Hiking
The Volcano / Cosmic Ashtray
Harris Wash
Overview
The Volcano, Cosmic Ashtray, or one of many other names, used to be a hidden gem. It seems to have gained internet fame recently, and has become quite popular. The dome itself is hollow with an island in the middle. Size is difficult to grasp from pictures. Imagine a pothole 25 m ( 83 ft. ) deep, maybe 30 m ( 99 ft. ) + across, with a 10 m ( 33 ft. ) tall island in the middle. The bottom filled with dunes. Wild! If you're adventurous, the bottom of the dome can be visited, but beginners beware, or you could end up stuck in the bottom!
This route approaches from the Harris Wash/Hole-in-the-rock area and is shorter than the approach from the Old Sheffield Road road. Though this route is shorter, I think it is a bit less scenic than the longer route from the Old Sheffield Road road. Coming from Harris Wash also requires more dirt road and a bit rougher dirt road. Medium to high clearance required, and there are a few short spots of deep sand. If you are doing other things off the Harris Wash area or are looking for the shortest possible route, I recommend this route. Otherwise, I prefer the longer route from Old Sheffield road because it seems more scenic to my eye.
Getting There
Head east out of the town of Escalante about 5 miles on highway 12 until the well signed Hole in the Rock road on the south side of highway 12. Reset the odometer as you turn onto this road.
Route Description
Approach (about 1.1 miles, but may take 30-45 minutes with route finding)
From the parking area, walk the road for just a minute or so in very deep sand to where a wash comes in on the left. Leave the road and head north up the wash. The wash quickly enters sandstone. Stay in the drainage.
The shallow drainage passes through an area of white slickrock. Just after the white section, climb a bit on the left to avoid a dryfall ahead. Looking north and a touch east is a large white slickrock peak. The Volcano is on the right. Head toward the peak on the easiest path, staying low enough to avoid steep slickrock and aiming for the east side of the peak. Once on the east side of the peak, the Volcano is up in the white layer. It is a bit difficult to spot from below, GPS helpful, but a little searching on the east side should be all that is needed if you don't have a GPS.
Return the same way.
Photos
Maps
12S 471716E 4169370N
37°40'16"N 111°19'15"W
12S 472164E 4170672N
37°40'58"N 111°18'56"W
12S 471558E 4169299N
37°40'14"N 111°19'21"W