Travelogue

Devil's GardenUpon reaching Southern Utah, we left the asphalt and headed off on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, which runs from Escalante for 62 bumpy miles to the western shores of Lake Powell.

The Hole-in-the-Rock is an historical trail that retraces the route taken in 1879 by a party of 230 Mormons, 83 wagons, and 1,000 cattle, who were sent out to build a settlement on the San Juan River. They went through quite an ordeal when after 53 miles they reached the top of a cliff, with a narrow and steep crevice lending at a 45 degree angle down to what is now the Escalante Arm of Lake Powell 2,000 feet below.

The pioneers spent the entire winter working on the crack, slowly enlarging the opening with only pick axes, shovels, and small supplies of blasting powder. Finally, on January 26, 1880, the expedition slowly made its way down the precarious “road” where a ferry had been built to get them across to the eastern side of the Colorado River where there was a route for them to continue on.

We would not be doing that. I felt kind of wimpy in our comfortable 4Runner, with the air conditioning going and sandwiches and cold beer in our fridge.

Devil’s Garden

Devil's Garden Ice Cream ConesOur first stop along the road was Devil’s Garden (at Mile 12), a wonderland of Navajo Sandstone hoodoos, domes, narrow passages and small arches, all in beige and brown.

There are no marked trails at Devil’s Garden, so we just wandered around as we pleased, sometimes passing the same hoodoo several times.

Metate Arch in Devil's GardenThe "rocks" in Devil's Garden are primarily composed of Entrada Sandstone, which isn’t uniform in that it has variations in hardness and cementation, so some layers or parts of the rock erode faster than others. The harder, more resistant white "caprock" layer often protects the softer rock beneath it.

Further shaping the rocks are the winds carrying sand particles, which act like a natural sandblaster, continually scouring and shaping the exposed sandstone, especially in areas where the rock is weaker. This often leads to the smooth, rounded shapes seen in the hoodoos.

Some of them looked to me like giant ice cream cones.

There was also a very cool arch, named Metate Arch, formed in a similar process of erosion as my ice cream cones. The harder caprock layer, which forms the lintel (the top arch of the arch), is more resistant to weathering and erosion, allowing it to remain intact while the surrounding softer sandstone below was removed over time by the forces of erosion.

Nature is a very good artist.

Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyons

On the way to Peekaboo Slot CanyonThis is the furthest we had ever gone along the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, although we had actually seen the Hole-in-the Rock from our boat on a trip to Lake Powell. The last time we were here, but this time we were going to continue further to camp and to do some interesting hikes.

After Devil’s Garden, we continued along the Hole-in-the-Rock road to mile 26, where we turned left onto an unsigned road leading to Dry Fork Coyote Gulch. We continued on that road for 1.7 miles to the trailhead for the Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyon hikes.

First view of the Slot in the distanceWe have hiked in numerous slot canyons in the past, but none quite as narrow as these. At the trailhead there were two tall metal poles about 10 inches apart and a sign that says something to the effect, if you can’t fit through these, don’t bother continuing. Herb and I passed the “tightness guide” test, but with not too much to spare.

Scary entrance into Peekaboo Slot CanyonOur plan was to do the 5.2 mile loop, going up through Peekaboo first, then across to Spooky and down through that.

From the trailhead we followed a cairns trail which led us across ledges where we looked down into Dry Fork Coyote Gulch, where we would descend down into and across to get to the entry for Peekaboo Canyon.

From the top of the ledges we looked across to a large slot in the cliff face, with tiny people the size of ants in front of it, lined up to do the scramble up and into Peekaboo slot canyon.

The scary ascent goes onFrom there we descended down into and across Dry Fork Coyote Gulch to join the line of people at the slot we had looked down upon from the ledges. We had now hiked about a mile and a half.

I had heard that this was the most challenging part of the hike, but it was a lot scarier than I expected. In front of me was a smooth sandstone wall, with little to no handholds. There were a few faint steps carved into the sandstone to offer some assistance on the initial 20-foot ascent into the canyon.

I am a fairly good rock climber, but I really prefer a good handhold to a good foothold.

Inside Peekaboo CanyonSeeing my discomfort, Herb helped out with the occasional butt push and also cupping his hands to make a foot hold for me.

However, he soon couldn’t reach me anymore, so I had to finish the remaining 15 feet or so of the ascent.

From there we weaved our way through the narrow, twisting passageways where the walls rose about 50 feet above us. Little did we know at the time that this canyon would feel spacious compared to Spooky.

Colorful walls of Spooky Slot CanyonThe colors of the sandstone walls were a beautiful vibrant red, orange and pink with undulating curves, arches, and tunnels shifting with the changing light.

There were a few more smaller rock scrambles as we hiked up into the canyon, as the walls got shorter and wider apart.

After about a half mile of navigating through Peekaboo, the slot ended in a broad, sandy wash. From there we traversed right (east) across a low ridge for about ten minutes to enter Spooky Slot Canyon.

Spooky Slot CanyonAt first, it didn’t seem too much narrower than Peekaboo, but then the walls began to constrict dramatically, often becoming less than 12 inches apart in some places.

Even after taking off our backpacks, we had to suck in our stomachs and twist and turn sideways to get through. I seriously wonder if anyone ever got stuck in here. It was definitely not for the heftier hiker nor for one with claustrophobia.

