Chasing the Totality
Day Three: Escalante and Calf Creek Falls
Just a few miles down route 12 we plunged into the colorful Escalante River Valley. Our map showed a trail from the valley floor to Escalante Natural Bridge. Let's go!



We almost spent the night at the campground, but Dennis was looking for more elevation for ham radio, so we continued another 40 miles up UT 12, rough camping at Wildcat Pasture at 8800 feet. I need to take a moment here to thank our "chasers": Doug and Al, ham radio operators from Tucson, tracked our progress on APRS, and we talked to them on the radio almost every night. Their company definitely made a great trip even more enjoyable, since every night was an opportunity to find the "perfect" camping spot, with elevation and a clear horizon to Tucson. Not to mention the nightly entertainment watching Dennis use a 25-foot telescoping fiblerglas pole to position 160 feet of wire as high as possible on available tree branches!
Next: Nine Mile Canyon