Tiff Mapel
Escalante-Class Member
Hi all,
I had an idea. Since Lake Powell Magazine no longer exists, I thought I'd share some articles I wrote for it long ago. I'll aim for one each week, on a Wednesday. So this week's installation is from an unknown year about Willow Creek, a side canyon of the Escalante. I wrote for Lake Powell Magazine from 2002 to 2012, the year it folded. It was a good decade! Lots of amazing adventures. I'm off to Powell today, and will be back in time for next week's post. In the meantime, enjoy!
Tiff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of the greatest things about Lake Powell is there is no shortage of wonderful hikes to take. You can find hikes that range from very easy to difficult ones that require ropes and other gear. On a lovely fall day in October, a hike was definitely in order. Fall and spring are the best times to hike, as the temperature is just perfect. Seven of us set out on that October day: the Wright family from Durango, Colorado—Ken and Sarah, and their two children, Webb, 14, and Anna, 11; Paul Ostapuk of Page, Arizona; Dave Tate of Flagstaff, Arizona; and myself.
Our hike of choice was in Willow Creek, the furthest accessible canyon of the Escalante, when the water level was at 3601 feet. Willow Creek is located nine and a half miles up the Escalante, from the confluence with the main channel. It is on the left side, right before you get to the Three Roof Ruins, which are closed to access at current water levels.
Boating into Willow Creek, you’ll come to a side canyon on the right. This is Bishop Canyon. We did not get a chance to get back in to Bishop, but this canyon is certainly worthy of a hike. Frequent floods come down this canyon, so be careful when boating in. You’ll have to look out for floating debris—logs or mats of grasses. If you’re lucky enough to get back where the water ends, you’ll be rewarded with one of the largest wrap-around alcoves on the entire lake. The hike is about a mile to the end of Bishop Canyon.
Continuing up the main watercourse of Willow Creek, the water ended not far beyond Bishop. It got fairly shallow, so be careful when beaching a boat at water’s edge. Continue on foot from there. This is a great, easy hike that the whole family can do. Make sure you have your water shoes on, as you’ll be walking up a sandy streambed with a year-round running stream that’s no more than ankle-deep. You may even spy a large crawdad or two on your journey. Willow Creek has some of the biggest crawdads I’ve ever seen at Lake Powell. The Navajo Sandstone walls are huge in Willow Creek, and you’ll find many alcoves undercut from past floods as you hike up. Many of these alcoves are dripping with seeps, and Maidenhair ferns grow copiously from the walls. The walls are gorgeously striped with varnish, and the willows and cattails grow generously near the creek.
Two days before our hike, a flash flood had come through the canyon from recent rains. Debris was scattered, and you could clearly see the flood line. Growing from a pile of sticks and mud, we found large mushrooms. It was the first time I had ever seen mushrooms growing anywhere around Lake Powell. We weren’t about to sample them, as none of us knew anything about them.
As you hike up the streambed, you’ll come to the next drainage from the right side. This canyon is the North Fork of Willow Creek. This canyon has a stream flowing from it as well, but access into this branch was overgrown and difficult to attain. We bypassed it, and kept going up the main canyon. Not far after the North Fork, three panels of petroglyphs are located on the right side of the canyon as you hike up. According to the guidebook we used, we looked in the correct location, but were unable to locate the petroglyphs. The ancient art must have been obscured by the willows. Other hikers have told us about the petroglyphs, so we know they are there. I have also heard that the petroglyphs “choose” to reveal themselves, and apparently that day they were not interested in doing so for us.
Though we missed seeing the petroglyphs, we were treated to something just as wonderful—a waterfall. As we continued up the canyon, we could hear running and falling water. We rounded a bend in the stream and poked through the willows, and there was a waterfall cascading down a six-foot rolling drop. Three channels were cut into the sandstone, and water swirled out of each of them. It was so gorgeous, we all sat there taking pictures and just absorbing all the sights and sounds of an incredibly beautiful place. Crawdads and small golden-colored fish danced and darted in the pool below the falls. There was no access up-canyon on either side of the waterfall, so you’ll have to climb up through the waterfall. It’s easy if someone can help you up, then you can pull them and others up too.
This area is above the high water line, so there are plenty of cottonwood trees, and no shortage of willows. Continuing on, the canyon narrows and two large sandstone walls almost touch each other right over the streambed. The sandy streambed turns more to cobbles, so the hiking can get a bit more challenging. Not much further, and the canyon forks again. Now it gets really narrow. The left fork is called Willow Gulch. If you continue on up this branch, the canyon opens up again and Broken Bow Arch is on the right side of the canyon. Broken Bow is a massive Navajo Sandstone arch, about 200 feet high with a span of about 94 feet. Beyond the arch, Willow Gulch eventually splits into three smaller drainages, and the left one tops out at Hole-in-the-Rock Trail, which then leads to Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
Back at the last fork in the canyon, the right fork is called Fortymile Gulch. This is the more challenging branch of the two forks, as you’ll encounter several deep pools to swim through, and a few chokestones to get over. Once you get through the obstacle course, you’ll be rewarded with another waterfall and a spring. This canyon has several other side drainages too, and will eventually connect with Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
If you get a nice sunny day this spring, consider a hike up Willow Creek. Take your time to see every little detail. Enjoy the sounds of running water and breezes in the willows. Hunt for monster crawdads. And don’t forget to take plenty of pictures, and leave only footprints.
