Utah 2021 by Dawn

UTAH 2021

UTAH Don and Jonelle May 18-31, 2021

Andy May 18-23, 2021

Bill Schumann May 27-31, 2021

HIKES WE’D LOVE TO DO

BURR TRAIL The Burr Trail road starts in Boulder, about 30 miles north of Escalante on Hiway 12. Drive the road for 30 miles or so, before it drops down the dirt road with hairpin turns into Capitol Reef National Park. Super scenic drive. First feature is Deer Creek

Campground (nice walking/ hiking). Then The Gulch creek with a marked trailhead, 10 miles from Boulder, where you can wander down the creek. Then Long Canyon. Then Singing Canyon. Then the turnoff to Upper Muley Twist Canyon.

IN SW UTAH, FROM THE ESCALANTE AREA TO THE ARIZONA BORDER

1. Burr Trail

20. Willis Narrows

2. Singing Canyon

21. Grosvener Arch

3. Upper Muley Twist

22. Co�onwood Wash Narrows

4. Balancing Rock

23. Co�onwood Canyon Road

5. Hell’s Backbone Road

24. Zion Narrows

6. Upper Calf Creek Falls

25. Canyon Overlook

7. Lower Calf Creek Falls

26. Checkerboard Mesa

8. Escalante Natural Bridge

27. Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

9. Phipps Arch

28. Squaw Trail

10. Bighorn Canyon

29. Lick Wash

11. Devil’s Garden

30. Skutumpah Road

12. Zebra Canyon

31. Yellow Rock

13. Dry Fork slot

32. Lower Hackberry Canyon

14. Water Canyon

33. Paria and Pahreah

15. Peek-A-Boo slot

34. The Toadstools

16. Spooky slot

35. The Nau�lus

17. Brimstone slot

36. Wire Pass Narrows

18. Kodachrome Basin State Park

37. Buckskin Gulch

19. Sheep Creek We’ve skipped crowded, over-used and o�en permits-only a�rac�ons like Bryce Canyon, The Subway, Kanarra Canyon, Angel’s Landing and The Wave. Disclaimer: The editor makes no claim to infallibility. Hiker beware. Front and back covers: Utah slot canyons, names not available.

YELLOW SUBMARINE PRESS Index, Washington 2021 dongraydon@gmail.com

SINGING CANYON About 11 miles down the Burr Trail from Boulder, look for an unmarked paved pullout on the left in Long Canyon. Walk downhill and across a sandy path toward a narrow slit in the canyon wall, entrance to this very short slot

canyon. Famous (somewhat) for its good acoustics, which helps instrumentalists and singers and is great for yodeling or making echoes. In 2021 I loudly sang “Lovely Rita Meter Maid” and nobody seemed to mind.

UPPER MULEY TWIST 32.8 miles down the Burr Trail from Boulder, before the road heads down the switchbacks, is a junction with a side road to the Upper Muley trailhead. Rough road. Try to drive it four-tenths of a mile to a parking area and trail

register. Road is really bad from here. Can hike from here into a wash, hiking on the dirt road, which is too rough for most cars. Hike 2 miles on the road to the Upper Muley trailhead. Worth looking at but too tough a hike.

Check out the gorgeous arches in Upper Muley Twist Canyon. Too bad we’ll never visit them – the hike is too long and tough for this Over the Hill Gang. At right, inside the Singing Canyon. And below, the lovely sandy path into the canyon.

