Calypso
Around Page - Utah
Note: On dirt roads, road conditions can change constantly. Therefore, we strongly recommend that everyone check the road conditions before each trip. The most current information is usually available on the BLM website in Escalante.
GSENM-Road-Condition-Report
Here is the GPX file of our hike
Coordinate:
Parking lot: Latitude 37.085965, Longitude -111.891538
Calypso: Latitude 37.083909, Longitude -111.889201
Alkoven: Latitude 37.083780, Longitude -111.889602
Sandstone columns: Latitude 37.085007, Longitude -111.885939
Our visits: So far 1 visit in October 2018
Calypso - Anfahrt und Wanderung
Description of how to get there: The drive to Calypso is the same as to Nautilus. First, coming from Page, drive 30mi west on Highway 89. Then, at the Paria Contact Station, turn left onto White House Road. Follow this unpaved road for about 1.5mi. Park before or after the wash directly on White House Road.
Hike Description: Follow the wash for about 1150ft in eastern direction. Here you climb out of the wash to the right onto a slightly higher level. You can see a prominent rock on top of the sandstone cliff. On the right of this rock, the trail climbs up. The place is steep, but the sandstone is grippy and so it is basically no big problem to get to the top.
At the top you hike along the rock in a westerly direction back towards White House Road. You reach a stone plateau. On this plateau you hike a few 100yd in southern direction until you reach Calypso (left). This stone formation reminds very much of the Nautilus and because we did not find any information about it anywhere on the net, we named the formation Calypso (after the research ship of Jacques-Yves Cousteau). Besides Calypso there is a lot more to discover on the plateau. Opposite, directly at the rock edge, you can find another great snow-white alcove. The descent here is also very steep, but because of the grippy sandstone quite manageable. Another feature can be found a little east of Calypso. Here are some nice stone pillars and hoodoos made of red sandstone. We visited Calypso and the surrounding area in October 2018.
Trail length: 1mi oneway
Altitude difference: 272ft
Time needed: 2-3 hours
Difficulty level: moderate - The trail is sometimes very steep.
Our rating: During the research for our vacation in October 2018, I had found a few interesting structures that looked similar to the Nautilus in the satellite view. Actually, we didn't really expect to actually find anything, but we were lucky and there really was a rock formation similar to the Nautilus at the spot in question. While roaming around on the plateau we discovered the great alcove and a few stone pillars and hoodoos. We moved only in a relatively small radius, but possibly there is more to be found up here.
Surely we are not the first people who have ever been up here, but since we could not discover any information about it on the internet, we felt like little explorers.
You can walk all the way to the top on sandstone to have as little impact on the surrounding area as possible!!!
