Peek-A-Boo

Peek-A-Boo is a fun little slot canyon just off Hole in the Rock Road near Escalante, Utah. We stopped there after a day of exploring other sights along this rough and bumpy road. With a few hours of daylight left, we figured we would have time to hike the 2.5 miles, so my nephew, Mason, Suki and I ventured off on the trail. Tom had hiked up some steep slopes and huge rocks earlier in the day, so he opted to stay in the truck and keep Cassie company.

The trail started out innocently enough, traversing through the sagebrush and grasses of the high desert, but it took a rapid decent to the rock ledges above the valley floor. We hiked along this outcropping for about a mile, as it meandered in and out of the the various washes that come into this valley. Then a section of slickrock appeared in front of us and it went down at a very steep angle, so second rapid decent. It did not impress Suki in the least, so Mason carried her down to the next level where we hiked a short distance on some level ground again. Then the second slickrock incline was in front of us, and this one was even steeper. Suki accepted the offer of a ride again, and we made a third rapid decent. Once we were at the bottom, there was a short walk through the sandy wash to the entrance of Peek-A-Boo Canyon.

Beyond the entrance, the walls got taller and taller, and closer and closer, not so much to be claustrophobic, yet we could notice everything getting narrower. The worst part was that it had rained recently, and there was still wet sticky clay on the floor of the canyon. It stuck to our shoes and Suki’s paws, adding unnecessary weight to each step. Then the canyon started to swerve back and forth, and the walls became more sculpted from the aggressive currents of rushing water that has flowed through here. We reached a point where the walls were barely wide enough to get through without turning sideways, and the floor was around a foot wide. Then, suddenly, around one sharp corner, muddy water covered the floor for as far as we could see. It was probably only ankle deep, but it was enough for us to say we had seen enough and we turned around, retraced our steps up the rock inclines and along the ledges to the beginning of the trail. I should have gotten more pictures, but Suki was pooped from hikes earlier in the day, and we carried her some of the way down the trail and through the canyon. Suki and I, both say thank you Mason! This slot canyon can be hiked in a loop with another one called Spooky Canyon, but after encountering the water, we decided to just head back out instead hiking the extra miles to that one. Spooky Canyon is also much narrower, in fact there are some posts at the trailhead, with a sign stating you must be able to pass between the posts to hike the canyon without needing to be rescued (btw, I made it though them, barely). It was great to hike this with Mason.

We spent most of today in and around the motorhome. Looking at options for vehicles, places to visit and such. We did venture out late this afternoon to see what was down some of these trails around us. Through our travels today, it appears they are just trails through the desert to enjoy the scenery around us. We did find our way to a ghost town on one of the roads, which was fun and interesting. Thanks to Tom, we ate well today, with him making egg, sausage and cheese croissants for breakfast, and brats and German potato salad for supper....delicious.

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