BALANCING ROCK At last report, this balanced rock was still balanced. Best to go see it while it’s still there. Drive half a mile or so south, toward Escalante, from start of Burr Trail Road. Look for small isolated store on your right. Park near the store and hike south,

paralleling road, for a couple of hundred yards. Keep an eye out to the right to finally spot the Balancing Rock, then hike slickrock up to it. We stopped short because of an especially steep section of slickrock 1 mile RT

HELL’S BACKBONE ROAD Steep, winding and superscenic. The 38-mile gravel road from near Boulder to Escalante is wide enough for two vehicles and you don’t need a Jeep – the road is drivable by any passenger car. The road travels up the slopes of Boulder Mountain to an elevation of more than 9,000 feet. Highlight of the drive is the crossing of the concrete Hell’s Backbone bridge, with sheer drops

of hundreds of feet on either side. Much of the drive is through forest and you can stop along the way at Posey Lake and its campground. The north end of the road begins about 4 miles south of Boulder (25 miles north of Escalante) and ends in the town of Escalante. Of course you can also start the drive in Escalante and drive the loop clockwise.

ces of The many fa ne Road. o kb Hell’s Bac

UPPER CALF CREEK FALLS A beauty, but the pools above the falls are the real attraction. Drive 21 miles from Escalante north up Hiway 12 (5.6 miles north of Calf Creek Recreation Area) and find a short side road on the left side of the highway between mile markers 80 and 81. Parking is a tenth of a mile down a rough and rocky road. There’s a trail sign-in register. Trail splits at bottom of the

canyon, with the left fork going to the bottom of the falls and the right fork going above the falls. We took the right fork in 2011, up to an area of river and pools above the falls. Lovely deep pools and good swimming! Writeups mention that the trail is down steep slickrock so we may just drive in and look rather than hiking down. 3 miles RT

Visitors to the pools. (Not Jonelle and not Don!)

LOWER CALF CREEK FALLS Justifiably popular due to its exceptional beauty. It’s 16 miles from Escalante north up Hiway 12 to the Calf Creek Recreation Area. Drive down the hill to parking. Toilets. $2 fee. These days there are too many people unless you start at 7 a.m. When we hiked it in 2003 it was not crowded. 6 miles RT

Jonelle cools her tootsies in a pool above the falls. 2011.

ESCALANTE NATURAL BRIDGE This is an enjoyable hike up the Escalante River to a spot near a huge natural bridge – formed by stream erosion that cut through the sandstone and left a natural bridge of harder stone. This is an easy, flat walk interspersed with four brief river crossings. The river in spring and summer is really more like a creek, 20 feet wide and shallow. One hiker said the walk goes through “open grasslands rich

with the colorful desert blooms of Eastwood paintbrush, scarlet gilia, tansy-aster, penstemon and globemallow.” No promises, however. The signed Escalante River trailhead is located west of Hiway 12 just north of the Escalante River bridge, which is 13 miles north of Escalante or 14.5 miles south of the Hiway 12 and Burr Trail Road junction in Boulder. 3.5 miles RT

PHIPPS ARCH

Here’s a huge, blocky, hidden-away arch. From Escalante drive north up Hiway 12 for 12 miles or so to Old Sheffield Road, then drive in maybe 2 miles to Little Spencer Flat. Parking for about four vehicles right on the very edge of the canyon. Don’t settle for any site that is not truly right on the edge.

In 2011 we just walked down the large, long slickrock apron far below the campsite to where the apron enters the wash.The wash makes for an enjoyable walk even if you don’t climb up to the arch. But we went all the way despite two exposed spots. 7 miles RT if you go all the way to the arch

Two happy hikers wading the li�le river on their way to the Escalante Natural Bridge. PHIPPS ARCH

Jonelle looks out to Phipps Arch country from her perch along Old Sheffield Road. 2011

BIGHORN CANYON We had a lovely walk down the Harris Creek wash in 2003, though we never got to the slots. Trailhead is 10 miles from Escalante: north up Hiway 12 for 5 miles, then down Hole in the Rock Road for 5 miles to a point where Harris Creek crosses the road. Hike 2 miles down the wash to where a cattle fence spans the

wash at its junction with Bighorn Canyon. The Bighorn West Fork, an enticing short slot, comes in less than a quarter-mile from where you first enter the main Bighorn. After exploring the West Fork, return to the main Bighorn and continue up for more slots. 5 miles RT or less if you wish

DEVIL’S GARDEN Small outcroppings in fantastic shapes, similar to Goblin Valley. From Escalante drive north up Hiway 12 for 5 miles and then down Hole in the Rock Road for 12

miles to the turnoff to Devil’s Garden parking. It’s well signed. Large parking lot. Picnic tables and toilets. 1 mile RT or more if you wish

This arch is just one of the a�rac�ons of Devil’s Garden. Below, li�le boy, big rocks.

