St. George Jeepers Trail Report – August 4, 2015
Peek-a-boo/Red Canyon, Kanab, Utah
The trip was lead by Ron Bryce. Eleven vehicles participated in this fun run. The group met at 8 AM at Costco and reassembled at the Apple Valley Chevron. Unfortunately, Steve and Sue Holt’s Rubicon was dripping oil and they chose not to risk problems on the trail. It was later determined that the oil was from an over filled differential. Ron led us through the Cane Beds and past Coral Pink Sand Dunes to the parking lot at Peek-a-boo.
Air down at Peek-a-boo trail head parking area
There were some great late season flowers along the way.
Shortly after leaving the trail head the first obstacle was encountered. It was a steep, deep sand hill that challenged many of the vehicles. Most made it up, but for those that didn’t there is an easy bypass. I was so busy cheering folks on that I forgot to snap a photo. After clearing the sand hill, we proceeded on down the trail. The loop was over 30 miles of varied scenery, sandstone cliffs, wash bottoms and juniper/pinion twisties.
After only a few miles of trail we arrived at Peek-a-boo, also known as Red Slot. The Jeep trail ends at the mouth of the slot canyon, making it an easy slot to visit for those who are not physically capable of long hikes.
Eldon, above; Red Slot resident, below.
An interesting cultural feature of this slot is the Moqui steps carved into the canyon wall. It is easy to imagine that the Native Americans might have had a granary up on the ledge or perhaps just a place to get some respite from the heat. The present day lower steps are about 6 feet from the bottom of the wash. I think it is a safe bet to say that when they carved the steps, the wash bottom was at the level of the lower steps.
Although there were logs lodged higher than this one, this photo illustrates how high the water can get in this cool slot canyon. It’s lodged over 12 feet above the slot bottom.
One of our favorite social events of every trip – lunch.
One of the scenic sandstone mesas along the trail.
Submitted by Bud Sanders
