Day #5 More Wilderness in Utah

My alarm clock woke me up to see the sunrise – fresh air and warm light feels so good! It was absolutely quiet, no wind blowing yet. I made my way to Zebra Slot Canyon, was a moderate hike but longer than I imagined. Today I brought enough water and snacks so I took my time photographing all sorts of wildlife – blossoming plants and gnarly trees, lizards and rabbits crawling and bouncing away in the sand.

The canyon itself was mostly under water – I tried a few steps but I didn‘t want to wade through muddy, stagnant waist-high water. No squeezing today 😦

I decided to climb up and see the top of the canyon – perhaps there was a way to climb back down inside where there was less water in it? Nope, it was pretty short and ended in a few pools and beautifully striped tunnels carved out by water.

I continued to Tunnel slot canyon which posed the same problem – dark, muddy water blocked the way through. Climbing was not an option this time as I reminded myself that I was alone in a remote area and if anything happened,… yeah. I met other hikers on the way back though! It always happens to me in foreign countries that I‘m asked if I‘m local and know the way – I like helping people but it also worries me that a lot of them wander off in the biggest heat of the day with children but without enough water, a GPS device or a clue how long the trail is going to be.

At the moment I‘m sitting at „Upper Fall Creek“ – a cool place to swim and wash clothes. The mountains and peaks surrounding this place are, once again, unreal. Grand Staircase Escalante was supposedly the last unmapped area of the US way back. No surprise, as after every turn, new canyons, dunes, fields and steep hills come into view. I‘ll install a go pro like a dashboard cam to catch little bit of this magic before going back towards Page tomorrow!