Bobbe�e scrambles down into a slot near the entrance to Bighorn Canyon.

This sandy path is the entrance to the West Fork from the main Bighorn canyon.

ZEBRA CANYON Here is a most alluring slot canyon. The trailhead is 13 miles from Escalante: north up Hiway 12 and then down Hole in the Rock Road for 8 miles to an obvious parking area next to a cattle guard on the road. Cross to the east side of the road and follow the path east. In 2003 we hiked up the trail and into this astonishing creation of Mother Nature. But we turned back when light rain began falling

and we were spooked by stories of flash floods. The section where we retreated required us to push our backs against the wall on one side, brace our knees against the other and scoot sideways on our butts. The floor of the canyon at this point was too narrow to walk on. Trail directions get convoluted so I won’t try to give them here. Essentially you hike 2 miles, until you run into Harris Wash, where you turn left and hike up it. In a tenth of a mile the wash curves left; stay right here and walk about half a mile and you should see a narrow opening, the entrance to the quarter-mile-long Zebra Canyon. 5 miles RT

DRY FORK SLOT Here is an exciting half-mile slot that leads down to the area of Dry Fork that has Peek-A-Boo and Spooky slots and, farther on, Brimstone. From Escalante drive north up Hiway 12 for 5 miles and turn down Hole in the Rock Road for 25

miles to the well-marked trailhead. You can return to the trailhead after the slot ends or continue on to any or all of the other three slot canyons. 3 miles RT for the hike to the end of the slot

Jonelle Jonelle 2003

Bobbe�e 2003

WATER CANYON What a find – a fairly narrow canyon with high sandstone walls, including an arch. Trail is more difficult than our slot canyons because it continues to gain in elevation, the trail goes up and down a lot and there are many rock step-ups. But at the end, an oasis. Hard to believe: water cascading down out of the terrace where the trail ends, and running about 3 feet wide (and a few inches deep) through a meadow with green bushes and striped sandstone. In 2021 we stayed for more than an hour and didn’t

east, or Utah Avenue if coming from the west, on Hiway 59. Via Utah Avenue drive a couple of miles to the junction with Water Canyon Street. Via Central Street drive for perhaps a mile to the junction with Water Canyon Street. Follow this dirt road for a couple of miles until it dead-ends at the trailhead. (As you can see, this entry is rather out of order.) 3 miles RT, approx 400’ gain

PEEK-A-BOO Peek-A-Boo and neighboring Spooky slots have become famous for their great variety of shapes and colors. There is a well-marked upper trailhead (toilet) 30 miles from Escalante and a lower trailhead 2 miles farther on. From Escalante drive north up Hiway 12 for 5 miles and turn

down Hole in the Rock Road. In 2021 we took the wellmarked upper trailhead, which offers the tremendous bonus of a half-mile walk through the Dry Fork slot canyon before opening up at the entrance to Peek-A-Boo. 2 miles for the loop of Peek-ABoo and Spooky

want to leave. Trailhead is reached via Central Street in Colorado City if approaching from the The beau�es of Water Canyon. 2021

A boy climbs up to enter Peek-A-Boo.

