Photo: Lex Kridler
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument defines the idea of ‘wilderness.’ The landscape is equally raw and intimidating as it is intimate and welcoming. Slick rock covers the landscape and rising plateaus are littered with pine trees in the higher elevations and swept barren in the lower regions. The Escalante River and its tributaries have carved canyons of every size and form throughout the Monument – from narrow slots to broad gulches. While rivaling the natural beauty of nearby Bryce and Zion National Parks, Utah treasures for certain, Grand Staircase-Escalante has been left comparatively undeveloped for human access and recreation. A few paved roads slice the monument, but most access is via dirt roads and washes that can be impassible after rain. Formal trails don’t really exist out here. Sparse cairns mark the way of past adventurers. A river bed is often the easiest path to get to your final destination.
A group of five of us went out to visit the Grand Staircase-Escalante in the middle of May. Our goal was to trail run throughout the monument for a few days. To explore, connect, and document the place. To share what amazing recreational opportunities exist in a place currently under threat, like many of our public lands. Even though the Monument has been in place for over 20 years, the current administration is questioning its value and validity, looking to open-up the monument’s coal deposits once again. We wanted to see the place and do what we could, however small it might have been, to help the locals protect this treasure which is the backbone of their history, economy, and spirituality.
We hatched our plan and connected with Nicole Croft, the Executive Director of Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, a scrappy non-profit working in the area to protect and conserve the monument. She helped us put together a plan for our trip – finding long routes that would trash our legs in pursuit of exploration.
Our first day of running took us into the heart of the Monument. We followed cairns over slick rock and picked our way down to the Escalante River where the trail mysteriously disappeared into the thick brush. We waded the river for a while, crossing land a few times, explored up a side canyon, and reversed our tracks back to the car.
The author, path finding.
The Monument was established under the Clinton Administration in 1996, under the mandate to “protect the myriad historic and scientific resources” of the region. It has since become known as the “Science Monument” due to the vast amounts of fossils, archaeological sites, and unique biological resources found within its boundaries. This directly aligns with the mission of the Antiquities Act, created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 which gives the president the power to protect “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest.” All of these ‘interests’ lie within Grand Staircase-Escalante, yet its establishment and current standing are not without contention.
To this day, opponents of the monument site its existence as hindering economic development. The Monument did lock up a decent amount of coal deposits found high in the Kairparowitz Plateau, but border communities have seen economic growth that surpasses the average of the state of Utah. They built their economies on tourism – outfitters, guides, hotels, restaurants. Sustainable opportunities that aren’t reliant on a limited resource like fossil fuels, an economy that operates in a boom-bust cycle in most places. Elsewhere, ranchers still graze their livestock on 96 percent of the Monument (these permits were grandfathered into its designation). Yet, it has become clear that the current administration is laser focused on re-opening the area to coal mining.
The bedrock makes for easy traction. Photo: Paul Hendricks
Grand Staircase-Escalante is an endless playground to explore. While we were chomping at the bit to hit as many miles of trail as we could, we all felt the sense that we should dial back the miles in exchange for connecting more with the local community. We changed routes on Day 2 and met up with a rag tag group of runners who were inspired to show solidarity for the monument. The group included local trail enthusiasts, folks passing through town, a modern-day survivalist who lives off the land (and ran us into the ground), and even a bachelorette party. We split into two groups and ran in opposite directions along a 15-mile stretch of the Escalante River, fording it 30 times along the way. Our shoes were soaked, legs torn up from the faint trail system that often led straight into thickets of brush, yet we barely saw anyone else amidst the awe-inspiring sandstone cathedrals.
The crew went back to camp to rest and grab a quick burrito, then headed into town and Escalante Outfitters. We joined up with Nicole and her staff and the Outfitters to host a ‘Save Grand Staircase’ party that night. The public comment period on the monument had just opened, so we had locals sign postcards addressed to the Department of the Interior. We raised money for Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, got an update on the campaign, drank beers, and ate good food. It was a call to action, but it was also a celebration. Over 100 people came to the event to celebrate the Monument (out of a town of 600, that’s saying something).
The town came out in support of the monument. Photo: Hendricks
To me, that also says that the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is doing what it’s supposed to. The first monument to be governed by the BLM, its natural environment is thriving, local economies are growing through sustainable means, more fossils and cultural history artifacts are being found. In a time when we are all pushing for more resilient and sustainable economies, it seems absurd to not only ignore alternative ways of driving our economy, but to do so in a way that deteriorates a national treasure that has been protected for over two decades. If we break down this model monument, what else do we have to stand on going forward?
Our final day of running involved an overland trail from the town of Boulder back to Escalante. A 15-mile slick rock route that was one of the most magnificent runs I’ve had in years. We only lost our way a few times amidst the vast landscape and escaped Death Hollow with a few scratches, a decent amount of poison ivy, and one crazy rash from a furry caterpillar that found its way onto my forearm.
Grand Staircase-Escalante defines wilderness like no place else.
One thing is clear about Grand Staircase-Escalante – it is a place for adventure. It runs counter to the direction of many of our National Parks, which are designed for recreational access. There aren’t paved trails, marked features, or even many guide books to orient yourself to the area. But, maybe that’s the point. There are some places that should be left wild for the sake of being wild. Not solely for human use and certainly not for human abuse. We came into the experience looking to highlight the recreational opportunities and motivate others like us to protect the Monument. We left with a sense of awe for the sheer out-there feeling of a place that was designed to protect that very emotion.
Photo: Kridler
Note from the author: Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke arrived in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument midday on May 10th. He came to perform an ‘assessment’ of the Monument and whether current boundaries have gone too far in protecting natural and cultural resources, thus stunting economic growth. It was raining, windy, and cold, but hundreds of locals gathered at the airport to welcome him and voice why they support the Monument. He flew in, boarded a private helicopter, then left the region as quickly as he came. No public meetings. No engagement. To help protect the monument, tell the Secretary Zinke why Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, and all of our national monuments, should be left alone before July 10, here.
