Trip Date: November 2, 2021
2021 DESERT SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE VACATION
Dry Fork Canyons Figure-8 Exploration Loop & Day Hike
Dry Fork Narrows
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon
Spooky Slot Canyon
Trip Report Summary
Region: Utah
Sub-Region: Southwestern Utah
Area: Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument
Starting & Ending Point: Upper Dry Fork Trailhead on Hole-in-the-Rock Road #200
Way Points: Dry Fork Coyote Gulch & Dry Fork Narrows upper portal & Dry Fork Narrows lower portal & Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon lower portal & Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon upper portal & Spooky Slot Canyon upper portal & Spooky Slot Canyon lower portal & Dry Fork Wash & Dry Fork Rim (trail hike & sand hike & rock scramble)
Invert: Dry Fork Narrows (top-down traverse of full length)
Invert: Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon (bottom-up traverse of full length)
Invert: Spooky Slot Canyon (top-down traverse of full length)
Approximate Stats: 5.2 miles traveled; 500 feet gained & lost; 5.1 hours elapsed.
Full Trip Report
If you are looking for a canyoneering adventure that provides maximum excitement in a short amount of time, it would be hard to beat the Dry Fork Canyons Figure-8 Loop. This popular half-day trek in the Scorpion Wilderness Study Area of Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument combines three excellent slot canyons: Dry Fork Narrows, Peek-A-Boo Canyon, and Spooky Canyon. When the canyons are completed in that sequence, the drama successively increases by an order of magnitude, and you will come away feeling both traumatized and giddy!
The Dry Fork Canyons Figure-8 Loop can be started either from Lower Dry Fork Trailhead or Upper Dry Fork Trailhead, both of which are located along Hole-in-the-Rock Road #200. The lower (original) trailhead sits at the end of a short but rough spur road that diverges from Road #200, and it offers a more direct access to all three canyons. The upper (new) trailhead sits conveniently alongside Road #200 and provides easier access for two-wheel-drive vehicles.
Not wanting to tackle the rough spur road, Eileen, Steve, Deb, and I started our loop at Upper Dry Fork Trailhead. We hiked northeastward across the desert plateau on a good trail, then followed a series of cairns down into Dry Fork Coyote Gulch. A sandy wash funneled us into a rocky groove that became steadily deeper and narrower. Before long, we were hiking through the nifty slot canyon of Dry Fork Narrows, but this was merely a teaser for what lay ahead.
From the exit portal of Dry Fork Narrows, we walked a short distance along a sandy wash and quickly arrived at the entry portal of Peek-A-Boo Canyon. This canyon has a famously tricky entrance, which involves climbing up a 12-foot-high face of smooth sandstone. The ascent would require difficult Class 5 moves if not for the fact that pioneering canyoneers have carved several handholds and footholds into the rock. As such, the ascent is now an easier—albeit unprotectable—Class 4 climb.
I was volunteered to lead the entry pitch, so I headed up with our 10-meter panic rope. Because the ground consisted of a large mud puddle, all of the footholds were coated with a micro-layer of sand and mud left by previous parties, thereby making the ascent more difficult than it first appeared. I gingerly moved up the face and flopped over the lip into an alcove, then belayed the others up with our panic rope.
Once everyone had moved into the alcove, we began working our way through the slot canyon. Unlike many canyons, which have a fairly flat bottom and straight walls, this one comprises a continuous series of large potholes and windows. Most potholes were filled with either water or mud, requiring us to make all sorts of comically inelegant maneuvers to get from one window to the next. Near the middle, we had to slither down an 8-foot drophole. By the time we reached the exit portal, our clothes were smeared with mud and we were chuckling at our pathetic appearance!
From the exit portal of Peek-A-Boo Canyon, we hiked across the desert plateau for ½ mile, following cairns that eventually took us down to Spooky Gulch. A sandy wash quickly led us into Spooky Slot Canyon.
Spooky Slot Canyon has a notoriously tricky step-down near the entrance. This step-down is reported to have a handline in place on a randomly intermittent basis, depending on whether previous parties have decided to remove it or leave it. There was no handline here today, so we tied a runner between two chockstones and used our panic rope to “batman” down the step.
Once past the step-down, things got really fun. The vertical canyon walls pinched in so closely that we could barely squeeze between them, and we often had to turn sideways. At its narrowest spot, the walls were only 10 inches apart; here, I found it necessary to exhale in order to get my chest through. Without a doubt, Spooky Canyon is aptly named, because this is not a comfortable place for anybody with the slightest bit of claustrophobia!
Just about when it seemed that the canyon walls would totally clamp shut on us, we emerged from the spooky confines and entered a broad wash. We were all dumbstruck by now, and I personally came away with the feeling of having just walked through a haunted house! The wash led us past the entrance of Peek-A-Boo Canyon, then a cairn-marked trail took us up to the plateau rim and back to our starting point (5.1 hours total trek). This incredible figure-8 loop became a highlight of our entire trip through the Desert Southwest.
Route Map & Profile
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Photo Gallery
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