You’ll find adventurers of all ages. Fun and exci�ng. Bill climbs through Peek-A-Boo. 2003 14

SPOOKY A loop scramble goes up Peek-ABoo and then down Spooky (appropriately named). After coming back up to ground level from PeekA-Boo you need to go cross-country

for a short bit to the dark and uninviting hole into Spooky. Entry is by sliding down steep sandstone into the bowels of the beast. 2 miles for the loop

BRIMSTONE The Brimstone slot is perhaps 3 miles from Peek-A-Boo. As you face Peek-A-Boo, go to your right and hike the Dry Fork Wash. After a couple miles or less, spot a wide, flat, sandy canyon opening to your left. Take this for another half mile or so and it leads you right into Brimstone. In 2021 we hiked from the upper trailhead (see the Peek-ABoo page), through the Dry Fork slot (super) and onward to Brimstone, a round trip of about 9

miles. We endured gusty winds of 20 to 45 mph with blowing sand. A bit of adventure on the way: a 10foot-high rock blocks the route, requiring a climb down and then a climb back up on the return. The slot is the best: about a quarter-mile long, narrow narrow, with walls as high as perhaps 200 feet. You’ll have to remove your packs at the narrowest spots. About 6 miles RT to Brimstone from Peek--Boo.

Above: Spooky before it becomes spooky. At right: Now it’s spooky.

Jonelle at the entrance to Brimstone. 2003 16

Don is deep in the Brimstone slot. 2003 17

KODACHROME BASIN STATE PARK More fantastic shapes in sandstone. Kodachrome is 34 miles south from Escalante on Hwy 12 to Cannonville, then 9

miles south of Cannonville on Cottonwood Canyon Road. Numerous short trails. There is a $10 day use fee.

SHEEP CREEK A pleasant hike down the wide Sheep Creek canyon to its confluence with Willis Creek. The canyon deepens as you go along, bordered by colorful walls. A bonus is the chance to see two different examples of rock art. The first is at the confluence of the two creeks. The other, the Blue Snake Panel, is easier to find on your return hike. About 10 minutets back from the confluence, look for a tall ponderosa tree on the left. You’ll find this panel under a small overhang behind the ponderosa.

The trailhead is about 45 miles from Escalante, roughly 3 miles before you reach Willis Creek. Drive south down Hiway 12 for 34 miles to Cannonville, then south down Cottonwood Canyon Road for some 8 miles and make the righthand turn onto Skutumpah Road, driving it for 3 miles. The trailhead appears just after you drive across a dam. Parking is on the left. 3.5 miles RT

Along Sheep Creek.

Jonelle is intrigued by the sugges�ve sandstone monoliths of Kodachrome Basin State Park.

Petroglyphs at the confluence of Willis and Sheep creeks.

WILLIS NARROWS We loved this narrow canyon when we hiked it in 2007. Willis Creek is about 43 miles from Escalante: south down Hiway 12 for 34 miles, then south down Cottonwood Canyon Road for 3 miles and then down

Skutumpah Road for about 6 miles,to the marked trailhead. Coming from the south up Skutumpah off Hiway 89, the narrows are about 8 miles north of Lick Wash. 3 miles RT or less

GROSVENER ARCH An impressive arch 52 miles from Escalante. Drive south down Hiway 12 for 34 miles to Cannonville, then south down Cottonwood Canyon Road for about 18 miles. You can walk under the arches via a short sidewalk. Toilets.

Jonelle enters the narrowest stretch of Willis Creek Narrows. 2007

Jonelle drops into the Narrows. 2007

COTTONWOOD WASH NARROWS These narrows can be approached from either Escalante or Kanab. From Escalante drive 34 miles south on Hiway 12 to Cannonville, then down Cottonwood Canyon Road for roughly 25 miles (12.5 miles southeast of Kodachrome Basin State Park). From Kanab take Hiway 89 east for 46 miles. Turn left onto Cottonwood Canyon Road between mile markers 17 and 18 and drive

the dirt road for some 25 miles to the north trailhead. There is no signpost on the road, but look for a colorful line of jagged red, orange and white rocks on the east side of the road as it drops into a small valley. Entrance to the narrows is on the west side of the road. The canyon is interesting for a few hundred yards upstream and for 1 mile downstream. 3 miles RT or less

COTTONWOOD CANYON ROAD This is a good dirt road, 47 miles long, connecting Hiway 12 south of Escalante to Hiway 89 east of Kanab. At the north, the road begins at Cannonville, 34 miles

south of Escalante on Hiway 12. At the south, road begins 46 miles east of Kanab on Hwy 89, between mile markers 17 and 18. Makes for a great high desert drive.

