Trip Report AprMay2014 - Peek-A-Boo Gulch
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Peek-A-Boo Gulch
I return to Dry Fork (from Spooky) and head back onto the trail around the
butte but going west this time looking for Peek-A-Boo Gulch entrance. I’m
looking for a dry-fall entrance this time unlike Spooky which has a walk in
entrance. It doesn’t take long and I’m at Peek-A-Boo at 10:39 am AZ time. The
entrance to Peek-A-Boo is more a jagged crack in the canyon wall about 15 feet
above the streambed. The waterhole below the crack was dry on my visit and
there are five rocks stacked onto each other at the bottom making a rather high
step for scrambling up the steep slickrock. I noticed a few shallow holes in
the slickrock obviously man-made handholds for aiding the climb up. I’m a big
old man hiking solo and this approach did not look very appealing so I started
to look for alternatives.
I study the
topographical map in the atlas "Escalante River 2014 Canyon Atlas" and look at the sandy dirt hill to the west of
the entrance and start planning a route around the entrance to a spot about 500
feet upstream where the map shows an opening in the canyon. I didn’t see a path
so I just start walking straight up the hill making a zigzag to lessen the
elevation change. As I get higher up the hill the terrain changes to slickrock.
I notice what looks like a trail way to the left which is the opposite
direction I’m heading but try to figure out where it went to the right. I
continue north looking for the break to the east and come across a rock-pile on
the slickrock. I see another rock-pile in the direction I was hiking and
started to follow them since they seem to be going where I wanted to go. It
doesn’t take long to come to an obvious rugged narrow slot opening looking down
to the right and a fairly wide sandy wash to the left. As I approached, a young
couple had just scrambled out of the crack and I inquired about where they came
from finding it was indeed the lower slot to Peek-A-Boo but it was fairly tough
going. They warned me it may be difficult for me to go downstream.
It was 11:03 am AZ time and the sun was high in the sky and it was feeling warm although the temps were only in the sixties. I had plenty of time but only brought 2 fluids containers along. I was game and started hiking upstream in the sandy wash with sloping slickrock walls not knowing what to expect. The wash is about 15 to 20 feet wide but as I hike upstream I notice the sloping walls are becoming more vertical and are getting closer together. The sun is splitting the canyon with one wall in the sun while the opposite wall is in the shade making it a photographer’s nightmare. I take a few photographs along the way anyways. The canyon walls become more jagged and the narrow sandy streambed is now making short left and right bends. I eventually come to a section where I need to remove the backpack and walk sideways to continue. I’m in a real slot canyon now and am thrilled by it.
I decide to drop the backpack so I can mover quicker through the canyon not realizing the tight slot goes on and on. I’m getting pretty far from the backpack but keep going anyways until the tight slot opens up into a wide wash again. I’m greeted by a party of about 15 people taking a break and half of them are sitting down on the slickrock. It is now 11:24 am AZ time and I don’t have any water with me. I talked to the group leader, a woman outfitter that had brought the group up through Peek-A-Boo and they were going cross-country over to Spooky and down through it. I followed a few of the rock-piles marking this shortcut but since I had left the backpack behind didn’t go very far and headed back down Peek-A-Boo. I return to the backpack and find a good spot to set up the tripod for some DSLR shots of me in the canyon. I setup for a second location but the high contrast is killing my photo opportunities. It is about 12:13 pm AZ time by the time I make it back to Dry Fork and spend only about ten minutes checking out the West Narrows since I will be taking a different route back to the trailhead and not knowing what to expect.
I pack the DSLR away in the backpack at 12:24 pm AZ time to make the climb up and out of Dry Fork and arrive at the pickup truck at 1:15 pm AZ time. I had no problem following the rock-piles up and came to the sideways sloping slickrock ledge that prompted me to take an alternative route. I watched two skinny female hikers cautiously make the 25 foot walk along the ledge and they stopped near me so we talked for a minute or two before they continued on the way. They told me it wasn’t that bad making the crossing but I figured I had a hundred pounds on them and was wondering how well my shoes would grip with the extra weight. I paused for about 5 minutes before working up the courage to go and didn’t waste any time walking the 25 feet along the ledge to a two knee step that still need to be scrambled. I heard a cheer in the distance from the two ladies after making the crossing. I was relieved but huffing and puffing, caught my breath and made the knee climb over the hump and after a few hundred feet was on my waypoints back to the trailhead.
It was 11:03 am AZ time and the sun was high in the sky and it was feeling warm although the temps were only in the sixties. I had plenty of time but only brought 2 fluids containers along. I was game and started hiking upstream in the sandy wash with sloping slickrock walls not knowing what to expect. The wash is about 15 to 20 feet wide but as I hike upstream I notice the sloping walls are becoming more vertical and are getting closer together. The sun is splitting the canyon with one wall in the sun while the opposite wall is in the shade making it a photographer’s nightmare. I take a few photographs along the way anyways. The canyon walls become more jagged and the narrow sandy streambed is now making short left and right bends. I eventually come to a section where I need to remove the backpack and walk sideways to continue. I’m in a real slot canyon now and am thrilled by it.
I decide to drop the backpack so I can mover quicker through the canyon not realizing the tight slot goes on and on. I’m getting pretty far from the backpack but keep going anyways until the tight slot opens up into a wide wash again. I’m greeted by a party of about 15 people taking a break and half of them are sitting down on the slickrock. It is now 11:24 am AZ time and I don’t have any water with me. I talked to the group leader, a woman outfitter that had brought the group up through Peek-A-Boo and they were going cross-country over to Spooky and down through it. I followed a few of the rock-piles marking this shortcut but since I had left the backpack behind didn’t go very far and headed back down Peek-A-Boo. I return to the backpack and find a good spot to set up the tripod for some DSLR shots of me in the canyon. I setup for a second location but the high contrast is killing my photo opportunities. It is about 12:13 pm AZ time by the time I make it back to Dry Fork and spend only about ten minutes checking out the West Narrows since I will be taking a different route back to the trailhead and not knowing what to expect.
I pack the DSLR away in the backpack at 12:24 pm AZ time to make the climb up and out of Dry Fork and arrive at the pickup truck at 1:15 pm AZ time. I had no problem following the rock-piles up and came to the sideways sloping slickrock ledge that prompted me to take an alternative route. I watched two skinny female hikers cautiously make the 25 foot walk along the ledge and they stopped near me so we talked for a minute or two before they continued on the way. They told me it wasn’t that bad making the crossing but I figured I had a hundred pounds on them and was wondering how well my shoes would grip with the extra weight. I paused for about 5 minutes before working up the courage to go and didn’t waste any time walking the 25 feet along the ledge to a two knee step that still need to be scrambled. I heard a cheer in the distance from the two ladies after making the crossing. I was relieved but huffing and puffing, caught my breath and made the knee climb over the hump and after a few hundred feet was on my waypoints back to the trailhead.
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