Dance Hall Rock, & Peek-A-Boo & Spooky Slot Canyons

Day Four - Grand Staircase - Escalante N.M. & Glen Canyon N.R.A. - 2019

A day spent exploring two of America’s most claustrophobia inducing natural features.

1. Dance Hall Rock at Night #1

Cottonwood trees can grow quite well in these sinkholes as they retain water for long periods after rainfall.

While I was not terribly happy initially at being awake at 2AM, these photographs came out better than I could have imagined. Initially, the whole sky was covered with clouds (you can still see a couple near the horizon), but after some time, most of them cleared away. The shooting star was an unexpected nice touch. The next photograph came out really well, too.

2. Dance Hall Rock at Night #2

3. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #1

Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon is a lightly-trafficked, well-lit slot canyon in Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument.

After returning to the excellent stealth campsite along Fortymile Ridge Road, we made breakfast and packed up our campsite. We had a light day planned before making our way back to civilization - exploring Peek-A-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons. We tackled Peek-A-Boo first, but rather than climbing up the wall at the bottom end of the canyon, we took the easier approach from the top.

The following eight photographs are from Peek-A-Boo.

4. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #2

5. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #3

6. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #4

7. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #5

8. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #6

9. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #7

10. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #8

11. Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon #9

12. Spooky Slot Canyon #1

Spooky Slot Canyon is incredibly narrow and claustrophobia inducing - it is only 10 inches (25 centimeters) wide in places.

After doubling back out of Peek-A-Boo, we headed to the top end of Spooky Slot Canyon. I am going to give you a few words of warning about Spooky Slot in the hope that you can make an informed decision to visit. First off, Spooky is way, way darker than Peek-A-Boo; this caused serious problems for me since all I had on me were my prescription sunglasses, which made navigation damn-near impossible. Secondly, about halfway down the canyon is a rockfall you must chimney down; it is not a terribly long fall (10 feet / 3 meters, if I had to guess), but if you are shorter it is possible you cannot reach over to the other wall to chimney down. Finally, and most importantly: this slot gets narrow. Real narrow. If you1) are a larger individual, or, 2) are not comfortable with the front and back of your head being pressed against rock for long stretches, this is probably not for you. There were some points where my shoes (U.S. 12 / E.U. 46) got stuck, and there were definitely points where my chest (U.S. jacket size 46 / E.U. jacket size 56) got crushed by the rock. If you do get caught up a bit, you can do what I did and crawl sideways along the ground as the bottom of the canyon is a touch wider than the middle. Good luck!