CANYON OVERLOOK

ZION NARROWS Wade up the river beneath mighty sandstone walls. The start is 46 miles from Kanab, west on Hiway 89 and then west on Hiway 9 into Zion National Park. A

refreshing, beautiful hike, as we learned in 2007. Warning: It’s Popular. Very popular. 2 miles RT or whatever you want to make it

Hike an interesting engineered trail to an impressive overlook into Zion National Park’s East Canyon. Very popular — arrive early, very early. Drive 13 miles west on Hiway 89 from Kanab, then about 23 miles west on Hiway 9. Trail starts

just east of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel from a parking lot on the right. Trailhead is behind the ranger traffic booth on the side of the road. 1 mile RT

Wading up the Narrows, 2007

Wading up the Narrows, 2021

Trail to the overlook.

View from the overlook.

CHECKERBOARD MESA With its distinctive cross-hatch pattern on a cone-shaped White Cliffs formation, Checkerboard Mesa is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Zion National Park. The checkerboard pattern is created by vertical and horizontal cracks. From Kanab drive west on Hiway 89 for 13 miles, then left on Hiway 9 for 18 miles or so. The mesa is less than a mile before you

reach Zion’s eastern entrance. There are a few roadside pullouts beneath the butte, but you also can park up the road at the Checkerboard viewpoint. The drainage just to the west, Checkerboard Mesa Canyon, makes for a pleasant short hike. You can also hike to the top, unless you’re 82 years old. 2 miles RT, 900 feet gain

BEST FRIENDS SANCTUARY Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is home to 1,700 rescue animals. You’ll find burros and birds, rabbits and goats, pigs and parrots. Oh yes, also dogs and cats. And of corse there’s a horse. Four free tours daily, 1½ hours long. A big developed place—nation’s largest no-kill shelter, lots of different

tours and a shop. To get to the sanctuary, drive 7 miles north of Kanab up Hiway 89, then turn right onto Angel Canyon Road/Kanab Canyon Road. https://indd.adobe.com/view/ fefb8d71-2b25-47cf-91e82a2701c57170

SQUAW TRAIL Hike right out of Kanab up a trail that ends at expansive views of the town and of the plateaus of northern Arizona. The trail winds in and out of the folds of the Vermillion Cliffs and climbs over a

LICK WASH

ridge with endless vistas and, how nice, a picnic table. The trail starts just north of Jacob Hamblin Park on N 100 East in Kanab. 3 miles RT, 800 feet gain

Lick Wash is a narrow canyon with a couple of short slots. We greatly enjoyed it when we were there in 2007. In 2021 we hiked through the slots and then down the canyon for another couple miles -- fairly narrow, but with sand and dirt along the sides bearing some sizable trees. And up above, high high cliff walls with a remarkable variety of colors and patterning. From Kanab take Hiway 89 for 8 miles east and turn left on the paved Johnson Canyon Road, just past mile marker 55. Follow it for 16.3 miles and turn right on the gravel Skutumpah Road, taking it for 14.8 miles to a side road of 0.1 miles to the trailhead (2 miles north of Deer Springs Ranch). There should be a sign indicating the hike and the trailhead, a couple hundred yards off Skutumpah Road . 3 miles RT or whatever you like

Paintbrush and sandstone.

Jonelle hiking Lick Wash Narrows. 2007

SKUTUMPAH ROAD This dirt and gravel route, 34 Cottonwood Canyon Road for 3 miles long, is one of several roads miles, where Skutumpah goes off to that together link Hiway 89 with the right Hiway 12. To access the road from Kanab, take Hiway 89 east for 8 miles and turn left on the paved Johnson Canyon Road, just past mile marker 55. Follow this road for 16.3 miles and then turn right onto Skutumpah Road. To access the road from Escalante, drive 34 miles south on Hiway 12, then south on

YELLOW ROCK Yellow Rock is a low, smoothsided dome of swirling, multicolored Navajo sandstone. It lies close to the road and its summit can be reached by a steep cairned route. From Kanab drive east for 46 miles, then north for 14.3 miles on Cottonwood Canyon Road. Parking is on the east side of the

road at the junction with a less traveled route (the steep and narrow Brigham Plains Road). Yellow Rock can’t be seen from the road, so the easiest way to find it is to go to the Lower Hackberry Canyon parking area, which does have a sign, and then drive back (south) 0.2 miles. 2 miles RT, 780 feet gain

Yes, it’s yellow.

