Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah’s Escalante: 03

I really like this book. Was able to identify some hikes that I want to take. Great detail on what you can expect at nearly every step. It is an older publication, so consider that the information may be only slightly outdated. I will take this with me when I hike.

Hiking

This book was copyright in 1997 and is an exhaustive report on trekking the canyon trails around Escalante. However, the detail is existential. If one has not read the entire book, it is not easy to determine which route options are more desirable. There is no high-level overview. No indices. Just loads of detail.

This book was just what it said it was. I was looking for a loop hike in the Escalante Grand Staircase area for the coming Spring. I was happy with the descriptions of the trails and the options available.

I just received this book and since Canyoneering 2 said Technical and 3 did not I expected more family and senior friendly hikes. I was able to find downloadable maps for this book and intend to carry a Laptop and printer with us on our trip so I can cut paste and print relevant parts of the maps for the hikes. Even with the cost of an inverter and ink it will still be way cheaper than buying the individual maps and then only needing a small area of the map for the individual hike. Each hike is broken into segments and some sections are more difficult so some will be there and back again hikes for us. We are interested in photographing the canyons and slots and needed easy in and out hikes. We have no problem camping on the hike and know how to tread lightly. We have been to Utah several times but only for the standard 2 week vacation in retirement we are planning six week trips so need hikes a bit more easy on the joints. I have climbed when younger and we plan to take classes and get the newer gear but will only use it to assist on steeper trails and descents in the 3 range to make sure we do not have any problems. At first glance on a couple of canyons I had researched on line the sections are a bit hard to follow and understand. He also puts extra notes in for hard core canyoneers but so far I have seen nothing aimed at identifying sections that would be family friendly. While it states for all skill levels often the easy section is a major hike from the trailhead and ropes and climbing gear are needed near the trailhead.It would have been nice to better identify easy hikes by indenting or printing in a different font. A lot of the book and sections of the hikes are biographical with anecdotal stories while entertaining I bought the book for acurate information and while stories of close calls certianly illustrate the care and caution needed they take up space that could have been better used describing the routes more accuratley. This is an older dated book but titles on these hikes are not common so it is a buy what you can find. I am looking for a newer guide with GPS data I have been using a GPS for over 10 years and expect that they are a common item with hikers. We all know that printed maps are still needed incase the unit is dropped and damaged or fails.Not sure what is out there that is more up to date but I will be looking for it. This is good for identifying hikes and with a bit more time I should be able to sort out the non technical areas and select which trails to research more. I have copied and pasted routes from some Blogs to Word Documents and so am sort of creating my own guide. The issue here is most are written by 20 and 30 somethings with a two meter stride and when you compare two it is often like reading about two different trails. I had better hopes for this guide as he is considered one of the top few in this area and since beginner is in the description it needed better organizzation and a different writing style to convey the material to them an avoidance of insider terms when writing for that audience is really needed and for those of us that have not climbed for nearly 40 years.Bill Lewis