Peek-a-boo / Spooky / Brimstone

3 Slot Canyons

DISTANCE

10km

out and back

TIME

6-7h

ELEVATION

165m

TH 1550m

Slot canyons 1385m

ESSENTIALS

SEASON

(of the report)

YOU'LL NEED

Good attitude
Good legs & knees
4L of water/person
No claustrophobia

It is important to note that this hike report is about slot canyons in the Grand Staircase Escalante national monument. On the top part of this page I've put the total mileage and time for the day as here you'll have it detailed by section:

Peek-a-boo (out and back at the entrance of the canyon):

Spooky (out and back at the entrance of the canyon)

Brimstone ( from Spooky and back)

BEFORE GOING:

As this is a day hike it doesn't require a backcountry permit, but I'll advise to sign the trail register. You'll meet some people around peek-a-boo and spooky but that will not be the case when going towards Brimstone.
Keep in mind that this hike can be a little bit strenuous, involving some climb-up (6m to enter peek-a-boo) and some walking in deep sand fully exposed to the sun (towards Brimstone).
Bring: plenty of water (4L/person) and food, you need to be self-sufficient. On the same topic, take some warm clothes because it can feel really cold when the sun goes down. Better be safe than sorry!
Check the weather and ask rangers. If there's a chance of rain or if they advise you not to go...just don't! These are slot canyons, which means that they are really narrow. Keep in mind that even if you're not seeing a single cloud above your head, flash floods can still occur as a thunderstorm miles away can trigger them.

WHEN TO GO?

First of all: when there's no rain!

We did this hike in summer, it was especially ok for peek-a-boo and spooky as you almost directly enter the slot canyon and the life-saving shadow. This do not apply for Brimstone since there is 1.5 miles exposed to the sun along with deep sand to walk on, a perfect combination to not stay fresh!

If you still have a question do not hesitate to contact me.

START - HOLE IN THE ROCK ROAD

From Escalante- Hwy 12 you'll have to take the "Hole in the Rock" road during approximately 43km (50 min) on to the Dry Fork Trailhead. This is a dirt road which means that a 4WD is strongly suggested as well as informations on the road conditions that you can get at the rangers station ( because dirt + rain = mud).

The first part of the hike is pretty steep and short at the same time, it does not have any technical difficulty as it's on slickrock which is the best rock to walk on I think. The path is well marked with cairns, you just can't get lost here! After 800m you'll already join the Dry Fork slot canyon, which we visited very briefly as it is pretty nice but we knew that something even more beautiful was waiting for us!

1/1

PEEK-A-BOO

Here he is, the famous peek-a-boo with his 6 meter climb-up to reach the canyon floor! The climb is ok, not technical but it can seem pretty high and it could help to be 2 hikers for this kind of transition. At this point we decided to leave one of our backpacks to be more comfortable while scrambling through peek-a-boo.

I don't care if I'm ruining all the rest of the hike report but this one was straight-up my favorite slot canyon! The only thing is that it was really short until we arrived at the "end" of it (a.k.a the part where the canyon walls open up) so we decided to retrace our steps back and have some more fun!

1/1

SPOOKY

Yeah so...for spooky I wouldn't use the word fun. Situated less than 1 km from peek-a-boo this slot canyon got the name it deserved. Even if the first few meters are ok, meaning you're enjoying your walk, admiring the difference of wall dark colours, this will not last long. After let's say, 5 minutes the walls are starting to get really closer together. Then arrives the major obstacle when starting this hike bottom-up as we did: a climb-up of approximately 2 meters. Just before I even got the chance to try the ascent my foot was stuck between the walls at floor level. I totally understand how this can look ridiculous to you reading this post from your sofa, but did you watch the film 127 hours? No light + feet stuck --> claustrophobia hitting = Nope. My husband did climb up to see how was the canyon further and it was...narrow. I can tell you he was also really happy when we decided to return back to fresh air and light!

This is funny how I realized later that all the people we were meeting that were heading the other way didn't have that satisfied smile most hikers have; we had the exact same face when exiting spooky gulch.

Also don't worry for my foot I was able to free it, but it required a lot of my flexibility skills.

1/1

BRIMSTONE

Now that you experienced the fun and famous slot canyons let's go deeper into the wilderness for a little while. When exiting spooky gulch you'll take a left turn and follow dry fork for about 1,4 km where you will have to cross a sand dome to reach Brimstone gulch.

From now on the hike will be 100% on deep sand. As beautiful as this feature makes the landscape, this will also slow you down a little bit. Either way this is one of the most beautiful parts of the whole hike because we didn't see many canyons with such pristine sand dunes. If you're lucky enough you'll have some shadow to rest a little bit and observe multiple animal tracks (thousands of rabbits and even an out of jurassic park wild turkey).

After approximately 1 km you'll reach Brimstone's narrower part of the canyon. It turned out this day that we faced a pool quite quickly after that (2 minutes) and didn't have the proper gear to continue. However, from what I've read this canyon is the narrowest of all 3 and I don't regret our turn around at this point. The hike was already unique!

Now it's time to hike back, take your time, enjoy nature's creations and even the hike back up will go by quickly!