Our last day in Escalante was a new one for all of us - a hike through Willow and Fortymile Gulches. After reading trail reports of a lot of water along the route, Norah and I decided the loop hike would be a good one for Steve to do while we would turn around at Broken Bow Arch in Willow Gulch. We all set out together from the Willow Gulch trailhead and we quickly reached the descent into the sandy side canyon that would take us to Willow Gulch. There were several slot sections we bypassed before we reached the confluence with Willow Gulch, joining in on the right. We continued in Willow Gulch, which was wetter with more vegetation we sometimes had to find our way through. After about two miles we rounded a curve and the large Broken Bow Arch came into view. We hiked up the bench opposite the arch to have a break and take in the view. Broken Bow Arch, 100 feet tall and 94 feet wide, was named in the 1930s for a broken prehistoric bow found under the arch. It is an impressive arch that is reminiscent of Corona Arch outside of Moab.

Broken Bow Arch is where we parted ways with Steve. Norah and I returned the way we came to the parking area and Steve continued up Willow Gulch for half a mile to the junction with Fortymile Gulch. He turned left to follow Fortymile Gulch upstream to complete a loop hike back to the truck (turning right would have taken him to the Escalante River in 1.5 miles). And true to the reports we read, Steve went swimming in Fortymile Gulch. Brr, but the pics looked cool in the narrow sections. Steve’s total hike was around ten miles, the last bit 1.5 miles cross country once he was on the Sooner Bench. He completed the loop in good time and said it was a good hike. We camped one more night on Hole in the Rock Road before driving home the next day. It was a great week!