Boulder Mail Trail

Shuttle from St. George: 4 hours Hiking Mileage: 5.4 miles Elevation Gain: 300 feet On this guided Utah backpacking adventure will depart Saint George, Utah early this morning for the remote town of Escalante which is truly the heart of Utah’s Canyon Country. After reaching Escalante we will shuttle up to the Boulder-Mail Trailhead and have lunch while preparing for our cross country hike. The overland route from Boulder to Escalante features a sea of endless slick rock sandstone, deep twisting side canyons, spring-fed creeks, and towering Ponderosa Pines typical of Utah’s high canyons. Our hike today is 5.4 miles to a primitive camp overlooking Death Hollow – easily one of the most impressive canyons in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The camp features a beautiful sandstone amphitheater and large natural water pockets teeming with Utah’s unique aquatic life forms such as Fairy Shrimp. Huge panoramic views a hearty dinner and endless desert star gazing are the order of the evening!

Hiking Mileage: 6 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 1400 feet Today we will wake up with the rising sun, pack our gear and prepare for the descent into Death Hollow. Death Hollow is large, deep and full of water – it gets its name from mules falling into the canyon as they attempted the mail route from Boulder to Escalante. As we descend deeper into Death Hollow we’ll be trekking through ankle-deep water. This canyon is filled with huge Ponderosa Pines and natural springs pouring out of the ancient Navajo Sandstone walls. Our destination this evening is Mamie Creek – a large tributary of Death Hollow which we will reach later in the evening to setup camp against a massive rock wall overlooking the canyon.

Hiking Mileage: 6.5 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 400 feet This morning we’ll leave our camp setup while we explore downstream to see one of the most unique and interesting features in the region – the Mamie Creek Natural Bridge. The bridge is situated above a massive valley where Mamie Creek pours into Death Hollow. Today is all about exploration – and because we’ll be hiking most of our miles today with light day packs, today is also all about fun! After exploring the bridge we’ll head back upstream to our campsite, where we’ll pack up and continue on just a couple of miles down trail to Antone Flat.