6/13/06

Escalante: Day 2

I can only say one thing about the way I slept last night - I didn't. I slept out on the ground and the campsite we were in had some stupid light that was on all night. That, and the combination of Kurt's snoring left me waiting for the sun to come up. Our itinerary for the day was a trip to Devil's Garden, and a hike into two slot canyons: Peekaboo and Spooky. I've been excited to see these canyons, since I learned we were coming down here.

Devil's Garden was full of some really cool sandstone formations. It is kind of like a miniature Goblin Valley. There were several rocks that drew out attention, none more that a group of four towers someone deemed "the four lesbians". I don't take any responsibility for that idea, but you tell me what you think.

After playing with the Devil, we headed off on our slot canyon adventure. It took us a little while to find the turnoff but we eventually found the trailhead. The hike was appox. 1 mile to get to the entrances of the slot canyons. It wasn't a bad hike, except for the fact that it was 90 degrees and we started about 2 pm. To enter Peekaboo, you've got to scramble up into the canyon, about ten feet off the ground. There is a log and some handholds to get you through it. What an amazing canyon. Full of twists and turns, it keeps getting narrower and narrower. I think that canyon is half a mile long and then you turn around and head back. Spooky really lived up to it's name. I was lucky to make it through that one. There was one point where I was stuck. I tried three times to get my fat butt through the pathway, but I was butt-to-gut against the walls of the canyon. After some pretty intense stomach manipulation I forced my way through the tough spot and continued on to the end. Kurt wasn't so lucky. He's about 20 pounds heavier that I am, and that's what did him in. It was an amazing canyon and I'm glad I forced my way to the top. I left Spooky with a hole in my shirt, torn on the rock from my tricky spot, and a real sense of achievement having maneuvered my way through the tite canyon.

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