But soon, as we followed a small stream, canyon walls began to spring up around us. A word about the style of hiking this trip requires. September is the best time for this trip. The weather is pleasantly hot and the Escalante low enough to easily wade in. That's fortunate, because there are no real trails and the path of least resistance is simply to walk in the river itself.
Hiking sticks are a necessity, both for balance and for detecting deep spots in the muddy river.
Choose your hiking sticks from the massive amounts of driftwood which line the shore. As for the occasional patches of quicksand, they pose little danger for even a solo hiker. You'll quick learn to recognize and avoid them. At dawn and dusk this massive Navajo sandstone world glows with coyote-trickster light. Side canyons wait to be explored.