In May of 2023 I was the support person for a kayaking trip down the Escalante River by Kerry Ward and Nate “Big Nate” Brouwer. Wednesday, 5/10, started with a drive up to Encino to assist Kerry with one of his Full Tilt Team Development jobs. I arrived at a park where the event was to be held at 11:40 am, met Kerry, and we started to set up the event. It was a fun outdoor event that included a rocket launch and culminated in a bike build where the bikes are donated to a local charity.
On the way we stopped for nourishment at a Taco Bell where Kerry and Nate picked up some crucial expedition food. The plan was for them to drop into the river on Thursday where Utah 12 crosses it just east of the town of Escalante, kayak and camp down the river for four days, and then hike out Monday to a rendezvous point off the Hole In The Rock road. They had, of course, packed some food, but the piece de resistance was the Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito from the Taco Bell Value menu. They are super cheap (currently only $1.19), filling, nutritious, and travel well when stuffed into a pack. I think they each bought about a dozen.
Shortly before midnight we rolled into Vegas and made our way to the location where a very large empty lot had been transformed into the set for the American Ninja Warrior competition. Our friend Kyle Deschamps has been involved with that competition since the very beginning and got us access to the set where the final rounds for two seasons were being filmed. We got to watch several of the competition runs, hung out for a while with the very wild and crazy crew that runs the event, and then crashed for the rest of the night at Kyle’s lodgings near the set.
In the morning we rendezvoused with Kerry Sherman at the hotel where he was staying. Kerry S. was in town for a conference and had gone to REI the day before to pick up the inflatable kayaks that Kerry W. and Nate would be using. Kerry S. has been an invaluable friend and resource for many expeditions past and future! The inflatable kayaks were rather bulky. Once loaded there was barely enough room for Big Nate in the back seat.
Luckily for Nate it was only a 300 mile drive to Escalante, and we pulled into the Visitor Center for the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument just before 1 pm. The river traverses that monument and the trip would take them also into the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. After a brief stop to check on current conditions and get the necessary permits we were off to the put in location where Utah 12 crosses the river 15 miles east of town.
By 1:30 pm we were at the river, had unloaded the gear, and Kerry and Nate were working on organizing it. Since we were at the drop in point already they would only have to carry everything about a quarter mile to the water, but on the extract they would be making a 2.5 mile hike with 1000 feet of elevation gain. That looked like it might be a considerable challenge!
Then it was down to the rivers edge where the kayaks were inflated and loaded with the gear. At 2:18 pm they were in the river and making their way downstream!
Within the first five minutes they had already encountered their first whitewater. Minimal to be sure, but indicative of the kinds of obstacles they would be encountering along the way.
As they made their way down the river they were honing their kayaking skills. Within the first hour Nate was showing some promise!
When coming around corners they often had to negotiate passage past obstacles like piles of brush or fallen trees.
Steering can be a challenge. Not sure if Nate’s rotation in the slide show below was intentional or not!
In the first segment they were not really in a proper canyon as there was only a wall on the right side. There were still places where that wall overhung the river. Below we see Nate passing under the eaves and getting up close and personal with that wall.
Beware! The river will take you to places you would rather not go. Here Nate successfully negotiates a bit of a tangle with the bank. Poor Nate gets picked on here as Kerry is doing the filming and we don’t get to see Kerry’s misadventures.
My first travel experience with Kerry was an 11 day trip to Iceland. On the trip I noticed two things: first, if there is a high place, Kerry is on it, and second, he wants documentation. His travel companion is expected to be the photographer. He also has very high standards for his pictures, so Nate got some instruction from the Full Tilt School of Adventure Photography.
In the sequence of shots below the first slide would be unacceptable. Too much wasted space in the bottom of the shot. The kayaks tell a bit of the story, but no need to show both of them. The second slide is only marginally better. The third is a big improvement but fails at the top as the rim of the rock wall behind Kerry is a key feature. The fourth slide pretty much nails it but could be just a wee bit closer. For Kerry it is all about the framing!
