2022 - West - June 12 - Escalante UT - Devil's Garden & Zebra Slot Canyon

 Another hot, sandy, windy day and two more hikes under our belts. Did I say "hot"? Yes, 90s is too hot for hiking. 

Our first short hike was in the morning when things were a little cooler. Another washboard Jeep ride down Hole in the Rock road brought is to Devil's Garden. The rock formations were incredible.

Next, we decided to hike Zebra Slot Canyon. 

At the beginning of the trail we met a girl, Kennedie, who was by herself.  She joined us on the trail. I have to admire a 24-year old woman travelling alone determined to have an adventure.

The canyon is amazing but the hike in is brutal. First you walk through a cow pasture (complete with cows, bulls, calves, and cowpies), then lots of deep sand. 

and more lizards (this one had more orange than others we had seen).

It was nice having someone with us. Vaughan & I even have a few pictures together now. Thanks, Kennedie!

Here is Vaughan & our new friend, Kennedie. They just squeezed through - tiny as she was, she still had to turn sideways to get through. They left their packs with me.

Click on the link below for a short video of the hike out - the easy part. 

Kennedie was trying to keep us alive by feeding us gummy worms.

Escalante UT - Zebra Slot Canyon - YouTube

Then came the long hike out - exhausted & hot. Worth the walk?  You betcha!

2022 - West - June 10 - Escalante UT - Big Horn Slot

 Today's adventure was a long (5.3 miles) and very hot hike (90s).  The first 2 miles you walk down Harris Wash which at first had a little water with tadpoles (haven't seen those in years). Then everything dried out and you either walked through the wash which was very rocky or through deep sand which was very difficult.  The reward at the end was crazy. The slot at first was fairly wide and then so skinny we had to turn around.

Here is a teaser - 

If you are tired of looking at pictures, click on this link and join us for a actual walk in the canyon.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBjOhmUvKc8

Now for the photo journey - 

This little stream was complete with pollywogs (or tadpoles, if you like) - 

This one already had legs - 

Then through the dry wash - 

Then the trek through the sand - 

Finally, after over 2 miles we near the entry to the canyon - 

Then it narrowed down.  If you look at the top of some of these pictures you can see the debris build up. This shows how much water travels through these slots. 

The waters are so forceful they can carry large logs.

This is where it became so tight we had to turn around.  Vaughan told me "Let's give it a try."

  I told Vaughan to go first.  

If I went first and he got stuck behind me then we would both be trapped.

He couldn't squeeze thru.  The chipmunks had no problem.

Another day, another slot canyon!

2022 - West - June 8 - UT - Escalante - Escalante River Trail & Hogback

 Another hike is in the books - Escalante River Trail to a natural bridge, an arch, and an old native dwelling. This hike was more strenuous than I thought - over 5 miles with lots of river crossings, tons of hot sand, and not much shade. There were more lizards than other places we've hiked, and they were huge - about 12" long. 

The water was so cold but in this heat it felt great.

Two miles in was this beautiful natural bridge.

Up on the edge of the bridge were these bird nests built from mud.

Another 1/2 mile brought us to this arch.

and down and to the left of the arch was an old native dwelling built into the side of the rock cliff.

Then - the hike back - 

Once the hike was over, we thought it would be nice to head over to Boulder for some lunch. This meant driving The Hogback. This is eleven and a half miles of the craziest 2-lane road you’ve ever seen; a rocky spine with a drop of over a thousand feet on both sides.

The first time we drove this we were in our old RV. In the RV you are up higher and can't really see the shoulder of the road and you feel like you are inches from the cliffs instead of 5 feet.

If you click on the following link and get past the first 30 seconds you will see what I mean - 

https://youtu.be/Br4wiXcFnnQ

Here is a view out the Jeep window - 

Did I mention - no guardrails on lots of curving, cliffy spots.