Pic: A slot canyon that is not Headquarters Canyon. Capitol Reef NP, UT
Advice from a ranger in Bryce Canyon had led me to the deserted southern section of the park. After a night in Dirty Undies Gulch, I was ready to see some slot canyons.
First up: Surprise Canyon. I kicked off the two mile round trip by walking around a corner and inadvertently triggering this dude’s “a predator! I will freeze and it will not see me!” subroutine. Surprise!
Pic: You’re a rabbit in my headlights. Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Surprise Canyon Trail, Capitol Reef NP, UT
At the end of the “official” hike the canyon narrows to a “pouroff”: a fifteen foot-tall block of terraced slickrock. I studied it for a while to convince myself I could get back down if I climbed it, then scrambled over. Beyond the constriction, the canyon opened up to towering vertical cliffs. I wandered as high as I could, had a snack, then returned to discover that the pouroff was way scarier from the top. It was a moment where I felt keenly how alone I was, and how long it would take for help to reach me if I tumbled face-first into the rocks below. Surprise!
It took a few tries (grab a handhold, try to reach the next step, shout “nope! nope! nope!”, repeat) but I made it back to my car and down the road to my next stop, Headquarters Canyon.
The 1.7 mile trail became vague as it meandered through a wash. I poked around trying to find the marked path, ended up on the wrong side of a protuberance visible on the map, reasoned that the twists and turns in the dry creek bed had to go somewhere, and found myself in the not-Headquarters-but-equally-awesome-slot-canyon pictured at the top of this entry.
Capitol Reef was the national park I knew the least about, but as I headed back up Notom-Bullfrog Road toward UT-24, I realized I already wanted to return. One day in this magical section of desert was enough only to whet my appetite for the vertical-walled wonder of Utah slot canyons.
I stopped in Green River for dinner and to figure out where the hell I was going to spend the night. I got a mini-pizza, a cheeseburger, and a little linguistic treat when the teenager behind the counter asked if I wanted my food “to stay or to go”. Utah dialect: Surprise!
Danger Beyond This Point 