Canyoneering Route Description

Egypt 1.5 Canyon 3A I
Escalante National Monument, Utah

Quick Facts

05-24-13, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2.3 hours) (pictures from Egypt 1 and 1.5)
05-28-18, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2.6 hours)

Time Required - 2 to 4 hours
Distance - 1.1 miles Total, 0.5 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 25 feet. (a couple of downclimbs could also have anchors show up one day)
Elevation Range - 5350 - 5030 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance recommended, 4WD if bad road conditions Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 25 feet and 40 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Egypt 1 and Egypt 1.5 are great short canyons requiring only a few hours each.  You can easily do both canyon in one day and still have a lot of time left.  If you are short on time or just want a fun evening route to do before going back to camp, Egypt 1 or Egypt 1.5 fit the bill nicely. 

Egypt 1 is a great beginner canyon that provides a great scenic treat with minimal effort in a short fun filled day and totally worth the visit. 

Egypt 1.5 offers a little less in the scenery department but offers a step up in challenges giving you the opportunity to practice some partner assist style downclimbs.

Bring a small pack since there are a few spots you will need to take it off and turn sideways a short distance to get down canyon.

Note / Warning:
Of note about Egypt 1.5 is the two potholes near the end of the canyon.  On my first visit here these were dry, sand filled and easy to get out of.  If significant flooding should one day scour the sand out of the potholes, they may be a little difficult to get out of.  Be prepared to use your pack to toss over a lip if you one day find one of these potholes has scoured out deeply.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the city of Escalante drive about 4 miles southeast on Hwy 12 to the turn off for Hole-In-The-Rock road on the right (extHoleInRock).  The Hole-In-The-Rock road is dirt.  The condition of the road varies a lot with recent rains and road maintenance.  High clearance may be needed in extreme cases but most of the time passenger cars will be fine for the first 30 or 40 miles on Hole in the Rock road.

Travel about 16.5 miles southeast on Hole-In-The-Rock road to the turn off on the left (east) for the Egypt road (extEgypt).  Turn left and travel down the Egypt road.

The Egypt road is generally well maintained but a few spots may be difficult with 2WD low clearance vehicles.  A vehicle with high clearance is VERY helpful and 4WD may be useful but generally not needed.

The first obstacle is about 3.4 miles in where the Egypt road crosses over Twentyfive Mile Wash (EgyptDP-01).  On the drive in this is generally in good condition as you drop down a hill into then across the wash.  Driving back out can be a little difficult with a 2WD vehicle since the hill is steep and a little speed may be required.  The rough wash leading to the hill may make it difficult to get up to speed.

After crossing Twentyfive Mile Wash, continue on the Egypt road for about 3.2 miles to where the road crosses over the Egypt 1 drainage (pkEgypt1).  At this drainage there is what appears to be a road forking to the left going up the Egypt 1 drainage.  Do not turn left here but instead continue along the well traveled Egypt road.

About 0.7 miles farther the Egypt road crosses the Egypt 1.5 drainage (pkEgypt1.5).  If you are not looking for it and you may not notice passing by this drainage while on the road.  When you get here choose one of a couple clearings to park at.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkEgypt1.5), walk about 125 feet south to the head of the canyon (yEgypt1.5Tp).  Done!  You're there!

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the head of the canyon (yEgypt1.5Tp), downclimb / scramble down into the wide open slickrock wash / ravine and head down canyon.

About 260 feet down canyon is a drop of about 15 feet (wEgypt1-5-RP1) which is easily bypassed on the RDC side by walking down the slickrock slope with wide open spaces up and down canyon of this drop.

About 0.12 miles down canyon is a drop of about 30 feet (wEgypt1-5-RP2) that a relatively easy stem / elevator downclimb down a crack.  Just after this downclimb are a few minor downclimb / scrambles.

About 275 feet down canyon after the crack downclimb is rap 1 (dEgypt1-5R1) which is anchored from a rock pile and drops about 25 feet.  Rap 1 can be downclimbed but it is a bit of a spicy downclimb and being tall is helpful since you will need reach to do the downclimb.  After rap 1 the canyon starts to slot up a bit stays relatively shallow.

About 250 feet farther down canyon is rap 2 (dEgypt1-5R2) which is anchored from a chokestone anchor and drops about 20 feet down a sloped wall with the last 6 to 8 feet is vertical.

About 200 feet down canyon is a drop of about 15 feet (wEgypt1-5-RP3) that can be climbed around by scrambling out around a point on the RDC side to get over to a crack where you can downclimb about 10 feet in a crack to get to the bottom of the drop.  The crack can be a little bit of a spicy downclimb and a partner assist may be handy in some cases.

A little over 100 feet down canyon is another drop that that can be bypassed RDC (wEgypt1-5-RP4).  Bypass this drop by going out and around RDC to a fairly easy sloped crack to scramble down to the canyon floor.  Dropping down the watercourse goes through a couple large pothole like features and may leave you in need of a partner assist or anchor to get down the last 10 to 12 feet.

About 50 feet down canyon is a set of 2 potholes (wEgypt1-5-RP5).  Downclimb 6 to 8 feet down a crack to get into the first pothole which could be about waist deep if full on our first visit there.  On the other side of the first pothole is a downclimb of about 15 feet down a crack that can be made easier with a partner assist which will drop you into a second and larger pothole.

On the other side of the second pothole is a drop down to narrow portion of the canyon.  The drop is about 8 feet and can be a bit sketchy to get down.  A meat anchor and rope can be given to all but the last person who can dynamically lean out to bridge over the drop and downclimb to the bottom.  Being a little tall is helpful here.

