Escalante is a small town on the edge of nowhere, and it is proud of it. Mormon pioneers settled here in 1875, in a valley at about 1,770 metres, and named it for Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, the Franciscan friar who passed through the region with Spanish explorers in 1776 on a failed attempt to find a route to California. Today it has a few hundred inhabitants, a handful of motels and cafes, and the air of a place that exists mainly to serve those exploring the vast and strange landscape around it.
That landscape was among the last in the lower forty-eight states to be properly mapped. The Escalante River was the last river charted in the contiguous United States, and the nearby Henry Mountains were the last mountains. In 1996, much of the region was protected as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a roadless wilderness of slot canyons, sandstone domes, arches and petrified wood. Dinosaur fossils are still being found. The land is a patchwork of vivid colours, red, orange, pink and white, layered like a staircase from the Grand Canyon to Bryce.
For riders, Scenic Byway 12 is the draw, and it is one of the most spectacular roads in the United States. East of Escalante, the highway runs across slickrock country to the Boulder Mountain, passing the trailhead for the hike to Calf Creek Falls, a perennial waterfall in a narrow canyon. Then comes the Hogback, a narrow ridge where the road runs along a knife edge with steep drops on both sides and no room for error. The curves are smooth and the surface is good, but the drop-offs are real, and crosswinds can be strong, so ease off and enjoy it. Snow can close higher sections of Boulder Mountain in winter, and thunderstorms in summer afternoons bring flash flooding to the dry washes.
Escalante has fuel stations and a general store, but services are thin in the surrounding area, so fill up whenever you can. Boulder, a short way east, is smaller still. Carry water, because summer temperatures can climb above thirty-five degrees, and sun exposure is severe. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with cooler air and golden light on the cliffs. At night, with no light pollution, the stars are brilliant.