The forecast said to expect a nice Fall day with warmer temperatures. After several windy and cold days, this seemed just "What the doctor ordered" to get us back outdoors! But where to go? We had been thinking about a hike to Yellow Rock and when we discovered that the trailhead was the same used for Hackberry Canyon, we thought why not do both? Afterall, each are only about three-miles round trip and located right next to each other. These trails are in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM) and are about an hour east of Kanab, Utah on the Cottonwood Road. This dirt road first takes you to the Paria River and then heads north along the Cottonwood Wash for fifty miles, eventually coming out at Cannonville, Utah. Since we had never traveled this road, it gave us even more incentive to "head out" on this exploration. We're glad we did!
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| The muddy Paria River flows along this section of the Cottonwood Canyon Road |
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| The Lower Hackberry Trailhead is located about 14 miles north of US 89 |
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We started out in the sandy Cottonwood Creek . . .
In the Spring, this stream bed is ankle deep with water |
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This is the worst part . . . it's steep, but short . . .
Supposedly, at one time it was a horse trail! |
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| Interesting rock formations along the way |
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| Wow! Yellow Rock is more than yellow . . . it's red, pink and white, too! |
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This red rock formation seemed a little out of place . . .
almost like a monument to Yellow Rock! |
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| The cliffs, in the distance, are about 45 miles away . . . near Kanab, Utah |
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Heading to the top . . .
It was fun to explore Yellow Rock |
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Great views . . . we are looking north . . .
that's Castle Rock on the left |
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Looks like someone spilled something!
(Extra points for locating Kent) |
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| These iron concretions may one day form Moqui marbles |
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| We passed by a couple of Ponderosa pine trees and more neat rock formations |
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| Up close and personal . . . rugged and majestic! |
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Heading back down the steep trail . . .
Earlier two military bombers scared us to death . . .
They flew along the valley floor pictured above |
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| We decided to check out Hackberry Canyon |
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| We were surprised to see frozen water |
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| This would be a great spring hike when the creek is flowing |
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Erosion along the stream bed . . .
It has created this unique mini arch |
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| We certainly weren't expecting to see Bighorn sheep . . . |
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They crossed the road to get a drink from the Paria River . . .
then quickly turned around and crossed the road again . . . what a sight! |
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| Kent counted 26 Bighorn sheep . . . Wow! |
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| The Paria River Valley is desolate and beautiful with many hidden surprises |
Click
here for an interactive Google Map that shows Yellow Rock and Hackberry Canyon.
