Alone in Slot Canyons - I've made better decisions (Day 11)

Today was devoted to  a very specific hike I'd found... you guessed it... while cruising around online. As you do!

Peekaboo slot canyon is in Grande Escalante area. It's considered challenging not because of the length of the hike, elevation gain or because it's technical, but maybe because the full hike is;

Dry Fork Narrows -> Peekaboo Canyon ->Spooky Canyon -> Dry Fork Canyon (All slots)

To navigate these up and down in narrow spaces, you pretty much need to be a size 4 or smaller according to the frame you need to walk through as a test before leaving the trailhead. 

I also followed some pretty good directional advice from a Utah family blog that I'd found. However, I was off-trail (because there is no real trail) within the first 1/2 mile. Trail markers are mostly just cairns... little ones.

When momma blogger said "follow the wash after you climb down the cliff" I failed! Firstly I never found the cliff - apparently already awry by then. Then I found the wash anyway and went left, later finding out that going right was the correct answer - but in either case, I think the extra word in her sentence would have made all the difference.

Footsteps disappeared under what I assumed were simply fresher cowprints. But finding toilet paper on a bush as I walked was the evidence I used to convince myself I was in the right area. (Only if I wanted to pee, it seems!)

I walked about 3/4 mile away from the trail... then 3/4 mile back before finding footprints that belonged to actual people and then the entrance to Dry Fork Narrows. Spectacular!!!

Eventually coming out of Dry Fork Narrows (longer than you'd think!), momma blogger assured me "you'll see the entrance to Peekaboo right there".  What she really meant was "you will never see the entrance" or "there is no obvious entrance to Peekaboo".  I looked and looked, then followed the sign that pointed in the direction of Spooky Canyon and decided that doing them in a reverse loop was pretty ok too.

Spooky!!! Oh My Gravy!!!! (And you know what? Explitives do seem more appropriate in this case.)

I'm not a religious person and after what seemed like a lifetime (or the end of my lifetime) in Spooky Canyon, deliberating between whether the experience was heaven or hell, I can't say I'm any closer to any kind of organized spirituality!

Size 4 be damned. This canyon is for people size 2 and smaller, y'all! I wedged myself frequently and climbed like a spider to escape. It was long, cold, deep; contained obstacles,TIGHT bends and rocks to climb under. There was hyperventilation and then picture taking.. and then hyperventilation again. Mostly though, the camera had to stay in my tiny backpack being pushed in front or or pulled along behind me. I worried about the damage I was doing to it. More than that, I worried that 3 days from now when the next "hiker" came this way, they would find my stuck corpse - dehydrated, cold and tear-soaked. This would have been much easier with a partner - a skinny, strong climber with no claustrophobia!

It was the greatest relief of my life to crawl out from under a giant boulder and exit Spooky Canyon. I climbed out of the gulch and up a sand dune before stopping to journal immense emotions and take some time to regroup before resuming.

Peekaboo was next.. and it was a walk in the park compared to Spooky to be fair. 

The only scary part was that 10 foot drop out of the canyon with only the aid of 3 lame little footholds cut into the rock! It delivered me right next to the trail sign and at the very place that I exited Dry Fork. (Blogger momma was right but I think she used the word obviously a bit loosely!)

Today I pulled myself through crevasses more optimal for someone 2" smaller all around than I am. At times it took me 10 mins to figure out how I could maneuver myself up, down or around to go forward - when I knew I couldn't go back! A mental game unlike anything I've ever experienced. 

It pushed me to my physical limits and splayed my limbs in uncalled for directions, leaving me panting and hurting and drained.

While I don't consider myself claustrophobic and do consider my resourcefulness and persistance to be among my most valued character traits, this adventure tested my emotional fortitude in ways that were probably unnecessary. Being alone in the dim light, hugging cold rock, in the middle of nowhere with doubts about my judgement and longevity left me feeling emotionally spent.

Five hours and 7.5 miles later, I found myself reunited with Beast, signed out of the trailhead register and beginning the hour long drive (battle!) back to the main road and my sweet room in Escalante.

About the road... yes, it was long and washboardy and not my favorite, but unlike half of the Peekaboo Canyon hiker reviews I had read, I didn't think it was the most traumatic part of my day. Those people had clearly buried the lead!