I’ve visited quite a few National Parks in my time. Growing up my parents dragged us kids to Shenandoah, the Smokies, Everglades,… I didn’t appreciate it at the time. But I guess the beauty of the parks made its way into my veins. Now wherever I travel I make it a point to see these amazing parks.
Despite all the parks I’ve visited, I’ve never been to the Utah parks. Everyone raves about them. So I decided we’d stop on our drive from OR to AZ. We had 7 days to explore Grand Staircase-Escalante, Bryce and Zion. Our first stop was in the little town of Escalante. It acted as our home base for 2 days/3 nights while we explored Grand Staircase-Escalante.
I was excited. I planned for us to hike a loop through Spooky, Peek-A-Boo and Dry Gulch canyons. I was a little nervous, as I had never hiked a slot canyon and didn’t know exactly what to expect. But when have I ever had issues with a 3 mile hike!?!
The next morning we drove down Hole-in-the-Rock-Road. This road is not paved. We bumped over rocks and horrible washboard for 26 miles to the trail head. The last few miles were so uneven that the car was leaning at a 45 degree angle. I thought we’d tip over! And of course my constant “be careful” warnings to Laura, as she was driving, were beginning to get under her skin.
At the trail head we hiked down the slope into the gulch towards the canyon mouths. In sand and on slick rock it’s hard to follow a trail. But after a few wrong turns and watching closely for the cairns we made it down the gulch. Again there had been a few tense moments as we lost the trail. So the day wasn’t starting out so great.
Dry Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante
When we got to the opening for Peek-A-Boo canyon we weren’t even sure it was the trail head. Looming above us was a 20 foot vertical rock wall that we needed to scale to get inside the canyon.
There was a group of 4 men there getting ready to enter the canyon. We watched while the first guy scaled the wall. He then tied rope off around his waist and threw the rope back down to his friends. They used the rope to aid their climb up the wall, as the slick rock didn’t have much in the way of hand holds.
Then they offered us the rope. But with the 4 guys’ eyes on me, I declined. I’m scared of heights! I was not sure I could do this. And when I’m unsure or scared of a situation I don’t like having all eyes on me. What if I can’t do it? What if I fail in front of them?
We continued down the trail to the second canyon mouth, Spooky. For Spooky there was no wall to scale to get inside. We started in. Shortly after entering the canyon, the walls narrowed. They narrowed so much that we had to take the back pack off and turn sideways to side step through the canyon. We were in a different world. The light narrowed to a slit 30 feet above us. The smooth cold rock surrounded us. The rock was banded in different colors. Then pebbled with tiny little rocks sticking out of the smooth surface.
Dry Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante
Talking while we hiked, we decided to back track and give Peek-A-Boo another try. So with Laura behind me pushing a little (both literally and figuratively), I managed to make it up the first 10 foot pitch onto a ledge. Next Laura scrambled up behind me onto the ledge. The next 10 foot pitch was more difficult because it had fewer hand and foot holds. I managed to get about half way up before I couldn’t move. My hands were sweating and I was glued to my spot. With Laura below me, I allowed her to guide my feet back down.
We hemmed and hawed on the ledge with tensions rising (yes, again). Laura tried to encourage me up. She told me physically I could do this. It was in my head why I couldn’t climb up the last 10 feet. After further “debating” she knew my fear wasn’t going to let me go up or down. So she blindly back climbed down the wall. Once Laura was safely down she was able to help guide me down.
It was a trying and disappointing day – scary roads (well at least for me), wrong turns on the trail, and a 20 foot vertical rock wall. Fear had won. We didn’t complete the hike. We only had brief glimpses inside these canyons that look so beautiful in photographs.
Fear is a hard thing to overcome. The day reinforced two things for me. One, when you’re given a helping hand, such as the guys with the rope, you must take the opportunity. Who cares how you might be perceived. Because who knows when you’ll get another chance.
Two, I consider this, not so successful encounter with the canyons, just a trial run. And like everything else in life, you have to get back on and ride if you’re ever going to be successful.
You can see more pictures from our time in Utah on Facebook.
Calf Creek, Grand Staircase-Escalante
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