Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: Explorer Canyon

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: Explorer Canyon

Author:	jackerson
Date:	24 Apr 2006 6:03:59 PM
Activity:	Not Specified
State:	Utah (UT)
Distance:	3.37 mi (Change units)
Elevation:	Total Gain: 1196 ft Total Loss: 1777 ft Net Change: -581 ft
Difficulty:	5 / 10
Tags:	Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah
Rating:	Unrated Rate it

Venture into the lost world of the ancient Fremont people where smoke-stained grottos and some of the finest petroglyphs around highlight this 4-mile journey. THE WAY: Explorer is 12 miles up the escalante from Lake Powell by boat or kayak. Tie up where you beach, then walk upstream, crossing small waterfalls and .5 mile of resurfaced canyon. At the high-water mark, take the faint trail on the north side of the canyon. Allow 3 to 4 hours for the 4-mile round trip.

Position Format:	Datum:

Tracks

EXP01

Dist: 3.37 mi	Points: 518	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Glen Canyon: Explorer Canyon

Points of Interest

EXP001

Location: 37.368351°, -110.943497°
From Escalante River, head SE into mouth of explorer canyon, navigating S around island

EXP002

Location: 37.369949°, -110.934601°
Tie off at waterline; begin short hike into Explorer Canyon, a tantalizing window into the mysterious world of the Fremont people where hikers pass three sites of rock carvings that depict human forms in a variety of poses. This canyon once contained rockslabs footprinted by dinosaurs.

EXP003

Location: 37.371880°, -110.929604°
Fremont Petroglyphs; archaeologists believe that Fremont people inhabited this region from 400 A.D. to 1350 A.D., living a seminomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle that many have ended with the coming of a decades-long drought like the one some scientists think is underway now.

EXP004

Location: 37.378792°, -110.917297°
Sitting between the first two petroglyph panels is Zane Grey Arch, in a small box canyon to the north. This canyon leads to the last carvings and an insurmountable pour-off. Several springs that feed the creek begin here. Below, there's good camping amid oak trees

EXP005

Location: 37.383179°, -110.908302°
Proceed past small cascades, often visited by deer, to upper end of Canyon where a sheer-walled pool marks turn-around.