Escalante Canyon – When Spanish explorers Escalante and Dominguez set out on the first European expedition of the Great Basin in 1776, they were looking for a northern route between Santa Fe and Monterey, Calif.
When brothers Tom and Barry Chamberlain pioneered the first whitewater kayaking descent of the desert creek pulsing through the heart of Escalante’s namesake canyon some 210 years later, they sought little more than a local shot of adrenaline in the early spring months following the long Western winter.
As Escalante expeditions go, let’s just say the latter one was somewhat more successful.
After more than six months of exploration, Escalante and Dominguez never came close to California, turning back somewhere near Delta, Utah, as winter storms threatened their lives. The brothers Chamberlain, on the other hand, wouldn’t be denied. After first attempting the rowdy ride through the canyon some 10 miles north of Delta, Colo., at dangerously high water level, they returned a week or so later to discover what has since been crowned a hidden desert jewel.
“The first time down, Barry and I basically ran everything between the major rapids. The big stuff was just scary,” Tom Chamberlain recounted last Saturday. “It’s the perfect medium level today – not too pushy, but everything except the falls is runable and really fun right now.”
Typically among the first – if not the absolute first – navigable Colorado creeks to show signs of spring runoff, the class V upper section of Escalante Creek has evolved into an early-season classic among the thrill- seeking kayak crowd drawn to dynamic whitewater punctuated by the dangerously enticing Escalante Falls. The creek is running slightly ahead of schedule this spring, Chamberlain said, ushering in the kayak season for many with a desert paddling pilgrimage.
But just as big-wave surfer Jeff Clark once had the fabled California surf break known as Mavericks all to himself for so many years, the Chamberlains could count on Escalante Creek as a veritable private kayaking stash back in the day. Making their way to the inner gorge of sculpted black gneiss beneath sandstone cliffs at the foot of the Uncompahgre Plateau from their nearby home in Montrose, the “original adrenaline brothers,” as they came to be known, found themselves either alone or among a close-knit crew of friends paddling the creek during that early era.
All that is changed in the age of the Internet. Although the river level is still gauged visually by the amount of water flowing over a specific rock in a specific rapid known as ’57 Chevy, word tends to travel farther and faster through cyberspace these days, drawing increasingly larger crowds of boaters from the Front Range, Four Corners and even out of state once word hits the Web that Escalante is in. As is often the case when it comes to progress, the modern convenience has its upside and down.
“I used to get 100 phone calls a week from people asking about Escalante,” Tom Chamberlain said. While the phone rings less often anymore, the increased number of kayaks in the canyon is obvious, many of whom were still wet behind the ears when the Chamberlains put Escalante on the map.
Although he expresses concern about the fragile desert canyon and occasionally rowdy camping crowds, the low-profile pioneer behind a protective metal facemask isn’t beyond showing younger boaters the ropes in Escalante, hoping to help foster a sense of environmental stewardship along with respect for the river.
“I was in here with 10 of the young guns yesterday,” Chamberlain said prior to accepting an invitation Saturday to join Michael Wertz of Vail and me for a lap through the canyon some 10 years after first leading Wertz down the creek. “I was wondering if I was going to see any familiar faces around here today.”
With such a short, fickle window to catch this elusive desert oasis at its prime, “familiar” will remain a relative term for most Escalante Creek kayakers. But the window is wide open at the moment. And it’s definitely worth a look.
Staff writer Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
