NOVEMBER 2012
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| GOLDEN CATHEDRAL |
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| GOLDEN CATHEDRAL |
The Golden Cathedral is a 9.2-mile round-trip hike to a famous Escalante landmark. While I just walked up to it, there is also a popular canyoneering route near the end of the hike that involves swimming through a narrow slot canyon and rappelling down through the hole in the Cathedral roof into the water below. To reach the trailhead, you will travel approximately 17 miles down Hole-in-the-Rock Road to the Egypt turnoff on your left. It is then 10 miles down Egypt Road to the trailhead.
When I traveled down Egypt Road in November of 2012, I was only able to make it about six or seven miles down the road before it got too rough for my Corolla. However, having read this would be the case, I had brought my bike along, and so was able to ride it the last few miles. From the trailhead, there a couple different ways to reach Neon Canyon, where the Golden Cathedral is located. I chose to hike down Fence Canyon, as it seemed to be one of the more popular routes.
Most of the hike is through open desert, so I remember looking for rocks along the way to help pass the time, and finding a couple cool ones. After following Fence Canyon for a while, I came to a massive drop-off, where the canyon dropped several hundred feet straight down at a dry fall. This startled me at first, as I wasn't prepared to rappel, but after back-tracking a bit I found a way to go around the drop-off and make it back into Fence Canyon. Soon after this, you will come to your first crossing of the Escalante River. As I was hiking in November, I remember the crossing being a bit painful, as the water was ice cold, and came up to about my waist. Due to the way the river meanders back and forth along the canyon walls, a few more river crossings were required to reach Neon Canyon (some less deep than others).
Eventually I reached Neon Canyon, and it was very pleasant stroll down the canyon to the Golden Cathedral. Because I was hiking in November, I had the entire place to myself. I didn't see another person the entire day. On my way back, I decided to skip Fence Canyon, and instead just hike straight across the desert back to the trailhead, looking for rocks along the way.