Note:
Both of these potholes were dry, had sand bottoms and easy to get out of on my first visit here.  It is possible for these to one day scour out from heavy floods and expose much deeper potholes that may be difficult to escape.  Be prepared to use your pack to toss over a lip if you one day find one of these potholes has scoured out deeply.

Shortly down canyon is a skinny section that goes for about 100 feet where if you are kind of large you will have a hard time fitting on the canyon floor where the walls get very skinny.  It is an easy galumph to just go over this section about 6 to 8 feet off the deck.

About 300 feet down canyon the walls taper off and you find yourself walking out to wide open desert / wash (yEgypt1.5BT).

The Exit:
From where the LDC (east) wall first gets low enough to allow you to walk up out of the canyon (yEgypt1.5BT) do so and start walking east. 

Walk about 250 feet east until the slickrock slope on the left (north) is not too steep (wEgypt1-5-RP6) and you can begin travel north up the slickrock.  Route find your way up to the flat dirt covered mesa top about 1000 feet to the north.

Just before getting up onto the flat dirt mesa top is a section that is very steep (wEgypt1-5-RP7) where you can try to get up the very steep section or just traverse left back over toward the canyon to find a much easier way around the steep part with one easy upclimb up onto the mesa.

After getting around the steep part you will find yourself up on wide open spaces on the dirt mesa top (wEgypt1-5-RP8), follow use trails north for about 0.25 miles back to the road where you parked the car (pkEgypt1.5).

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Egypt 1-5 (1) - Drive to Trailhead

extHoleInRock          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.72769   W -111.53143        Elev: NaN Feet Turn off to Hole-In-The-Rock road from Hwy 12. extEgypt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.54114   W -111.36176        Elev: 5,279 Feet Turn off to the Egypt Road to the east (left on the drive in on Hole in the Rock road.. EgyptDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.56107   W -111.30718        Elev: 4,924 Feet Egypt Road crosses over Twentyfive Mile Wash. Generally in good condition but may be a little difficult to get back up the hill on the drive back to the Hole in the Rock road. The hill is steep up out of the wash and a 2WD vehicle will need a little speed which is difficult since crossing the wash can be rough. pkEgypt1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57269   W -111.25778        Elev: 5,270 Feet Park here to start the Egypt 1 route. pkEgypt1.5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57647   W -111.24791        Elev: 5,350 Feet Park here in one of a couple clearings on the right (south) side of the road to start the Egypt 1.5 route.

Egypt 1.5 (2) - The Canyon

pkEgypt1.5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57647   W -111.24791        Elev: 5,350 Feet Park here in one of a couple clearings on the right (south) side of the road to start the Egypt 1.5 route. yEgypt1.5Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57617   W -111.24816        Elev: 5,340 Feet Top of Egypt 1.5 canyon. Downclimb / scramble into Egypt 1.5 which at this point is a wide slickrock wash / ravine. wEgypt1-5-RP1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57548   W -111.24815        Elev: NaN Feet Drop of about 15 feet which is easily bypassed walking around on the sloped slickrock on the RDC side. Still easy wide open spaces up and down canyon from here. wEgypt1-5-RP2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57378   W -111.24859        Elev: NaN Feet Drop of about 30 feet that is an easy stem / elevator type downclimb in a crack. dEgypt1-5R1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57301   W -111.24876        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Egypt 1.5. Anchored from a rock pile and drops about 25 feet. Can be downclimbed but it is a bit spicy and being tall is helpful since you will need reach to do the downclimb. dEgypt1-5R2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57236   W -111.24895        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 2 - Egypt 1.5. Anchored from a chokestone anchor and drops about 20 feet down a sloped wall with the last 6 to 8 feet is vertical. wEgypt1-5-RP3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57164   W -111.24899        Elev: NaN Feet Drop of about 15 feet that can be climbed around by scrambling out around a point on the RDC side to get over to a crack where you can downclimb about 10 feet in a crack to get to the bottom of the drop. The crack can be a little bit of a spicy downclimb and a partner assist may be handy in some cases. wEgypt1-5-RP4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57138   W -111.24908        Elev: NaN Feet Another drop that that can be bypassed RDC. Bypass this drop by going out and around RDC to a fairly easy sloped crack to scramble down to the canyon floor. Dropping down the watercourse goes through a couple large pothole like features and may leave you in need of a partner assist or anchor to get down the last 10 to 12 feet. wEgypt1-5-RP5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57122   W -111.24915        Elev: NaN Feet Set of 2 potholes. Downclimb 6 to 8 feet down a crack to get into the first pothole which could be about waist deep if full on our first visit there. On the other side of the first pothole is a downclimb of about 15 feet down a crack that can be made easier with a partner assist which will drop you into a second and larger pothole. On the other side of the second pothole is a drop down to narrow portion of the canyon. The drop is about 8 feet and can be a bit sketchy to get down. A meat anchor and rope can be given to all but the last person who can dynamically lean out to bridge over the drop and downclimb to the bottom. Being a little tall is helpful here. Note: Both of these potholes were dry, had sand bottoms and easy to get out of on my first visit here. It is possible for these to one day scour out from heavy floods and expose much deeper potholes that may be difficult to escape. It is doubtful it will be needed but it is recommended a potshot be on hand when doing this route in the event things change. yEgypt1.5BT          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57033   W -111.24920        Elev: 5,030 Feet Bottom exit of Egypt 1.5 where the walls taper down and you find yourself walking out to wash and wide open desert

Egypt 1.5 (3) - Exit

pkEgypt1.5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57647   W -111.24791        Elev: 5,350 Feet Park here in one of a couple clearings on the right (south) side of the road to start the Egypt 1.5 route.