Box death hollow is a non technical canyon located deep within the Box Death Hollow wilderness of Escalante
Pristine, remote, solitude, is starting to become harder to come by with social media and I must admit,
this diary of a blog BUT, places have natural filters in place to keep out the people not willing to put forth the effort and training.
Lucky for this canyon, it is non technical and the only thing that is slowing some people down is the approach and shuttle to gain access to this canyon
.
There are multiple ways to gain access to this canyon
One is the traditional approach where you come in from the northeast.
You will either have to park and hike than gain a shuttle car for the complete loop or
you will need to hitchhike.
Another way, is a bit more effort but a preferred way, which is to come in from the southwest of the Escalante trail and hike up the boulder mail trail to box death hollow.
This is where the adventure begins.
Hiking up to get the crux of the ascent was helpful and gained within two hours time as the sunset over the plateau.
Night skies and no city light stars bloomed within the atmosphere above
.
The following day, an early start indicated a cool non water bearing hike through the high desert of box death hollow
at times we would see the telephone line that stretched from boulder to Escalante as a means of communication in the past.
Now, as we continue our travels across the desert the deep sand slowing our movements as mileage closes in on Death Hollow
The canyon is within in view but not without minor challenges of canyons in the foreground taking down and demands more elevation gain before access to death hollow is granted.
The slab rock starts to heat up as we crest over the ridge into the Zion like gorge below known as death hollow.
Lush vegetation and running water can be heard as the baron desert gives way to a life bearing and beautiful canyon below
.
Impressive walls and deep corridors are encountered as we make our descent down to the canyons bottom and into death hollow.
Lunch is served from crystal clear cold waters of death hollows spring and our journey continues down
Meandering around bends in the canyon floor we can see the fall colors start to illuminate the varnished fiery canyon walls.
Our continued descent reviles the death of poison ivy as it dry's out and fades into the ground along with the start of maple trees changing color.
I was surprised to see how easy it was to walk in the stream, unlike other river hikes, this stream was very easy to follow and not slippery at all. not sleepers under the water and just a pleasant walk down the canyon.
Eventually the canyon got deeper and the variety changed to a more Zion like feel.
We continued on to an alcove to set up camp for the night as we broke out feet free from the soggy shoes and enjoyed the jungle like sounds of a desert with unlimited water
.
The following morning we broke camp and continued down to the Escalante river and back out to the car. the river loses underground and our meanderings were dry and a bit of a slog back to the car.
Regardless the views were spectacular and I was impressed with how well this canyon holds its solitude and stillness.
If you were to go downstream on the Escalante from box death hollow, you might be able to find more source for water.
I found the complete hike to be rewarding the way it was done as work was put into the reward.
I think fall is the best time since the poison ivy would be dried out around October time.
bringing a filter for the water is a wise decision
Enjoy this beautiful hike!
