trips / utah/ escalante

Hype

Peekaboo and spooky are the quintessential first slot canyon experience for many. Relatively easy access, incredible slots, and a short day make this one to bring the family on. These canyons are popular for good reason.

Trailhead

Head east out of the town of Escalante about 5 miles on highway 12 until the well signed Hole in the Rock road. Go down the Hole in the Rock road 26.5 miles to the signed Dry Fork Trailhead road on the left. Follow this road 0.7 miles to a junction where you go left (road #252) another half mile to the end of the road and trailhead.

Route

From the trailhead, follow the marked trail north down into Dry Fork. The trail is well worn and easy to follow. At the bottom turn right, and find Peek-a-boo coming in 4 minutes down canyon on the left. The entrance to Peek-a-boo is guarded by a 6 m ( 20 ft. ) up-climb. The climb has carved steps, but is still a little tricky. A short rope for a hand line may be useful for beginners. This is the biggest obstacle of the hike.

Once in Peek-a-boo, enjoy the many arches and narrows. This is a gem! Continue up canyon until the canyon opens in to a wide open wash. Here a cairned trail takes off on the right. Follow this trail about 10 minutes over the open country to where it drops into Spooky, a large open wash at this point.

Head down Spooky! It gets deep and dark very quickly. Several spots are narrow enough you have to turn sideways. This is an amazing canyon. A couple of minor down climbs occur in the upper section, but if you look around, an easy path over or under the obstacle can be found. Once Spooky opens up, follow it down to it's junction with Dry Fork in about 5 minutes.

Last on the list is Brimstone. From the junction of Spooky and Dry Fork, hike down Dry Fork about 30 minutes to the first major canyon coming in on the left. This section can change with each flood, but is generally just an easy walk.

30 minutes down from Spooky a wide side canyon comes in on the left with impressive sand slides on the west side. This is Brimstone. Hike up the wide wash 10-15 minutes to where it suddenly narrows to an incredibly deep and dark slot. Work your way up as far as you comfortably can, but be careful, at least one person has gotten stuck in Brimstone. Return up Dry Fork to Peek-a-boo and the trail you came in on.

Photos (click on photo for more detail)

Maps

Comments