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The sun grew closer and closer to the horizon as we briskly walked north, hoping to intersect with the Old Sheffield (a.k.a. Spencer Flats) road before sundown. We walked through a section that apparently was ripe for the formation of so-called "Moqui Balls" - spherical iron-rich accretions in the Navajo Sandstone that weather out into curious round balls. Bunches of them had accumulated in little pockets in the rock.
courtesy RHanel
courtesy JInnes
courtesy SDusablon
Jagged Desert Life
Desert Daisies?
Birth of a Moqui Ball
courtesy RHanel
Cluster of Moqui Balls
Up towards the road
Roland
It was a scenic but tiring two hours of cross-country hiking from the red slickrock wonderland near Phipps Arch to the Old Sheffield Road. The sun was just setting as we arrived at the road, which was nice. It would be a lot easier to hike along a dirt road in the gathering dark than on cross-country desert terrain. In the interest of getting to the road as soon as possible, we had deviated slightly from Steve Allen's described route (which angled more directly west towards the start point instead of trying to intercept the road).
courtesy JInnes
Dusk falls
Arriving at road
Back to the car
Another thirty minutes of walking along the road brought us to the cars, a little over six hours after setting out. Success! We had re-done a failed route attempt from 2006 and completed it successfully this time. And it had been completely worth it: the extra bit which we had not managed [to complete] in 2006 was quite memorable.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Phipps Arch Loop - click map to view
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Phipps Arch Loop - click to view
Phipps Arch Loop - Hike Data
Start Time: 1:10p.m.
End Time: 7:30p.m.
Duration: 6h19m
Distance: 15.27 km (9.49 mi)
Average Speed: 2.4 km/hr (1.5 mph)
Start Elevation: 6004ft (1830m) *
Max Elevation: 6011ft (1832m) *
Min Elevation: 5279ft (1609m) *
End Elevation: 5968ft (1819m) *
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 1154ft (352m) *
Total Elevation Loss: 1220ft (372m) *
 
 
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Now finished with our day-hike, it was now time to find a place to camp. There aren't many official campsites in the Escalante area - the Calf Creek campground being one, and one at Escalante State Park being the other. But where we were, along the Old Sheffield Road, was another option. Totally free at-large camping - something encouraged at Grand Staircase-Escalante. I had seen several at-large campspots along this road before, and the others readily agreed to the idea when I suggested it. So, before it got too dark, we went hunting along the road for a spot to stop for the night.

We weren't sure if escapees (refugees?) from the shutdown were out in force or whether or not at-large camping along the Old Sheffield road was more popular these days, but we actually had a fairly hard time finding an empty spot. There were several excellent locations, some at scenic overlooks, but they were all already occupied. After driving back and forth for about twenty minutes, we settled on a less glamourous-looking spot quite close to the road (many of the spots are at the end of little side roads, and are more secluded). Happy that we managed to find anything at all, we quickly set up our tents in the gathering dark.
Clear Desert Night
After having well-earned dinners, we turned our attention to the night sky. It was a perfectly clear night, and the dry desert air, remote city-free location and relatively high altitude (about 6000 feet) contributed to fantastic viewing conditions. I put my camera on a tripod and turned it skyward, taking a one-minute exposure at ISO 3200 to capture a nice picture of the milky way. Dust lanes, patches of nebulae and star clusters were (are) all clearly visible.
Tents against the sky
Next, we set up a 'lit tent' long exposure shot. A quick burst of headlamp light from inside our tents during a four-minute long exposure nicely captured both the slow wheeling of the night sky, and our tents against the shadowy outlines of the dark desert.
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[ Return to "Permits & Politics" Home page | Introduction | Zion Setup Day | Watchman Trail | Lady Mountain | Hidden & Echo Canyons | Shutdown! | Red Canyon | Phipps Arch Loop | Egypt 3 | Kodachrome Basin | Middle Boulder Creek | Family Reunion & Devil's Garden | Escalante Backpack, Day 1 | Escalante Backpack, Day 2 | Old Escalante Rd & Cedar Breaks | Return Home | The "Short Report" | GPS Data

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