Egypt Canyons 1, 2, and up 3, Escalante

Escalante — a vast sandy desert filled with life, wonder, and the occasional drainage. Many passages look flat and lifeless horizontally, but when you get close, they are quite vertical. The desert is covered with a network of drainages seeking the Escalante River and ultimately, Lake Powell. One particular area is called Egypt — a beautiful and scenic region with a continuous network of drainages. The canyons named after Egypt include: 0, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Our first canyon was Egypt 1 — quite short, only taking an hour to complete. The canyon was quite scenic, reminding me a bit of Keyhole Canyon in Zion. An excellent arrival canyon for our weekend. The following day we continued to Egypt 2 and up Egypt 3.

Egypt 2 has quite the introduction — a 300 ft entrance rap dropping you right into the beginning of the canyon. The rap is a blast and made for a fantastic day. The canyon had interesting swirling scenery and cracked mud that looked like broken pottery. Egypt 3 is non-technical until you reach the last section where there is a rappel — we bypassed it and climbed up the canyon instead. I highly recommend this route if visiting Egypt 2. So many beautiful canyons in the area right off the dirt road — highly recommend visiting on a fall or spring weekend.