2022 Spring Utah Adventure, 4.23.22 - 5.12.22, Part 4 of 12

After returning from our great hike in Kodachrome Basin we packed up the RV and departed for the town of Escalante. It was only an hour drive but we were able to check in when we arrived. The Canyons of the Escalante RV Park was very conveniently located to all the things we wanted to do. Since we would be there for four nights, it was also good that we had full hookups for long hot showers and recharging phones and the like.

Harry and Annie followed us to Escalante and they were conveniently located directly across the street from our campground. That afternoon Mike Kent showed up. He had found a really sweet dispersed spot just out of town so he was happy. The seven of us all went out to dinner right next door to our campground. Mike’s birthday was coming up in a couple of days. I had called ahead and found a lady who owns a bakery in Escalante. The bakery was temporarily closed but she was willing to make a cake and delivered it to the market down the street to hold in their fridge for us. I went down there before dinner and picked it up. It was a flourless chocolate torte with blueberries, raspberries and chocolate shavings all over the top of it. The thing weighed a ton but it sure looked good! She even provided three candles, one for the past, one for the present and one for the future. That sounded much better than trying to fit a hundred candles or whatever his age is on the top of the cake! Anyway, we had a fantastic meal and I was so pleased to see my Washington friends mingling with my Colorado friends. It made for a very festive meal. And the cake might have been the best cake I’ve ever had and that’s not an exaggeration! It was seriously delicious!

The following morning was one of the times I had a hike planned that I knew would be too hard for the others. Harry and Annie planned to leave that morning anyway and Bob and Dana made their own plans to go touring with the side by side. Mike and I left in the Jeep at 8AM. We drove five miles east of town and turned down the Hole In The Rock Road. This historic Mormon trail runs from Escalante all the way to Lake Powell, a distance of about sixty-two miles. It is located within the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I have read and heard so much about Grand Staircase-Escalante and have wanted to visit the area for a long time so I was thrilled beyond belief that we were finally driving right into the heart of it.

Our plan for the day was to drive about twenty-six miles down the Hole In The Rock Road turning off at the Dry Fork Road and following it a few miles to the Dry Fork Trailhead. From there we would hike to Peekaboo Slot Canyon, follow it up, cross over to Spooky Gulch and come down Spooky as a loop hike. Then before heading back to the trailhead we planned to hike up Dry Fork Narrows and back.

I knew from my research that this would be one of the highlights of the entire vacation if we were to be successful but a few obstacles could prove to be challenging in our quest. For starters, there was an ominous sign at the trailhead warning of the perils of being too hefty to fit through Spooky Gulch. The sign was mounted on two posts stating that if you could not fit between the posts not to even attempt the hike or you might get stuck and have to be rescued. I’ve never been accused of being a pencil and I barely fit between the posts but fit I did so I was rarin’ to go. I’m glad you didn’t have to be taller than the clown or I never would have passed the test!

**From the trailhead we would drop to the junction between Dry Fork and Peekaboo, go up Peekaboo, come down Spooky and then do an out and back up Dry Fork Narrows**

This hike had become very popular in the last few years so Mike and I were shocked when we were only the second car in the parking lot. Just one more example of the myriad of good tidings that would hover over us throughout this trip.

The trail started out traversing the rim of a mesa for quite a ways. Eventually we rounded a corner and now we were able to look down on the wash of the Dry Fork where we thought we could see the entrance to Dry Fork Narrows, Peekaboo Slot Canyon and the exit from Spooky Gulch.

**Our route traversed just above the white rock around the far corner**

**Looking back towards the trailhead which is out of the picture on the left**

**Looking down to Dry Fork Wash. Peekaboo on the left, wide exit from Spooky on the right**

From this spot, the “trail” basically zig-zagged down a steep slickrock shelf. Since there was no path or trail on the hard rock, cairns marked the route until we had dropped down far enough to where a sandy trail led to the bottom of the wash. From the sign at the bottom it was just a few yards to the entrance to Peekaboo Slot.

Once we arrived at the entrance to Peekaboo Slot Canyon the second challenge lay before us. The first was if I was thin enough to even attempt the hike. Check. This second challenge was more of a technical nature. To even get into the Peekaboo Slot Canyon, first you must climb a smooth wall about twenty feet high. There were a few Moki steps (small carved indentations) but they were smoothed out from years of use and there wasn’t a whole lot of things to hold on to. And this is where my commercial plug comes in.

