Zebra Slot Canyon Dogs

On most Southern Utah bucket lists, you’ll find the local favorite one-two punch of Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons. These magnificent hikes, located in the Dry Fork area of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument area, can be done individually, but they make for a killer loop you can tackle in one afternoon of adventure. Once you’re in, all you have to do is walk through a scenic paradise of red and purple rock.
From the trailhead, get into Dry Fork Wash via moderate scrambling down some short cliffs and following cairns as needed. Once you’re off the cliff and into the sand dunes, you’ll hike along the creek wash until you see the mouth of Peek-a-Boo. There are hand and foot cut-outs in the rock to help you get up and into the canyon.
Once you leave Peek-a-Boo, keep hiking (longer than you think you should, most likely) until you come to a juniper tree, then follow the trail and cairns leading to the right and the entrance of Spooky Gulch. Scramble down a mellow rock face to get into the canyon. It soon tightens up, and you’ll be having a good time navigating the confines of this fun canyon. The loop generally takes about 3-4 hours depending on pace and skill level.

Hiked Zebra Slot Canyon just south of Escalante Utah. A great and easy slot canyon to hike. If you don't mind getting a little wet. It was April so the wat.

April 16, 2014

Yesterday's visit to the tourist-infested Calf Creek Falls area was just a warmup; today it is time to venture down the hideous Hole-in-the-Rock Road to the first of several scheduled trailheads. Compelled to travel at as little as 10 miles per hour in places due to washboarding of the road surface, my Outback is delighted when I stop to park after just eight miles of torture.

• The first pair was an older couple with a dog who didn't seem like they had the strength to make it all the way to Tunnel Slot. I am sure they perished. The second pair of people were a couple from Amsterdam, and the guy was a photographer. They unfortunately arrived at Zebra Slot exactly as i was getting ready to enter it.
• To reach Tunnel Slot, go down Harris Wash a little less than a mile (20-30 minutes) from Zebra to the first side canyon coming in on the left. Go up this side canyon about 10 minutes to reach the Tunnel. It can be dry, or a deep pool. Return up Harris Wash to Halfway Hollow and follow the trail back to the trailhead.

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Clouds are abundant, but non-threatening. For me, it always is difficult to predict what will happen to the weather around here.

Getting started

Before long, the trail reaches a rocky area sporting some predictably interesting formations.

That fence isn't guarding much of anything

As I reach another open area, I know that the first objective is over in that next rock outcropping.

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Heading for the distant slickrock

There it is — an opening in the rock just where it is supposed to be:

Approaching Zebra Slot

Just inside the entrance, a little puddle is easy enough to inch around.

A minor obstacle

Claustrophobic, yet exciting

I must admit that being in here alone is a bit eerie. I'm no fraidy-cat, but I cannot help being reminded of the commemorativeplaque down at Lower Antelope Canyon showing the names of the eleven people who drowned in a flash flood there in 1997, while in the company of the resident guide (the only survivor). Today's skies are sufficiently inclement that, when I encounter a section of canyon that would necessitate a scramble though a section just six inches wide, I decide to proceed no further.

Some nice photos are going to be missed

I breathe just a bit more easily after exiting the slot.

Off to the next attraction

Just half a mile around the corner is the entrance to a scenic wash with rock walls steep enough to prevent climbing in an emergency, but I'll venture in anyway.

Some neat stuff around the opening

It's time to go in...

..or is it?

Oops! No sooner do I enter the slot than I encounter a puddle more than a foot deep, and there's no way around it. A strong canyoneer could inch his way over it, I suppose; but I am not one of those. Thwarted again!

Heading out already

Well, that's too bad; it wasn't far to the other end. When visiting slotcanyons in the springtime, one must be prepared to deal with water hazards.

Patterns

According to my research, there is some special stuff above the upper end of Tunnel Slot. Today I cannot get through it; but by returning to the mouth of the canyon I should be able to go up and around, and I do. Locating the objects of my search proves easy, because they are all over the place:

Moqui marbles ⇔

The spherules are iron oxide concretions — a sort of hematite 'glue' around a sandstone center. They weather more slowly than the surrounding stratum, finally detaching from the host rock as it erodes away. These geologic phenomena were predicted to exist on Mars; and in fact such 'Martian blueberries' were discovered at Meridiani Planum.

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Moqui marbles had substantial spiritual significance to the Hopi Indians. Nowadays any interest tends to be purely commercial, and that is principally why it is illegal to remove these or other materials from federal parklands. I will content myself with a few photographic memories.

Upper Tunnel Slot Canyon is a contorted sandstone maze, seemingly unable to make up its mind.

Reminiscent of The Wave down near Buckskin Gulch ⇔

Heading back down beside the deep wash

Former plant life

Now that I know the lay of the land, it is easy to shortcut back across the open area.

More patterns

The threatening sprinkles have arrived. I really need to get a poncho long enough to cover my lumbar pack, thereby solving several issues. As it is, I wrap my rain gear around my camera and carry it under an arm as I scurry down the last mile of path to the trailhead. Just now, four hikers appear — the only humans I have seen today.

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Trying to beat the rain

§: This nearly level walk served as a good initiation to the wonders of Escalante. Although my canyon explorations were curtailed by prevailing conditions, visiting all the fantastic rock formations was a lot of fun, and observing my first-ever Moqui marbles was a real treat.

• Trailhead: 8 miles from SR-12 on Hole-in-the-Rock Road
• Distance: 7½ miles
• Elevation: 5400' to 5200'
• Hikers: 4
• Rating: 5 (more in drier weather)