I had an idea. Since Lake Powell Magazine no longer exists, I thought I'd share some articles I wrote for it long ago. I'll aim for one each week, on a Wednesday. So this week's installation is from an unknown year about Willow Creek, a side canyon of the Escalante. I wrote for Lake Powell Magazine from 2002 to 2012, the year it folded. It was a good decade! Lots of amazing adventures. I'm off to Powell today, and will be back in time for next week's post. In the meantime, enjoy!
Tiff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow Creek
One of the greatest things about Lake Powell is there is no shortage of wonderful hikes to take. You can find hikes that range from very easy to difficult ones that require ropes and other gear. On a lovely fall day in October, a hike was definitely in order. Fall and spring are the best times to hike, as the temperature is just perfect. Seven of us set out on that October day: the Wright family from Durango, Colorado—Ken and Sarah, and their two children, Webb, 14, and Anna, 11; Paul Ostapuk of Page, Arizona; Dave Tate of Flagstaff, Arizona; and myself.
Our hike of choice was in Willow Creek, the furthest accessible canyon of the Escalante, when the water level was at 3601 feet. Willow Creek is located nine and a half miles up the Escalante, from the confluence with the main channel. It is on the left side, right before you get to the Three Roof Ruins, which are closed to access at current water levels.
Boating into Willow Creek, you’ll come to a side canyon on the right. This is Bishop Canyon. We did not get a chance to get back in to Bishop, but this canyon is certainly worthy of a hike. Frequent floods come down this canyon, so be careful when boating in. You’ll have to look out for floating debris—logs or mats of grasses. If you’re lucky enough to get back where the water ends, you’ll be rewarded with one of the largest wrap-around alcoves on the entire lake. The hike is about a mile to the end of Bishop Canyon.
Continuing up the main watercourse of Willow Creek, the water ended not far beyond Bishop. It got fairly shallow, so be careful when beaching a boat at water’s edge. Continue on foot from there. This is a great, easy hike that the whole family can do. Make sure you have your water shoes on, as you’ll be walking up a sandy streambed with a year-round running stream that’s no more than ankle-deep. You may even spy a large crawdad or two on your journey. Willow Creek has some of the biggest crawdads I’ve ever seen at Lake Powell. The Navajo Sandstone walls are huge in Willow Creek, and you’ll find many alcoves undercut from past floods as you hike up. Many of these alcoves are dripping with seeps, and Maidenhair ferns grow copiously from the walls. The walls are gorgeously striped with varnish, and the willows and cattails grow generously near the creek.
Two days before our hike, a flash flood had come through the canyon from recent rains. Debris was scattered, and you could clearly see the flood line. Growing from a pile of sticks and mud, we found large mushrooms. It was the first time I had ever seen mushrooms growing anywhere around Lake Powell. We weren’t about to sample them, as none of us knew anything about them.
As you hike up the streambed, you’ll come to the next drainage from the right side. This canyon is the North Fork of Willow Creek. This canyon has a stream flowing from it as well, but access into this branch was overgrown and difficult to attain. We bypassed it, and kept going up the main canyon. Not far after the North Fork, three panels of petroglyphs are located on the right side of the canyon as you hike up. According to the guidebook we used, we looked in the correct location, but were unable to locate the petroglyphs. The ancient art must have been obscured by the willows. Other hikers have told us about the petroglyphs, so we know they are there. I have also heard that the petroglyphs “choose” to reveal themselves, and apparently that day they were not interested in doing so for us.
Though we missed seeing the petroglyphs, we were treated to something just as wonderful—a waterfall. As we continued up the canyon, we could hear running and falling water. We rounded a bend in the stream and poked through the willows, and there was a waterfall cascading down a six-foot rolling drop. Three channels were cut into the sandstone, and water swirled out of each of them. It was so gorgeous, we all sat there taking pictures and just absorbing all the sights and sounds of an incredibly beautiful place. Crawdads and small golden-colored fish danced and darted in the pool below the falls. There was no access up-canyon on either side of the waterfall, so you’ll have to climb up through the waterfall. It’s easy if someone can help you up, then you can pull them and others up too.
This area is above the high water line, so there are plenty of cottonwood trees, and no shortage of willows. Continuing on, the canyon narrows and two large sandstone walls almost touch each other right over the streambed. The sandy streambed turns more to cobbles, so the hiking can get a bit more challenging. Not much further, and the canyon forks again. Now it gets really narrow. The left fork is called Willow Gulch. If you continue on up this branch, the canyon opens up again and Broken Bow Arch is on the right side of the canyon. Broken Bow is a massive Navajo Sandstone arch, about 200 feet high with a span of about 94 feet. Beyond the arch, Willow Gulch eventually splits into three smaller drainages, and the left one tops out at Hole-in-the-Rock Trail, which then leads to Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
Back at the last fork in the canyon, the right fork is called Fortymile Gulch. This is the more challenging branch of the two forks, as you’ll encounter several deep pools to swim through, and a few chokestones to get over. Once you get through the obstacle course, you’ll be rewarded with another waterfall and a spring. This canyon has several other side drainages too, and will eventually connect with Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
If you get a nice sunny day this spring, consider a hike up Willow Creek. Take your time to see every little detail. Enjoy the sounds of running water and breezes in the willows. Hunt for monster crawdads. And don’t forget to take plenty of pictures, and leave only footprints.