A safety note is in order here. When we went to the Visitor Center this year I remember the ranger talking about the need to wear helmets, and cautioned that rafters had at times bonked their noggins on this overhanging tree. Not so likely when the water is this low and slow, but if the water were higher and rushing through that would be a problem. Given the conditions Kerry and Nate were quite safe, but if they were in a situation where being tossed from the boat in a rocky stream was a likelihood, then helmets would be essential.
In the hurry to get from Vegas to an early put in we hadn’t had time to stop and eat, so after less than two hours on the water their favorite time had arrived! The pause that refreshes!
There was no shortage of magnificent vistas as they made their way downstream. Canyonlands are a great place for a photographer!
The view downstream
I’ve done a lot of walking around with Kerry, and I am able to keep up with him mainly because he is always stopping to investigate some feature, or pet a cat. At about 5:20 ss they came around a bend he noticed what looks like a cave. So, they beached their boats to explore the cave.
Even though the cave was a bit disappointing depth-wise, it did provide an opportunity for some classic Ward hijinks. Actually, both of them are inveterate photo hogs, and if there is a proper frame they will use it!
At places where the river widens out, it also gets shallower, so there are going to be many more rocky hazards. In the picture below we can see a bit of a boulder field that they need to negotiate.
There might be a way to float it a through, but sometimes all you can do is get out and walk!
Meanwhile back at the ranch, I was in Escalante after doing some exploring down the Hole In The Rock road. I had made plans to meet up with one of my trail angels. In 2018 I ran the Zion 50K ultra marathon. About 18 miles in I was at the top of a very steep descent that filled me with terror when my feet slipped from under me and I wound up flat on my back. My despair was deepening when I heard a voice asking if I was okay. I looked up and there was a beautiful young lady who turned out to be not just the sweeper but an explorer and writer named Morgan Sjogren. I had a chance to chat with her as she shepherded me through the next eight miles of the race.
Morgan spends most of her time exploring the desert in the Grand Staircase/Glen Canyon area ala one of her heroes, Edward Abbey. She had planned to be in Escalante at this time, but had made a rare visit to the big city, gotten sick, and was stuck recovering in Salt Lake City. Although our planned meetup did not happen, I was happy to see that “Path of Light”, her new book, was prominently displayed at Escalante Outfitters.
Down on the river, shortly after 6 pm Kerry and Nate had spotted a very narrow crack that appeared to go all the way through the wall. This very tiny slot canyon was definitely worthy of further exploration so they beached their boats and checked it out.
One of the cool things about descending rivers in the canyon lands is that you will encounter many side canyons that are also worthy of exploration. Kerry and Nate did some very in depth (but definitely not very “in width”) investigation. Nate took the lead into the canyon, but soon reached his limit and tagged up.
In Nate’s defense, he is known as Big Nate for a reason, and at 6’5″ or so takes up a bit more volume than Kerry does. He does, however, gamely follow as Kerry takes the lead.
Then came a dream come true, a Shangri-La moment as they burst through the crack to a parallel canyon, a very different world from the one they just left! I am trying to pin down the location, but it appears to be a horseshoe bend kind of a situation where the river doubles back on itself. If so, then this slot would provide a shortcut across the neck for ultra runners traveling the river. Small ultra runners, traveling light!
Of course, such a fine feature is worthy of some of the usual shenanigans!
It was time to set in for the night, so they began to look for a campsite. About 30 minutes down the river, or 9.3 miles from their start, they identified a great spot and settled in for the night.
As for me, after dinner at Escalante Outfitters I had headed down Hole-In-The-Rock road to see if it was as awful as it had been described by the ranger at the Visitor Center. It was. Serious washboard for a long, long, way! I made it down about 18 miles, identified a place where I could camp, and settled myself in for the night. I had brought along a tent, but opted just to sleep in my car, which worked out okay.
Captain Univac 