trail

Escalante Butte is seen to the left, with the white-capped Coconino Sandstone

It was already late in the afternoon on August 21st when I decided to go for a hike. I speedily threw some things into my day pack and drove out to Lipan Point, and the Tanner trailhead. Escalante is the highest of a number of buttes that rise from a ridge along the upper Tanner Trail. It’s touted as an easy climb, as the majority of the route entails simple off-trail Grand Canyon scrambling. The final pitch to the summit, however, requires a bit of finesse.

the eastern end of Grand Canyon as it turns to the north… Cardenas Butte, Comanche Point, Tanner Canyon, the Palisades of the Desert…

It was late in the evening as I descend the Tanner Trail. In order to have any chance of reaching the summit by sunset, I’d have to hurry.

…though I still found a moment for a hasty self-timed photo

the objective, as seen from 75-mile saddle and the Stegosaurus Rocks

Desert View Watchtower

The evening light shines into upper 75-Mile Canyon.

From a location just north of Stegosaurus Rocks, I left the Tanner Trail at the simplest-looking spot and scrambled to the crest of the ridge to the west. Following the ridgeline to the south and west led me to the upper reaches of Escalante Butte. When reaching the Coconino it’s necessary to traverse to the north slope, but the route is very straighforward.

The view from the top!

Fittingly, much of the popular Escalante Route is visible below. Seventy-Five Mile Creek sits on the west side of this photo, and Escalante Creek lies directly below.

There are two primary summit blocks, divided by this deep treacherous crack. The one seen to the right, the true summit, is the higher of the two by only about a foot. A bold leap or some serious climbing skill is required to reach the highest block, so I admittedly did not attain the utmost top of the butte.

I like this shot, because of its unique view of the most notable eastern Grand Canyon features on the north side of the river.

The bend in the river seen here is home to the Unkar Creek Rapids.

north along the ridge toward Cardenas Butte

I didn’t leave the summit of Escalante until after sunset, so much of the hike out the Tanner Trail was done by headlamp. It was in the high switchbacks that I had my first encouter with a rattlesnake in the Grand Canyon. I heard it rustle into the brush and irritatedly shake its tail, but never saw the thing through the darkness. I wasn’t about to go poking around for it, either.

For me, Lipan Point has always seemed to be a windy, chilly place, even on this starry August night.