The weekend of 27 Apr 07, Tracy and I backpacked Hurricane Wash (Google Map) in Escalante

National Monument.  This was a really cool hike.  The first couple of miles of the hike started in open

desert, and we had to take it really slow in the heat.  We didn't hit the trail until about 11 am (thanks to

yet ANOTHER flat tire on a dirt road 30 miles from the closest paved road), and the 80 degree day was

awfully hot in the open desert.  When we got into the canyon we took a break in the shade of a cliff, and

then continued on to Coyote Gulch.  The best campsite we found was where we rested about 2 miles in

just past a short slot section, so we backtracked and camped there for the night.  I wanted to camp

there because it was next to some nice slickrock, and there was a bright moon, and I wanted to enjoy it

from the slickrock.  We climbed up around dusk, watch the sun set and the moon rise...it was really

nice.  Then Tracy panicked when she had to climb down the steep slickrock in the dark, but she

survived.  There were some nice canyon sections, lots of water, some really pretty desert flowers, and

it wasn't too crowded.  This was our first desert backpacking trip since we got to Utah, and we really

enjoyed it.  It was already pretty hot, though, and we were rationing water toward the end of the hike.  I

think late April is probably the latest you can comfortably backpack in the open desert.  But we may

check it out more in the winter...even though it gets really cold in the winter.  I love slickrock, and I

enjoyed finding all the different desert flowers.