Prior to this trip I was looking for a good “desert shoe”. One that would be comfortable for miles of walking, could perform well on both rock and in sand and be able to handle stream crossings. My friend Kent is a sales rep for Brooks Shoe Company. He suggested I try a pair of Brooks Cascadia 16 shoes which were designed for trail runners. I bought a pair from him and this would be their first true test. The soles were great and when I really needed a good grip on the vertical slickrock wall, they performed exceedingly well. My first couple of attempts to get up the wall to the entrance resulted in short slips near the base but once I got going I managed to work my way up near the top. With no more footholds, I finally flopped my torso over the edge of the lip and a few wriggles later I was inside Peekaboo Slot Canyon!

**Peekaboo entrance. One family ahead of us.**

**Mike “Daddy Long Legs” Kent had no trouble accessing the canyon**

Just behind Mike, a solo woman worked her way over the lip and joined us. Her name was Grace and she was from Oakland. She ended up doing both Peekaboo and Spooky with us and was good company. The three of us took turns leading and we all took pictures of each other so a few of these may be credited to her.

Once we were actually inside Peekaboo Canyon, the next phase was purely magical. This was the coolest canyon I’d ever laid my eyes on and we were all grinning ear to ear with each step. There were so many fantastic shapes and bends. Sometimes you had to go under rocks, sometimes over and often just squeeze in between. It was all like an amazing amusement park ride and we were having the time of our lives!

After a purely joyous journey up through Peekaboo Slot Canyon we eventually popped out into the open. We had the entire canyon to ourselves because the family in front of us had been far enough ahead that we couldn’t see them. Once we came out of the slot though, the family was resting under the shade of a pinyon pine and so we were able to move ahead of them as we continued. Above Peekaboo, a string of cairns and a bit of sandy trail led across the slickrock for a ways before dropping into a new wash - the entrance to Spooky Gulch.

Spooky Gulch was every bit as amazing as Peekaboo Slot Canyon but it had challenges all its own that made for an interesting descent to say the least! Starting out rather inconspicuously, it then wasted no time in getting deeper, darker and a whole lot thinner.

About a third of the way down Spooky Gulch we came to a large chockstone which formed a very deep hole straight down to the floor of the gulch. It was maybe fifteen feet deep and dark and yes - spooky! We tried several different possibilities but could not find an easy way to get past this obstacle. We even considered turning back but we really didn’t want to have to do that so we kept trying. Mike, being the tallest, finally managed to pin his leg on one wall and his back against the other and had to sort of maneuver his body around a corner as he lowered himself a foot or two down the hole. From there he was able to get a firmer handle and was able to lower himself the rest of the way to the floor. Grace and I used his hands from below as an extra foothold and we too managed to get down without any broken bones.

After we negotiated the hole, we came to some spots where the walls were only a few inches apart. I’m talking really narrow. In one or two places I thought I might need someone to put a foot against my side and push me through but it never quite came to that. Of course it was way too narrow to wear our day packs so we had to pass those back and forth in several spots. What an adventure!

It wasn’t all just about narrow walls though. Throughout the gulch we had the most amazing light coming in from above and it created some beautiful colors on the canyon walls as we descended.

When we finally popped out at the bottom of Spooky Gulch, we had a short walk back up the wash past the entrance to Peekaboo Slot Canyon. There were now several parties waiting to climb into the entrance and we were so glad we gotten an early start and had the entire place to ourselves. At this point we said goodbye to Grace who was heading in a different direction. Mike and I wandered over to the entrance to the Dry Fork Narrows and after a lunch break we followed it up about a mile and a half and then came back down, eventually following the trail back up the hill, up the slickrock bench and back around the rim to the trailhead.

The whole day had been nothing short of mind bending (and a lot of body bending!). I believe Ibuprofin was on the dinner menu that night but I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment and I slept very well.

2022 Spring Utah Adventure, 4.23.22 - 5.12.22, Part 4 of 12

2022 Spring Utah Adventure, 4.23.22 - 5.12.22, Part 3 of 12

2022 Spring Utah Adventure, 4.23.22 - 5.12.22, Part 5 of 12