Family hiking nearish Kanab

[ogdendude]

So again I learned the hard way not to trust maps and also not to trust other people's blogs whose information may be dated. Also, don't trust Google Earth.

So I had read several blogs about going to the Wahweap Hoodoos near Big Water. I read several sites which said they started by Big Water which involved a round trip 8 mile hike. I thought this might be a little much to ask for my 7 year old. So then I found several blogs who said they went in the back way. On Google Earth you can see the road the back way and you can even see cars parked there. There are a ton of pictures of people who obviously came from the north side.

So we headed out the road minding our own business:

And we come across a sign which says that you are not allowed to go this way and it even mentions the Wahweap Hoodoos by name that you cannot get to going this way. It would have been nice if they put that sign 10 miles back.

So then we went to where I thought the front way in and I had seen a picture of the TH sign. But later I found out it has been stolen. So at this point we were getting so pissed off that I didn't think the 7 year old would be up for the 8 mile round trip hike. So we gave up.

Instead we went to White Rocks Canyon. We were told that you can't get there because the road had been washed away. But luckily it looked like it had just been graded the day before. So that was a much shorter hike. Maybe 2 miles each way. We went up one of the canyons there and found Zebra Hoodoo.



Which is pretty fun to take pictures of.




It was a pretty nice time of day to play with the sun




And this one.



So the next day we did a quick 4 miler in town called the Bunting Trail. If you are ever in Kanab and just want a quickie hike with killer views this is it.

Looking East over town and the Vermillion Cliffs

Looking North to the Grand Staircase


The really creepy thing about this hike is that we saw pretty large lion prints all over the place. So then when we were leaving we see a guy hiking in wearing a sidearm. I asked him if there are a lot of lions here and he says "oh yeah, I would never go hiking here and not be armed". This is right when I just got back with my wife and daughter. Sort of scary. But maybe the lions are just as afraid of us as we are of them.

There are some pretty faint petroglyphs on this hike. I tried to enhance them to make them easier to see.


and this one


Anyway. Great weather. Beautiful weekend. Killer dinner at the Rocking V. Wanted to call in well and stay for a few more days.

 

[Howells Outdoors]

If you get up on Bunting Trail for the sunset it is amazing! John W Powell described it as one of his favorite places and said, "it turned the Vermillion Cliffs into a sea of tartarian fire." And it totally does!
Lions in the hills around Kanab are pretty common. I know plenty of times people have come across them with fresh kills and young too. Scary!
I've been hiking those hills since I was 8 and still have yet to see one though.

 

[Nick]

I dunno man, Wahweap Hoodoos look cool and all but I think you did pretty well. That zebra hoodoo is sweet. Freaky on the lions! Thanks for posting!

 

[Laura]

Great trail-another I'll have to put on my to-do list. I never thought of Kanab as being mountain lion territory but it makes sense-they have lots of deer. The Rocking V is awesome!