After less than a 100-yard stroll we came upon "Shaman's Needle" - a stand-alone 20 feet tall red sandstone pinnacle. On the way out is a small drainage to the right as you face the slot entrance. The weathered canyon with towering multi-hued walls coupled with dramatic lighting provide ideal conditions for shutter bugs. As with many slot canyons, this is a photographer's paradise. The narrows hike is less than one mile round trip of dry sand with no major obstacles. The easy stroll through this slot canyon was mesmerizing. The end for most hikers, including us, was a 20-foot dry fall topped by large boulders. Logs wedged in the slot high above attest to past violent flash floods raging in the drainage and creating the chasm. We also noticed fairly drastic temperature changes - some sections were flushed with chilly air as the slot twists and narrows and widens. It was quiet, the type I imagine only the dead know. Some parts are fairly dark due to overhanging rocks above. The open section is also short as the drainage again constricts to a longer, deeper slot. Do take the time for this quick side trip. We scampered up the rather steep ridge in the open section for a view of the upper and lower slots and the surrounding territory - magnificent. Portions of the walls are 100 feet high.Īll too soon the first narrows opened into a sunlit section. This slender slot canyon, about 3 feet wide at the narrowest, twisted like a slithering rattlesnake. The first narrows section is short and the hot orange, warm red and rustic brown colors were layered in delicate swooping curves in the sandstone walls. We eagerly walked up the wash and entered another world. The elevation at the slot mouth is 5,473 feet and the temperature was in the mid-60s. There are some wide areas near the slot entrance to park. You can easily hike this route if you don't have access to a four-wheel drive vehicle. Four-wheel drive and high clearance is absolutely necessary if you drive (we have a four-wheel drive, high clearance Jeep). The road is mostly loose sand with some lengthy deep sections. 8 mile up the wash to the mouth of Red/Peek-A-Boo slot canyon. Turn left (west) and proceed approximately. At about three miles we crossed a second cattle guard and open fence and very soon after the road intersected Red Canyon wash. 9 miles and soon after an intersection (stay to the right) and met another intersection at 1.7 miles (again stay right). From the paved road turnoff we drove past some Best Friends buildings on our right in the first ¼ mile encountered a cattle guard at approximately. Stay on the main dirt/sand track for 3.1 miles to Red Canyon wash. (If you are driving south on Highway 89, turn left (east) onto the paved road 9.3 miles past Mt. 2 miles turn left (north) onto a dirt track. Approximately 8 miles from the intersection, past Moqui Cave and Best Friends Animal Society main entrance, turn right (east) on a paved road with a small Best Friends sign. In Kanab, at the intersection of Highway 89A and Highway 89, we set our trip odometer to zero and continued north on Highway 89. Our outing began in early April with a drive to Kanab (means "place of willows" in Paiute) via Highway 59 (Highway 389 in Arizona) and through Fredonia. The land around Red Canyon is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and no permits are necessary. This adventure involves one of our favorites, Red Canyon, or as the locals around Kanab call it, Peek-A-Boo Canyon. We have explored many slots in Utah, some in Arizona, and a few in California and Nevada. My wife Deb and I have a particular affinity for slot canyons. They are formed through erosion-water rushing through a small crack and eventually teaming up with the wind to create a narrow canyon. Some slot canyons measure less than three feet across with a depth of more than 100 feet. What exactly constitutes a slot canyon? A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. This area also contains the fairly abundant, albeit usually hidden, slot canyons. Anyone venturing into southern Utah's red rock country quickly notices the unique desert scapes - colorful mountains, strange rock formations, and often deep blue sky.
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