Escalante River Adventure: Day 1

It's been a long, cold winter here in Rexburg. We've been shut inside with cabin fever for so long, we decided it was time to break out and do something extreme and crazy. So we decided that for Spring Break we were going to go down South and explore some wild and warm country. After some research into the southern utah area, we settled on the idea that we wanted to go backpacking along the Escalante River. Backpacking with 5 kids sounds crazy enough, but with Ryan at the head, that's not quite enough. We had to go primitive. So here was the goal: No matches, no tents, no sleeping pads, and no backpacks. Great preparation for the last days, right?? So we took on the challenge, and I must say it was a hard earned success, and the kids say they had fun!!

Preparing for the expedition was two solid days of bagging meals, assembling clothes, and getting the gear together. Our extra set of clothes, food, and an army poncho were rolled into our sleeping bags- we tied a rope around it, tied on some straps, and there was our "pack". We used our extra pair of pants tied around the waist as a hip belt. Getting everything organized while still trying to leave with the house clean was a challenge... But here are the paragraphs from trails.com that inspired us to keep going-

"Among Utah’s serious hikers, the 85-mile-long Escalante River is well known. The small desert river and its dozens of side canyons contain some of the wildest, most scenic desert wilderness in the United States. It is a region of redrock canyons, sandstone arches, and Anasazi Indian ruins. The Escalante badlands contain hidden natural treasures guaranteed to give pause to even the most unenthusiastic of hikers.
Although the Escalante drains over 200 square miles of the Colorado Plateau, it is so remote that its existence wasn’t even known until the middle of the last century. In 1866 it became the last major river to be discovered in the American West. It was named six years later in honor of the early Spanish explorer Silvestre Valez de Escalante who visited Utah in 1776.
There are a number of hikes in the area that touch upon parts of the Escalante River, but the 14-mile section of the river described here is the most accessible. It is also a particularly interesting section, with fine examples of the sorts of things that make the Escalante drainage so interesting: petroglyphs, Anasazi ruins, natural arches, and slickrock pools."

Sound inviting? After days of planning and even more days of the kids worrying about scorpions, rattle snakes, and poison ivy,(Spencer was praying weeks before that we would be safe and not be attacked by scorpions) we set off with our car packed and the dog in tow. Our plan was to start at the Escalante River trailhead, hike 3-4 miles a day, and come out on the other end, 15 miles later and hitch a ride back to the car.

Monday we arrived at the trailhead about 6 pm with bellies full of Panda Express, and ready to hike until we found a good place to set up camp. With a couple hours of daylight still available, we set off...Jackson was a bit leery about carrying his pack full of his own food, but once he got on his feet he was ok!So we set off, and several minutes into the hike, we passed a small pool of murky, muddy water. Before I could do anything Kami said," Hey!I'm going to jump in and go swim!"I turned around, and screamed as I saw her plunge into the water! Luckily it was only up to her armpits. So we took off her soaking wet clothes, and she hiked in her underwear for the next 3/4 mile until we found a nice spot to set up camp, right next to the river.
We quickly put up a shelter so the kids could get to bed since it was getting dark.
The moon was almost full and it's shining light lit up our camp with a peaceful glow. Instead of carrying tents, we each carried an army poncho. The ponchos can snap together, so they doubled as rain gear and shelter. As for sleeping cushioning, we were right on the sand. It was pretty soft, but not quite as comfy as my bed at home! What a relief to finally have all the kids settled and in "bag"! Baby Dallin went right to sleep, and slept soundly through the night!!