The Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument is huge, at 1.9 million acres it is almost as big as Yellowstone National Park and larger than the state of Delaware. The monument is large enough to encompass a variety of geological features that would take many trips to visit all of them. In particular, it is known for having many slot canyons. On this day, we explored two of them.
While passing through Cottonwood Canyon, we paused long enough to hike the slot canyon known as Cottonwood Canyon Narrows, one of several slots in the area. This may not be the most scenic of the group, but it's worth doing because it is very rugged, with numerous boulders to be overcome.
Once we exited Cottonwood Canyon, we made our way to Skutumpah Road, where several slot canyons are located. We only had time for one, so we chose one that I had done before and really enjoyed, Willis Creek. The permanent stream here is small most of the time, but flash floods do occur. Also, the presence of water in winter does result in some areas of patchy ice, requiring a bit of caution as you hike through. There is also a pretty little waterfall at the start of the canyon.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment