Permits and Politics - Red Canyon, Phipps Arch, Egypt 3 - September-October 2013

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More water

In a left-hand bend of the canyon, we came upon a huge overhanging alcove of clean sandstone. Underneath the alcove was a flat open area, partially sandy and partially grassy. It would have been an excellent campsite if we were doing an overnight backpack. Instead, we stopped here for a snack break, enjoying the grandeur and peaceful silence of this little shady nook of desert wonderland.

Beautiful Alcove

The curious thing about this spot was... from any distant point, it would look like a blank, light-colored stretch of desert. Yet this fantastic spot, with a 200-foot high wall arching overhead and huge trees everywhere, was hidden within that blank stretch. The very essence of the Escalante: hidden gems.

Nearing the exit

After our snack break, it was back to forging down-canyon, pushing through patches of brush as necessary. Walls of now quite reddish sandstone, rounded into fantastic shapes, now lined the canyon sides. This, if you recall, was the nature of the rock in which we spied Phipps Arch, way back at the trailhead. This meant we were close to the scramble route that led out of Phipps Wash and up to Phipps Arch. We needed to be alert and not miss the poorly-indicated turnoff.

courtesy RHanel

Fremont Cottonwood Bark

The way up to Phipps Arch starts in a short side-canyon that joins with Phipps Wash about one kilometre upstream from where Phipps Wash empties into the Escalante. We soon came to a short side canyon, and a couple of faint footpaths led off in that direction. A quick glance at my GPS revealed that the location for the arch was very close, and that clinched it - we'd exit here.

Scrambly slopes

In 2006, we'd paid close attention and followed some intermittent cairns from this point. These led up over ledges of sandstone to a point just south of the arch. This year we must have paid less close attention, because we ended up scrambling up the ledgy terrain a little bit to soon. There were a few faint half-cairns that kept us believing that we may have been on the right route. When it became obvious that we had gone upwards too soon and were not on the right route, we didn't feel like bothering to downclimb and walk further along the side-canyon to the correct spot. So, we finished our steeper-than-necessary climb and came up to Phipps Arch from its northern side. Bottom line: if you are looking for the "proper" route up to Phipps Arch from below, look at my 2006 Escalante trip's tracklog. If you don't mind a bit of steeper scrambling, then by all means follow the way we went this time.

courtesy JInnes

courtesy RHanel

Scrambling up incorrect route

Climbing up towards the arch

courtesy JInnes

courtesy RHanel

Surmounting a ledge

Domes and Phipps Arch

The land surrounding Phipps Arch is a weird wonderland of curved rock. Domes, curves, alcoves, tunnels... and one big arch - all mostly colored a deep red.

Phipps Arch itself was not a little delicate thing. Instead, it was massive, stocky, heavyset: a thick squared-off ridge of red sandstone thrust out from a wall, with a low-slung arch carved along its base. It was the kind of arch that gave a sense of solidity and permanence.

courtesy RHanel

courtesy JInnes

Phipps Arch

Arches forming everywhere

Mushrooms of slickrock

Snapping pictures of the fantastic multi-shaped slickrock all around us, we made our way over to the arch. Under its span, we stopped for another snack break, sitting on the large angular boulders that had calved off its underside over the years.

courtesy JInnes

Under the massive arch

View from Phipps

Underneath Phipps

courtesy RHanel

Snack in the Arch

Phipps from southeast

Mushrooms of slickrock

Resting under the arch

A half hour of chatting and relaxing is all we could afford. We knew we had a fairly long walk back to the cars, and not all that much time to accomplish it before the sun set.

The next phase of the described loop involved the section that we were unable to complete in 2006 due to snow: a scramble up a so-called "4th-class" 40-foot slope. The slope was located a hundred or so yards north of Phipps Arch, at a low point in the undulating wall that enclosed the slickrock basin north of the arch.

courtesy RHanel

Domes and Alcoves

Starting "exit" route

Slickrock exit

Scrambling up a 10-foot step to the low point in the undulating wall revealed that it was actually a fairly narrow slickrock ridge, one with a large dropoff on the other side. The described route turned right, back in the direction of the arch, and climbed up the steep prow of the ridge. It was rather exposed, but it looked like a pretty reasonable friction climb.

One by one, we all successfully climbed this bit without a rope (the book describes a rope as being needed for those who wanted it - apparently none of us did). I went last, trusting entirely in the grip of my shoes, and soon I was atop a high dome of sandstone. Success!