Like Peekaboo, the smooth, wave-like patterns and swirling colors of the Navajo sandstone were breathtaking. As the indirect light filtered down, the walls turned red, orange, and gold.

Things were starting to get tightThere were a lot more challenging obstacles to conquer in Spooky. In addition to the rock scrambling we expected, we often had to stem (bracing our feet on opposite walls to move forward.

At one particular area, we had to downclimb about 10-feet through what looked like a corkscrew. I felt like I was being flushed down a stone toilet. I left a little blood from my new on that wall.

There are also dark sections of the canyon where the narrowness and height of the walls blocks the light - hence the name “Spooky.”

Very tightEventually we emerged back out into the sunlight and I felt like kissing the sunlit ground.

Each of the slot canyons was about ½-mile long, but felt like 10 miles with all the squeezing and crawling.

From the exit of Spooky we hiked back along the Wash to the entrance to Peekaboo, avoiding the temptation to do it again. Just kidding.

Then we traced our steps back up this time across the Dry Fork Coyote Gulch to the ledges and back to the trailhead.

Oh that was not funIt had been an exhilarating experience combining physical challenges with breathtaking beauty. We felt we had definitely earned it.

The whole hike was about 5 ½ miles and took about 3 hours.

Once back at the trailhead, we had to decide where to camp for the night. We headed back to the Hole-in-the-Rock road and then made a right back in the direction of Utah 12.

After about 3 and ½ miles we turned right onto a dirt, unmarked road to see if we could find a desirable place to camp for the night.

Our home for the nightIn about a half mile or so, we found the perfect spot - private and surrounded by beautiful red sandstone cliffs surrounding us.

There was even a nice ravine where we could set up our Nemo helio camping shower and wash off all the red dust and, in my case, blood from our day's adventure.

Then Herb cooked up some brats and we watched the sunset.

The next morning, before leaving for our next hike, we sipped coffee while watching a beautiful sunrise. What a lovely spot!

The Golden Cathedral

Setting off on the Golden Cathedral TrailAfter leaving our lovely red rock campsite, we drove back out to the Hole-in-the-Rock road and turned right (towards Utah 12) and then drove for a few miles before turning right onto Egypt Bench Road. From there it was a pretty rough, bumpy 10 miles to get to the trailhead for the Golden Cathedral hike.

We allotted an entire day to do the hike since it is 10 miles (round trip) across slickrock, sand, and unmarked paths, and requires 5 river crossings (each way). It is estimated to take 5 to 7 ½ hours. It took us about 6.

Fording the shallow Escalante RiverHowever, based on photos, we had decided that the effort would be well worth it, as it would bring us to the Golden Cathedral, a massive-dome-shaped alcove carved out of towering Navajo sandstone walls, with three natural “skylights” in its ceiling, through which sunlight beams down, reflecting on the pool of water below.

From the parking area, we proceeded to the rim, where the trail begins dropping via switchbacks into a slickrock amphitheater.

Entering Neon CanyonI generally don’t like hikes that start with the down portion, because I know that later when we are tired, we are going to have to climb up and this was a pretty steep descent - about 1,200 feet in the first 3 miles.

The first few miles of the trail were along slickrock and fairly deep sand. Fortunately, it was well-marked with cairns.

Hiking through Neon Canyon2.8 miles into our hike, we came to the Escalante River, which we would have to ford. Fortunately, the River was low (calf deep) this time of year, because we would have to cross it 5 times (each direction) on our hike. When friends of ours did this hike in March, they said the water was thigh deep and cold.

The nearness of a water source provides a lush environment for a desert. I love the contrast between the greenery and the bright red canyon walls.

Arriving at the Grand CathedralAt 3.7 miles into our hike, we reached the mouth of Neon Canyon, where we were greeted by a massive, ancient cottonwood tree.

We continued alongside the brilliant red rock walls of Neon Canyon to the Golden Cathedral, a massive-dome-shaped alcove carved out of towering Navajo sandstone walls, with three natural, nearly perfectly round “skylights” in its ceiling, through which sunlight beams down, reflecting on the pool of water below and creating a shimmering golden and orange glow against the canyon walls.

It was absolutely breathtaking.

Entering the Grand CathedralThese openings in the ceiling are the result of the persistent flow of water over thousands and thousands of years.

Water seeps into cracks in the sandstone, freezes and expands, causing the rock to crack and weaken. Additionally, water dissolves the calcium carbonate that holds the sandstone grains together, further eroding the rock. Over time, this process leads to the creation of alcoves or, in this case, “skylights” in the ceiling, or recesses, in the canyon walls.

Herb's tip for a good photoNormally, there is more water in the pool to reflect the light, but there was still enough to get reflections of the trees.

Herb showed me a great vantage point where I had to lie down on the muddy sand and point up at the ceiling while still getting the reflection of the trees in the pond. Wow! Thanks Herb for the photo tip.

I have to admit that the hike back and up the steep ascent across deep sand and slickrock to the trailhead was exhausting. I hate trudging through sand.

End of a very great dayTomorrow was going to be a rest day for sure as we had two back-to-back days of strenuous hiking.

Now we just had to find camping for the night, which pretty much meant just taking random dirt roads off the Hole-in-the-Rock road to something fairly private and scenic.

Although we did find a nice camping spot, it didn’t compete with our awesome red sandstone cliffs surroundings of last night.
However, It was still very nice.