Andy Altman Photography

Notes from April, 2006 Trip to Central Arizona to Southern Utah

05/28/07

Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch and Peak-a-boo and Spooky Slot Canyons

After lunch at the Devil's Garden, we drove 14 miles further down Hole in the Rock Road to the trail head going to the slot canyons.  The turn-off is un-marked, but right where the BLM ranger said it would be.  The half a dozen cars confirmed we were in the right spot.  Rock cairns marked a sand and slick rock trail from the parking lot down into Coyote Gulch.

View Down Towards Coyote Gulch

This part of Coyote Gulch is fairly broad, with several narrower canyons that drop down from the surrounding country to explored.  Heading downstream, Peak-a-boo is the first canyon on the left.  The initial 15 foot climb into Peak-a-boo is the most technically challenging part, but water and man carved hand and foot holds help.

After that, it is an amazing hike over, under and through serpentine curves, arches, pour overs, tunnels and occasional choke stones.  The canyon is never very deep (< 50 feet), but the narrowness and twists make it seem very mysterious.  Peak-a-boo runs 4/10ths of a mile and took about 35 minutes.  More later on this page.  Near the top end, the canyon widens, allowing access to the top or going through a short more narrow section.  The boys went through this while Hope & I walked along the top.  I would guess that the canyon was less than a dozen feet deep, but we could not see the boys from above.  We could easily step over the top of the canyon in this section.  After 30 feet or so, we dropped back down and joined them for the last couple hundred feet through the broadest section before the canyon disappeared into a dry low wash.

On the advice of the BLM rangers, we had planned to go up and back down each slot canyon, going up and down Coyote Gulch to go between slot canyons.  This prevents them from having to find hikers that get lost going across open terrain.  However, at the top of Peak-a-boo, we met a couple of gals that had walked overland from the top of Spooky Gulch.  They said that the path was pretty obvious, with cairns in the rocky sections, so we changed plans and headed to Spooky.

Trail between Peak-a-boo to Spooky Canyons

We hiked a half mile or so over to a wider, deeper wash which marked the top of Spooky.  Spooky started our much like Peak-a-boo, but with darker colors and fewer curves.  As it dropped through, the walls get darker, rougher and much more narrow.

Upper Section of Spooky Canyon

Near the upper end of Spooky, a significant blockage must be crawled under (for the kids) or climbed over.  It's less challenging than the entrance to Peak-a-boo.

The Under Route

Soon, we were in sections that were 10 - 12 inches wide at our hips. We were forced to side step with packs and bags held out in front or behind and feet turned sideways.  At the narrowest, I could not turn my head front to back nor could I place my feet could flat on the ground.  Parts of the canyon walls slope forward (or backwards depending on with side you lead with).  Since you can't keep your feet under you, your chest (or back) scrape along the rough canyon walls.  Just when I thought I was getting a little claustrophobic, the canyon would broaden out to 2 or 3 feet.  T

Narrow Sections of Spooky Canyon

The "Wide" Parts of Spooky Canyon

When we got to the end of Spooky (or so I thought), we headed upstream (right) to go back past the bottom end of Peak-a-boo and the way we had come down from the car.  After a few hundred feet, a large sand dune blocked the canyon.  This seemed strange, but I thought that we would go up and over it and then find Peak-a-boo.  Going a little further, I figured out that we were climbing back up to the top rim between Spooky and Peak-a-boo.  Evidently, a broad side canyon runs into Spooky prior to it joining Coyote Gulch, so we had turned right too soon.  We decided to go cross country and back over to the top Peak-a-boo.  Soon we found the trail we previously used to get to Spooky and retraced our steps back to Peak-a-boo.

The Side Canyon Running into Spooky

What a difference 90 minutes made to the light in Peak-a-boo!  For our trip up (~ 2:00 - 2:30), the light was harsh with too much contrast for the best photography.  By 4:00 when we started back down Peak-a-boo, less sun was shining directly into the canyon, with more bouncing off the top edges for more even, indirect lighting.

The Heart of Peak-a-boo Canyon

Even with a few more photography stops, we gawked a lot less and made it back down in about 15 minutes.  Hope and Mark headed back to the car for cooler clothes and snacks while Nathan & I took a quick hike up and back down Upper Coyote Gulch.  The sides of the canyon were covered with an extremely fine rock dust from the walls above.  As this orange brown talc falls off the walls, it accumulates at the edges of the canyon floor   This can be seen in the large version of the photo below.

Upper Coyote Gulch

The Lower End of the Trail Back to the Car

Starting Back Up the Hill

All told, we spent about 3 hours exploring the area.  I would consider this a minimum.  With enough food and water, it would be easy to spend a day with Peak-a-boo, Spooky, going further up Coyote and visiting Brimstone.  More information on the canyons and directions can be found at Slot Canyons of the Southwest - Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch.  A map of Hole in the Rock Road with mileage to different turn offs can be found at Utah Canyons.