Later this week I will be hosting a livestream about the Overland Route, a low-profile backpacking route down the watershed of the Escalante River in southern Utah. I will be joined by Katie Gerber and Eric Volk, who completed the route last spring. Event details:
- Thursday, February 27
- 6-7pm MT
- Join live to ask questions (or use the same link to watch the replay)
Scant information is available about the Overland Route. Its origins are in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3, tucked in the very back and cryptically written. Web searches produce some additional information, but not much relative to similarly expert-level backpacking routes like high routes for the Winds or Yosemite.
In this hour-long discussion, we’ll introduce the route, recommend a planning process, discuss critical gear and skills, and describe the experience. Please join us!
Posted in Route, trail & area guides on February 24, 2025
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You recommend doing some prior trips in the area before attempting this route, any suggestions in particular?
Get “Canyoneering 3” and fill up a week with some of his recommended hikes. That’ll give you a flavor of the area and his writing style.
Hi Andrew
I purchased your guide for wind river hike
I can’t find it on my email to download it
[email protected]
Could you help me with this please
Thank you
Tomas
I did most of this route in 2022 and intend to return in a few weeks to finally complete it.
I agree with what you and Kate said. Difficult navigation and entirely different than high routes & scrambling in the Sierra.
I appreciate you not publishing a mapset or further details — the sparse resources online likely contribute to the few ppl attempting this route and the sense of remoteness and solitude.
To any readers considering this route, I recall at least one or two descents on/off canyon benches that Allen described as low 5th class terrain actually seemed comparable to what I’ve heard graded as “spicy 3rd class” in SEKI. (I had been anxious about one of them in particular, as we hadn’t brought any rope or rock protection.) Of course, sandstone is quite different than granite..and having some understanding of basic climbing techniques will greatly help whether scrambling over talus in the alpine or passing through Utah’s sandstone canyons.