Phipps Arch

When we visited Escalante in April to hike the Cosmic Ashtray, Kent discovered a couple of other places he wanted to visit – Phipps Arch and Weavers Caves.  His original plan was to make Phipps Arch a through-hike by starting from the Old Sheffield Road and hiking Phipps Wash to the Escalante River, but logistically this meant coordinating a car shuttle.  Instead, we decided to do an out-and-back route.  With a couple of nice early December days forecasted, we quickly organized a two-day getaway to Escalante so we could “check off” these hikes from his list!

We started the hike by parking south of the second hairpin turn below "Head of the Rocks Overlook"
(Note:  This spot requires a high-clearance vehicle to safely pull off the road)

Along the upper portion of the side canyon that leads to Phipps Wash were many tinajas . . .
Tinajas are water-filled depressions that are found in the desert or dry areas

Beautiful sandstone striations could be found in many of the tinajas that were dried up

The upper portion of the hike was pretty straight forward . . . 
We followed the wash and then looked for ways around the four prominent dryfalls along this section . . .
The first three were easy, but the fourth required a quarter-mile detour (more on that in a moment)

It was a pretty chilly morning . . .
Thankfully, there wasn't any wind and it warmed up quickly!

This is the fourth dryfall . . . it drops approximately 150 ft
We easily navigated around it by going to the right and staying on top of the rim . . .
As we neared the main canyon there were several easy spots to descend onto the canyon floor . . .
The easiest was a large sand dune that reached almost to the rim 

Once in the main canyon, it was "smooth sailing" . . .
We kept wondering if we'd see any sun with the high cliffs that began to close in on us . . .
On the plus side, the sand was all frozen and very easy to walk on

Kent was making double-time towards that sliver of sun!

It wasn't long before the canyon narrowed and became a riparian zone, with lots of trees and water

Allison was intrigued with these fungi's that were growing on the underside of a fallen cottonwood tree

Soon the seeps turned into an actual stream

To our relief, the stream was always shallow enough to cross with ease
(It looks fairly large here, but that was the exception . . . in general, it was a small trickle of water)

A pretty cool shot of the moon above the canyon rim

After about 1.75 miles of walking the main canyon, we arrived at the side canyon that holds Phipps Arch

This was the hardest part of the hike . . . trying to figure out where/how to get to Phipps Arch
We think it's above this sandstone wall, but how do we get on top of it? (There were very few cairns)

Finally, after a half an hour of working our way around the base of the cliff, we came to this sandstone ramp . . .
The slope was quite steep, requiring a three-step friction climb to reach that green tree

Once above the ramp, we followed this ledge for a short distance to a small slot canyon

This is looking back from the ledge into the side canyon we've been climbing
(We are on top of the sandstone wall pictured earlier)
In the background, you can see the main canyon we had been walking down from the big dryfall

Here's the small slot canyon that we took up from the ledge

At the head of the slot canyon is Phipps Arch . . . 
It's amazing that you can't even see the Arch until you're about 50 yards away from it!

Phipps Arch . . . 
A rather "beefy" arch, wouldn't you say!

A panoramic shot . . .
The slot canyon is to the left down in those green trees

Why is it that arches compel you to stand under them?

And of course, a picture from the other side

After "milling around" for a half hour, we began making our way back . . .
This picture is from the bottom of the side canyon, looking back up towards Phipps Arch
(Click on the picture to enlarge it)

More fungi growing on a cottonwood tree

Going back was nearly as easy as going down . . . the grade was gentle for most of the hike
(We were thankful the sun made it over the canyon walls and provided us with a nice warm afternoon)

Back on top of the big dryfall . . .
Only about two-miles more to get back to the truck

Hey, Kent where's your jacket?
(Hard to believe it was in the mid-60's on this December day)

Here's a Google Earth snippet of our hike
(Click on the picture to enlarge)

One last look at our adventure from the "Head of the Rocks Overlook"
(Again, click on the picture to make it larger)

There are several options for reaching Phipps Arch.  We considered coming in from the Escalante River, but when we read you had to cross (wade) the river four times, we ruled that out due to the time of year.  All totaled our hike was between 8-9 miles (r/t) and took us about seven hours.  For a slightly different variation (requires a car shuttle) that includes Maverick Bridge, check out Road Trip Ryan's post.