Five years ago, our friend Mike, suggested that we ought to do a hike into Parunuweap Canyon. Mike had done this hike on three separate occasions and we were counting on him to be our guide into this rather remote canyon. But for some odd reason, it just never worked out . . . not to say our interest ever waned . . . it was more about us feeling confident to do this strenuous hike (that involved some route finding) on our own! Well the stars finally aligned for all of us and so we set off on an early October morning to explore this slot canyon that is comparable to the Zion Narrows . . . only on a slightly smaller scale. What an adventure this turned out to be . . . it was worth the wait!
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We began our hike at a pullout about ¾ mile from the Checkerboard Mesa View Area . . .
Strangely, we didn't get a picture of Checkerboard Mesa, but rather Crazy Quilt Mesa which is to the west |
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| Our unmaintained (but very social) trail led us up this beautiful wash |
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We stayed in the wash, heading south towards its' headwaters . . .
This eventually would lead to a saddle that divides the mesas |
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| Enjoying the fall colors as we continue on our way |
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| One of our favorite Fall colors are these red Bigtooth Maple leaves |
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The sun is just beginning to peek over the cliffs as we complete the steep ascent out of the wash to the saddle
(Checkerboad Mesa is on the right and Crazy Quilt Mesa on the left) |
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| Isn't this a unique piece of sandstone? We noticed it both coming and going |
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Once we crossed the divide we were on the backside of Checkerboard Mesa . . .
From here we began to head east and south towards the East Fork of the Virgin River |
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Looking back at a more expansive view of the sandstone pictured above . . .
The striations, colors, along with the unique wave patterns were very impressive! |
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Our first glimpse of where we are headed . . . just beyond those hills in the center of the picture
(Actually, we still need to work towards the east a little more) |
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Before long we came upon this massive slab of sandstone . . .
During this stretch it would be easy to lose the "trail" as there were very few cairns to follow . . .
We just stayed on the sandstone and headed south |
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Looking up at the surrounding scenery we were surprised to see this arch . . .
Later we learned it had a name . . . Checkerboard Arch . . . well, no duh! |
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| Western Spiderwort |
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| Hopefully, this picture gives a feel for how large this slab of sandstone really was! |
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Finally, off the slab of sandstone!
Now it's back to a short section of sand, as we continue almost due south |
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| Just before dropping off into Parunuweap Canyon, we faced a fairly steep section that would lead to . . . |
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. . . an even more steep and crumbly final descent into the Canyon
(Honestly, we didn't find this too bad! It did require us to use both our hands and feet) |
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This is the Powell Plaque embedded in sandstone . . .
We would have walked right past it had Mike not shown us where it was located
(As soon as you hit the canyon floor, head towards your right and look behind the tamarisk) |
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Now the fun begins!
We found it very helpful to have water shoes and walking sticks . . .
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Looking back upstream toward the Powell Plaque
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Looks like a good picture to use for our annual Christmas letter . . .
Hard to believe the Holiday Seasons are just around the corner! |
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| Looking up toward the sky |
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| This section really made us feel small and insignificant! |
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We traveled to the end of this impressive narrow section and then turned around . . .
To go any further would be slow and cumbersome as you begin to near Labyrinth Falls |
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| One final look before we head back |
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| Heading back towards the Powell Plaque . . . then we will continue further upstream to Sulfur Spring |
This portion of the hike involved a 4.6 mile trek that took us to the canyon floor. Once down, we put on water shoes and started exploring downstream towards Labyrinth Falls (approx. .3 of a mile). We didn't actually get to the Falls as ropes are considered a necessity for this technical part of the canyon . . . so we stopped just a little short of their upper reaches. At this point we turned around and headed back upstream to where we entered the canyon, near the Powell plaque. Part 2 of this post explores our journey upstream to Sulphur Spring and our return hike out of the canyon. To read more about this section click
here for Part 2.
