What the Hell is a Slot Canyon?

This is the third tale of our April 2021 adventure in the Escalante, Utah area, as we set up an exploration of Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons. The backstory on our trip is in the first post, here. Once we’d committed to the Escalante area, my daughter Amanda built a list of highlight places to see. First on her list was the Wave, Coyote Gulch, and the various slot canyons. Well, getting to the Wave is a lottery shot of fairly serious proportions, and we were just too late for the online lottery so that idea quickly got slammed into the dustbin.

Slot canyons are tight little erosional features that bring out your inner claustrophobe. Amazingly, some of these are only inches wide in places, making passage very difficult. I’m not sure who first thought it a good idea to enter these pretty tombs, but wow, they are so amazing. Zebra, Peekaboo, Spooky, and Bighorn slot canyons quickly moved up the list as none of us had ever experienced a slot canyon and they looked so cool. My wife and I started watching online videos by folks who adventured in these canyons and we quickly came to the conclusion that Peekaboo and Spooky would allow us to experience three slot canyons in less than six miles.

Prelude to Peekaboo and Spooky

As my wife and I watched these videos, I became very intrigued by these tight beautiful slot canyons. There were so many great shots and the twisty little passages just seemed to call to me. I knew I couldn’t miss out on this, and my wife seemed to be getting more excited with each video we watched. One thing that seemed to be universal in these videos is the acknowledgement that Spooky was the more scary (umm…perhaps even spooky?) of the two slots.

The vloggers seemed to imply that Spooky was sort of optional and only for those who weren’t claustrophobic. Clearly, Peekaboo was the tamer introduction to slot canyons and some folks opted out of Spooky for their “first time” experience. I saw the videos of some of the folks who were making it through both, and firmly decided that I’d like to experience both. Tammy came away with a slightly different take, choosing to only venture into Peekaboo and then circle out to meet at the mouth instead of completing the loop by the Spooky route.

Getting There

From Escalante, the hole-in-the-rock road is a bumpy, wash-boardy, filling-loosening experience. It sort of sucks you in over the first 10 or so miles as being not too bad. Once you are committed, the road just keeps escalating the pain all the way to at least Coyote Gulch’s lower turnoff, maybe further! Anyway, I did watch a vlog that clearly indicated the first (lower) trailhead was the overall nicest way to get to these slots. The parking lot at the trailhead even has a bathroom so you can start your trip with a reset!

As we exited the parking lot and headed out into the sand, it was pretty cold and breezy out and most people were sporting puffy jackets. I’d checked the forecast and also live by the mantra “always leave the truck a little cold”, having shed coats and left them behind in the brush to hopefully recover later, so I stuck with a t-shirt and opted to leave shorts behind in favor of pants. Within about a half-mile, everyone’s jackets were tied around their waist or stuck into packs and we entered the Dry Fork Coyote Gulch slot canyon. This canyon is a sweet warmup for what is to come, with walls closing in to maybe two or three feet in some places. By itself, it was worth the trip.

To Peekaboo (and Spooky?)

As you exit the Dry Fork slot canyon into a small basin, you look immediately ahead to the access point for Peekaboo Slot. This is often missed by folks, and is only a couple hundred yards and immediately to the left (north) of the Dry Fork Coyote Gulch wash. The trick is, you have to climb up about 12 feet on smooth sandstone. Whether by use or by luck, there are a number of handholds or divots that allow you to wedge your hands, knees, and feet into just enough of a brace to slowly climb up the 12 feet into the slot canyon. Once in Peekaboo, the slot is open and beautiful with so many shades of orange, red, and yellow. It is impossible for me to describe.

As we made our way upstream, the slot narrowed and widened many times, with some passages just barely wide enough for us to squeeze through. I’m a few hairs shorter than six feet and weigh about 195 and there were many places where I touched on both sides as I scooted up the slot. My watch’s laminated glass screen protector took the trip pretty hard, breaking in a few places. Everything about Peekaboo was awesome. The colors, the temperature, the limited space as you wound your way up the slot and couldn’t see your teammates in front of you. All of these contributed to just pure wonderment for me.

The Spooky Bargain

As we made our way up Peekaboo, Amanda’s pal Sydney and I had already committed to trying Spooky. Tammy and Amanda were going to meet us at the mouth of the canyon and let us deal with the claustrophobia alone! But, as we broke out into the sun above Peekaboo, Amanda’s resolve faltered and she was all-in on Spooky. Gulp. My wife gave me a resigned look and opted to go with the flow and hope for the best, joining us in our resolve to manage Spooky.

The trek across the desert between the two canyons is about a half-mile, and is clearly marked by the deep trail in the sand. It seems a number of folks used the rocks at the top of Spooky as a place to take sand out of shoes and get a needed drink of water. As we moved down into Spooky, the sunny rocks and blue sky quickly gave way to shaded reds and oranges and a narrow wedge of blue. Then we found out how Spooky really begins….

A Deeper Kind of Slot

It turns out there is a big rock fall near the top of Spooky that jammed up the slot a bit. Someone has wedged a piece of cord into the rocks and improvised some loops and knots to allow you to slide down a 10-foot drop into the deep slot. Friendly people were there to offer advice and Sydney volunteered to go first. I think the biggest thing about this rope drop is just believing in yourself and that things would be ok. Each of us took our turn and wedged our butts against the left wall to brace and scoot our way down. By the time it was my turn, I made easy work of it, owing to the success of my teammates before me.

Now things got really cool. Whereas Peekaboo was maybe 10 to 15 feet deep and you could see blue sky almost always, Spooky was really crazy. I’m pretty sure the opening to the sky hit as much as 40 feet above us and was super-narrow, sometimes keeping you from seeing the sky at all. The twists were tight and occasionally I had to reverse course until the canyon widened enough for me to flip around so my butt was against the other side before trying a tiny hairpin twist! This was a lot like a game of twister, figuring out where to put a foot, a hand, your butt, or your knees. Trial and error always got us through, but it wasn’t always on the first try!

Spooky or Not Spooky

I loved Spooky slot canyon! This thing is twisty, narrow, deep, and unbelievably beautiful. I think I could actually put this on a bucket list, just this simple little hike. None of our team came away from Spooky with anything less than gratification that we’d all chosen to do it. No regrets…nary a one. Some in our group did not enjoy the little rope-dangly part of the journey, but I didn’t think it was so bad. You just have to trust yourself a bit. Do be careful, as a sprained ankle or worse could result if you aren’t a bit methodical!

Both Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons were spectacular and although the round trip for us was around 6 miles, it was quite flat and interesting and none of us noticed the length. Three slot canyons, working from the easiest to the hardest, is about as good as you can get. Our one slight mistake was attaching this to our Coyote Gulch overnighter which we started late due to this day-trek. It all worked out, but I’d probably have gotten out of Escalante an hour or two sooner to stack everything up a little more comfortably. This trip I would highly recommend!!!