Canyoneering Route Description
Spooky and Peek-A-Boo Slots - 2A I
Escalante National Monument, Utah
Pictures 05-12-07
Pictures 06-11-05
Quick Facts
05-12-07, 2 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.5 hours)
06-11-05, 2 people, 7 Day (Travel time in route 3.5 hours)
Distance - 2.9 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical
Rappels - 0 Rappels, Longest Rappel N/A.
See the
Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page
for an explanation of how the technical mileage or the gear used
list is determined.
Gear Used for Canyon
No special gear is needed as this is a level 2 canyon. Be sure to
bring water, food and what every you need for a hike. It can get
hot out there.
General Comments
This is a very fun hike. It is easy travel to 2 real nice slots.
The slots have nothing technical but feel like they should. Parts
of Spooky get so tight, larger people will have to crawl to get
through. The bottom at times gests so narrow you can not put your
feet flat on the ground. Peek-A-Boo is a little more wide open but
has very twisted walls and arches that make it a must see as well.
The route shown on the map is from Dry Fork trailhead, up Spooky
Slot, down Peek-A-Boo slot then back to the Dry Fork trailhead the
same way.
Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking
To get to the Trailhead
From the city of Escalante drive about 5 miles southeast on Hwy
12 to the turn off for Hole-In-The-Rock road on the right. The
Hole-In-The-Rock road is dirt. The condition of the road varies
a lot with recent rains and road maintenance. High clearance is
recommended. Travel about 25 miles southeast on
Hole-In-The-Rock road to the turn off for the Dry Fork trailhead
to the left. From Hole-In-The-Rock road drive about 0.7 miles
to a left turn. Turn left and continue to the Dry Fork
trailhead. The distance from Hole-In-The-Rock road to the
trailhead is about 1.65 miles.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No need to park a separate exit vehicle. This route is a loop.
Maps
Map showing entire route.
Click for High-Res version.
Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.
GPS Waypoint Information
Approach Waypoints
wToDryForkTH1
Turn off of Hole-In-The-Rock road toward Dry Fork trailhead.
NN37 28.590 W111 13.196, Elevation 4966 ft
yPeek-A-BooBt
Bottom of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon.
N37 28.894 W111 13.004
jFrk2SpkyJC
Fork to Spooky Slot Canyon
N37 28.815 W111 12.753
ySpookyBt
Bottom of Spooky Slot Canyon.
N37 28.896 W111 12.545
Canyon / Technical Section Waypoints
ySpookyBt
Bottom of Spooky Slot Canyon.
N37 28.896 W111 12.545
ySpookyTp
Top of Spooky Slot Canyon.
N37 29.119 W111 12.568
yPeek-A-BooTp
Top of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon.
N37 29.135 W111 13.014
yPeek-A-BooBt
Bottom of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon.
N37 28.894 W111 13.004
Exit Route Waypoints
yPeek-A-BooBt
Bottom of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon.
N37 28.894 W111 13.004
tDryFork
Dry Fork Trail Head.
N37 28.590 W111 13.196
Details
Unfortunately I did not take detailed notes for the route. Fortunately the total route
is short and pretty easy to follow. A GPS would definitely
help though.
The Canyon / Technical Section:
From the trailhead (tDryFork), go down the sandstone into the wide
open area below. After a short descent you will find a trail which
leads toward more sandstone. Continue down the sandstone to a sandy
wash below. Travel down the wash until you get to a very large
wash this should put you close to the exit of Peek-A-Boo (yPeek-A-BooBt).
Do not go up Peek-A-Boo. Continue downstream in the major wash (right or eastish).
About 0.3 miles downstream in the larger wash, will be a fork
(jFrk2SpkyJC). This small fork is not very noticeable as the area is very
wide. Use the GPS coordinates to locate this spot. Turn left at
the fork and continue another 0.2 miles to the bottom of Spooky slot
(ySpookyBt).
The Canyon / Technical Section:
From the bottom of Spooky Slot travel up canyon to the upper end.
Spooky Slot is about 0.3 miles long and one of the most enjoyable
non-technical slots I have been in. It gets very tight in places.
Some spots you need to turn sideways to pass through. Larger people
will need to crawl to pass some spots where walls are wider close to
the floor. There are some areas in Spooky that the
bottom is not wide enough to put your foot flat on the ground as you
walk. Long sections of this slot are only 2 or 3 feet wide.
Near
the end of Spooky you will need to scramble up a few spots to get
out but nothing is very difficult. Take your time through this
slot! It is worth taking time to enjoy it!
From the top of Spooky
Slot (ySpookyTp) turn left then go up the steep sandy hill. Follow the faint
trails on top of the hill over to the top of Peek-A-Boo Slot (yPeek-A-BooTp). You
will find you need to weave here and there as you find your way
along the path but keep in mind the top of Peek-A-Boo is about 0.4
miles due west of the top of Spooky. I have been here twice and
took different paths over to the top of Peek-A-Boo each time. GPS
may be helpful here.
From the top of Pee-A-Boo, travel down canyon to the
bottom of the slot. Peek-A-Boo is also worth taking time to enjoy.
It is more open than Spooky but the walls and arches twist all
over. At the end of the slot is about a 12 foot drop marking
the exit of Peek-A-Boo slot (yPeek-A-BooTp). The drop can
be navigated easily but some may enjoy having a rope held for them
for safety.
The Exit:
After dropping out of Peek-A-Boo travel slightly downstream in the
wash to find the smaller wash you entered from. Retrace your steps
back to the trailhead.
GPS Waypoint Information
In the future I may start to have GPX
files for down load but not quite yet.
Most
GPS units and mapping software use the common gpx file format
including Google Earth.
National Geographic TOPO! hides the feature
to import GPX files. To find the feature........
1. Click on "Handhelds" in the menu at the top.
2. Select the option for "Import (from GPS or .txt)
Wizard..
3. Select "In a .gpx file....... and click
on Next
4. Use the window that opens to navigate to the GPX file
you wish to open.
Garmin MapSource will open a GPX file in
the same way it opens other formats by simply using the File
then Open.
If you wish to convert between formats to
get your data from one software title to another you can use the
free GPSBabel software.
Elevations are approximate. Waypoints with no elevation
data will display NaN in place of the elevation.
Elevations are in meters so multiplying by 3.28083 is necessary
to get elevations in feet.
The first letter of a waypoint denotes the type of point.
Rappels start with d. Technical top and bottom of canyons
start with y. the letter w denotes a generic point.
Scenic spots start with s. Trailheads start with t.
Junctions of trails or canyons start with j.
Notes for GPS information:
Waypoint coordinates are listed with
WGS84 datum and in Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° format.
Waypoints are listed alphabetically by waypoint name
(not in order on the route).
BEFORE entering coordinates from this website, please ensure
your system (GPS or mapping software) is set to the same datum
used here (WGS84). Entering coordinate information with
inconsistent datum's can result in the waypoints being off by
hundreds of feet. It is important to keep this in mind
when entering waypoints from any source.
tStrike2Cyn |
- Place to start up the wash toward Strike 2 Canyon. Be sure to check out the incredible arches on the hills to the west. Walk up under them to see double arches and incredible views.
- N37.87477252073586 W-111.04432057589293
Elevation 1,776.98
Meters - (for feet multiply by 3.28083)
|
yStrike2Tp |
- Top entry for Strike 2 Canyon on a saddle. Rap 1 starts from here and is anchored from a rock about 15 feet back embedded in dirt at the base of the saddle. Rap 1 drops about 200 feet to the top of a down climbable slope IF the webbing is extended a minimum of 30 feet down from the anchor. A longer extension is recommended, see route description.
- N37.876566667109728 W-111.04138330556452
Elevation 1,812.34
Meters - (for feet multiply by 3.28083)
|
Back to the Canyoneering
Trip Report List page.