"I found out just yesterday the pit toilet at the Jacob Hamblin Arch had been burned. I stopped by the visitor center in Escalante and was stunned to read and then hear the details that apparently have not been revealed publicly. Here is precisely what I was told by one of the staff members at the visitor center.
On the night in June the incident happened, two Boy Scout troops were camping in the area. A group of boys 17-18 years old in one troop from the Phoenix, Arizona area, to use the staff members term, purposely "exploded" the toilet. The other troop from American Fork, Utah, witnessed the incident, took pictures of it, and tried to put out the fire while the troop and leaders from Phoenix, refused to assist.
The American Fork troop prevented the fire from spreading to the dry hillside. The AZ troop meanwhile packed up quickly and their leaders hiked them out of Coyote at night and left the area. The American Fork troop reported the incident to the visitor center in Escalante. The entire incident has been reported to the national park service and it is in their hands to pursue recovery of damage costs. I was told the toilet, with labor, materials and flying it in originally by helicopter to the site, cost $100K and won't be replaced due to lack of budget.
I was so angry when I heard the details I fumed all the way home. I wrote the Boy Scouts of America last night requesting their response and what they intended to do in terms assisting recovery of damages for the park service."
Here are a couple of pics that memorialize my trip to the Gulch...one is of the toilet in question.
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