Coyote Gulch 2014

This was truly one of the most amazing hikes I've been on.  Not that I get out that much, but still...loved it. It was the first real backpacking trip that the younger boys had been on and they did
great.

Getting ready...






























It's not a successful trip without running into a snake or two.


The view from here was alone worth the trip.  The picture, of course, doesn't do it justice.  Notice the arch in the distance.  That's where we're headed.




Heading down Crack in the Wall.


For those that choose to exit the hike on this side, consider this the sand hill from Hell.  Going down? Not so bad.  Coming up?  Because of the soft sand, it's like walking upstairs on an escalator going down. Forever. Bad enough in and of itself, but in the heat of the day... just bury me at the bottom. Which is why we exited through a different route.


Sand castles at the bottom.  And a little relief from the heat.


The stretch of river that we hiked was about 12 or 13 miles. The sand was so amazingly soft that we hiked barefoot in the river most of the time.  The temperature was perfect and the views were amazing.  Heavenly.




Our Camp site.



The fourth arch on the hike.


This is the other way out.  Straight up this (looks a little steeper than it is), and a couple of miles across the hot barren desert back to the car.  Still somewhat tortuous, mostly because of the heat, but far better than the sand hill. 

Ben was a little sketched out at first, but came through in the end.


Loving the hat that he found along the way.