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By 4:40pm, we were ready to start our journey back to the start point. We had a solid four or five kilometres of gradually ascending terrain to cover - not a lot, mind you, but after the fairly tiring adventure down the slot and considering that we were behind schedule getting Roland and Stephanie back to the trailhead, it was going to be somewhat of a slog.
courtesy AHyndman
Beginning journey back
Wispy Desert Sky
Natural highway
The route back to the start point essentially involved following a long, slightly humped slickrock ridge. Roughly paralleling Egypt 3 to its east, the ridge gradually ascended, eventually terminating at the southern edge of the high flat where the cars were located.
courtesy AHyndman
courtesy AHyndman
Scenic Slickrock
Egypt 3 tributary
Jabba's palace ahead
In spite of our tired and bedraggled state, we enjoyed the hike back. The ridgeline of slickrock was very scenic, the weather was calm and the late-day light very photogenic.
courtesy SDusablon
courtesy SDusablon
courtesy AHyndman
Following the crest
Around the sprinkled hill
Spirograph of the Desert
Near the north end of our rising ridgeline, we skirted around the base of a couple of big highpoints, then climbed a bit of steep slickrock to reach the southern edge of a bench - the bench we had descended off of at the start of our journey back in the morning. I had used our GPS to chart a slightly more direct course, arriving at the rim at a point more in-line to the cars, shaving off a bit of distance as a result. A short walk along a shallow wash brought us to the Egypt road, not more than a stone's throw from the cars.
Nearing the rim
Nearing the rim
Nearing the rim
We had made excellent time from the rope pick-up point near the bottom of Egypt 3 back to the cars. In fact, we covered just over 5 kilometers (3 miles) in just one hour and 38 minutes. Fast! I'd like to single out Stephanie for near-heroic achievement here - unbeknownst to us, her slip and resulting twist back near the start had been more serious than she let on, and she was in serious discomfort on the hike back. Nevertheless, she refused to slow down and did a very good job concealing indications of her pain.
courtesy AHyndman
courtesy JInnes
Final rim-walk
Arriving back at cars
Tired but happy
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Egypt 3 - click map to view
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Egypt 3 - click to view
Egypt 3 Loop - Hike Data
Start Time: 10:07a.m.
End Time: 6:19p.m.
Duration: 8h11m
Distance: 12.28 km (7.63 mi)
Average Speed: 1.5 km/hr (0.9 mph)
Start Elevation: 5573ft (1699m) *
Max Elevation: 5677ft (1730m) *
Min Elevation: 4772ft (1454m) *
End Elevation: 5649ft (1722m) *
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 986ft (301m) *
Total Elevation Loss: 976ft (297m) *
 
 
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
A 6:19pm finish for a hike is actually quite reasonable - except that we had planned for a 4pm finish in order to accommodate Roland and Stephanie's drive back to Vegas. After briefly chatting with an older gentleman who had trundled by in his pickup truck and had reminisced about taking groups of school kids down Egypt 3 many years ago, we headed off, back along the long and sometimes tedious road back to Escalante.
Farewell to Egypt
It took us the better part of an hour to get back into the town of Escalante, where we filled up the Captiva with gas, then dropped into the Prospector Inn, where Arn, Kyle, Jenn and I had booked a room for the night. Roland and Stephanie made a very quick pitstop in our room's bathroom, attempting to make themselves at least a little bit presentable for their upcoming Vegas strip hotel check-in. Even so, they still looked pretty bedraggled.

Roland and Stephanie then hopped into the Captiva rental car, and we waved them a final goodbye. It was going to be a post-midnight arrival in Vegas for sure!
Battle casualties
Thus ended the "Roland and Stephanie" phase of our trip. Tired but nicely satisfied with the day's accomplishments, we turned our minds to the thought of food. Tired of camp food, we decided to eat at the Circle D restaurant in Escalante, one of the few places to eat in town, just across the street from the Prospector Inn.

After a very filling and satisfying meal (the Circle D restaurant actually has pretty good food), we returned to our motel rooms, glad for the break from camping. It had been many days since we'd had a hot shower and a soft bed.
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