Don, Jonelle and the camper braving Skutumpah Road. 2007 At play on a yellow mound by Yellow Rock.

LOWER HACKBERRY CANYON Another beauty. A lovely narrow stream, about 2 inches deep, flows through the sand for most of the way. I hiked barefoot in the stream -- felt so good. From Kanab take Hiway 89 east for 32 miles, between mile markers 17 and 18. Turn left onto Cottonwood Canyon Road and take it for 14.5 miles. Look for a sign for Lower Hackberry and turn left into

a small loop parking area. From Escalante drive 34 miles to Cannonville, then down Cottonwood Canyon Road for about 30 miles or so. From the trail register, head west down a sandy trail to the streambed, turn left and hike up the streambed and into the canyon. 3 miles RT or whatever you like

PARIA and PAHREAH This place is best known as the Paria Movie Set but the collection of Old West structures burned down in 2006. It still makes for a good drive to the site of the 19th century settlement of Pahreah. From Kanab drive east on Hiway 89 for about 35 miles, near milepost 31. A turnoff sign says

Historical Marker and Paria Movie Set. Go north on the dirt road for 5 miles to the old town site. The movie set was built in the 1960s and is known mostly for Clint Eastwood’s film The Outlaw Josey Wales and the TV series Gunsmoke. Tables and toilets.

The road to the site of two towns that no longer exist: the se�lement of Pahreah and the Paria movie set of an Old West town.

This building welcomed movie hombres and lawmen before it burned down. But s�ll, you can almost smell the Gunsmoke.

THE TOADSTOOLS A walk of less than a mile takes you to the Red Toadstool, with its fat cap of hard sandstone sitting atop a column of softer sandstone that has largely eroded away. More toadstools await as you walk farther. From Kanab, drive 45 miles east on Hiway 89 (about 12 miles west of the town of Big Water). Look for a Toadstools Trailhead sign on the north side of the highway. One hiker reports: “When you arrive at the toadstools you're going to feel like you've somehow gone to the moon.” 1.5 miles RT or longer for more exploring

THE NAUTILUS This remarkable sandstone formation is an outcrop of a soft, thin-layered rock with a rippled surface texture forming a corkscrewt-like gully. It’s reminiscent of a conch shell, hence the name Nautilus. From Kanab drive Hiway 89 east for 45 miles to the Paria Contact Station (ranger station) on your

right. Immediately to the left of the station is White House Road. Take this dirt road for about a mile and a half and park to your right just after the second wsh (well before the White House campground). Watch carefully, there is no sign. Hike the wash directly toward the unusual gentle gray-white hills. 1 mile RT

WIRE PASS

NARROWS

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Another of our very favorite slot canyons, which we hiked in 2007. You’re gonna love this one. From Kanab drive about 40 miles east on Hiway 89 and then south on House Rock Road for 8.4 miles to the trailhead. The road steadily ascends for 2.5 miles to a saddle. Ignore the right fork to Fivemile Mountain at the saddle, then descend to a crossing of the Buckskin Gulch wash. Ignore the signed turnoff to Buckskin Gulch trailhead and continue on to the Wire Pass trailhead. Toilets. Very popular. 3.5 miles RT

BUCKSKIN GULCH Wire Pass

Jonelle in Wire Pass. 2007 36

Less than 2 miles down the Wire Pass Narrows is its confluence with Buckskin Gulch, a famed long and spectacular narrow canyon.

Wire Pass Wire Pass

Jonelle in Wire Pass. 2007