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Nate Dodge

One of the best hikes in the Capitol Reef area! Park at the visitor center and hitch hike a ride up to the chimney rock trail head. It's only 3 miles away and everyone is willing to give you a quick ride. We just hopped in the back of a local's pickup truck. Cross the road and find the trail, it's very easy to follow down the wash until Sulphur Creek joins it. The first two waterfalls are pretty cool with easy routes down them. As for the third falls, we walked on the right side of it, crossed the water fall right where it drops off, and then followed the ledge on the left as far as you could and then jumped into the shallow water. The people behind us however just jumped off into the hole which is about 5-6 feet deep, so it's safe for a short jump if you're willing to get soaked. They then climbed back up and slid down the waterfall like a waterslide. I guess that's one way to do it! Overall, it is a very family friendly hike which takes about 4 hours with a few breaks. It is not a very overused trail so you will rarely see many people on it, but go in the morning if you want to be the only one out there.

If you're visiting Arches National Park, this is probably the best trail you can hike, especially if you want to avoid all the tourists. The left side is definately busier because that's where most of the arches are, but once you get back in there a ways we saw very few people which was great! You'll get some great views of the La Sal Mountains and visit many of the coolest arches in the park. Also bring a ton of water! We hiked it in early May and it was already super hot, so if you're doing it in the summer it could be brutal!

If you are in or near Escalante you need to make time for this adventure. After a 26.2 mile drive down hole in the rock road, you will turn left where there is a sign marking the Dry Fork Trail Head. Following the road to the trail you will then follow cairns to the beginning of the first slot. It is a steep climb getting up into the canyon but there are a few foot holes cut out in the wall. Peekaboo is a very pretty slot canyon with a couple arches in the beginning. There may be standing water right at the beginning so your feet could get wet however, it is possible to keep them dry. After that the rest of the hike was dry. After you exit peekaboo you will again follow the cairns to the entrance of spooky slot. This one is much narrower and if you are at all overweight you might not fit in many places. There are a few very technical drops but they are definately doable. When you get to the big boulders in your path, you have to drop down between them maybe 10-15 feet, but don't turn back! Once you get down, the rest of the hike is beautiful! Overall, it was one of the most rewarding hikes/climbs I have done in Utah. I would recommend bringing as small of a backpack as you can find, only big enough to pack water and snacks because many places are not wide enough to fit a big backpack. It was also very helpful doing this with a group. There was a lot of teamwork that went into completing this sucessfully and it was also more fun with a small group.