Escalante Staircase (Hwy 12)
I know there is at least one person out there that will not really agree with this assessment but I probably would not want to be out there when he comes thru with his moho! :-)
We drove this - in our Chebby 3500 long bed - in the amazing beauty of the Fall colors. We drove from Torrey at 7585 feet over the top of 9600 feet down to Escalante - about 65 miles one way. And back. Took our time and many photographs. It was kinda crowded by not packed.
I will again say this - do not do this with an RV.
The road surface is mostly good but with repair patches. It is narrow.
There are dozens of curves; some very tight to the point that a 40 foot moho will need part of the outside lane if it is in the inside lane. And could be a blind curve. They now have large digital signs warning of the curves.
There are two 14% grades of about 3 or so miles long; with curves. And many, many more grades in the 6-8% range.
There are many places with absolutely NO shoulders; the white line at the side of the asphalt is it - then down a long way. Particularly on the Hogback. Other places may have only about 12" of gravel shoulder and then down.
And lots of cows as it is open range up there.
We tried to see how many RV's we could see on the way over and back. There was one class A at 40 feet and one other at about 36 feet. Both well over the center line as they drove. Two 5th wheels and probably 20 total class C's. All but one I think were rentals - do I have to describe their driving?
Now, if you are comfortable with all this go right ahead but please do the rest of us a favor - do NOT take your half out of the middle!
We drove this - in our Chebby 3500 long bed - in the amazing beauty of the Fall colors. We drove from Torrey at 7585 feet over the top of 9600 feet down to Escalante - about 65 miles one way. And back. Took our time and many photographs. It was kinda crowded by not packed.
I will again say this - do not do this with an RV.
The road surface is mostly good but with repair patches. It is narrow.
There are dozens of curves; some very tight to the point that a 40 foot moho will need part of the outside lane if it is in the inside lane. And could be a blind curve. They now have large digital signs warning of the curves.
There are two 14% grades of about 3 or so miles long; with curves. And many, many more grades in the 6-8% range.
There are many places with absolutely NO shoulders; the white line at the side of the asphalt is it - then down a long way. Particularly on the Hogback. Other places may have only about 12" of gravel shoulder and then down.
And lots of cows as it is open range up there.
We tried to see how many RV's we could see on the way over and back. There was one class A at 40 feet and one other at about 36 feet. Both well over the center line as they drove. Two 5th wheels and probably 20 total class C's. All but one I think were rentals - do I have to describe their driving?
Now, if you are comfortable with all this go right ahead but please do the rest of us a favor - do NOT take your half out of the middle!
