Zebra Canyon still dry?

[regehr]

I'm headed to the Escalante area with my family this weekend (Apr 7/8). We've never been down the Hole in the Rock road and are psyched.

I had planned on avoiding Zebra since the boys are probably not into a cold swim but summit's trip report indicates that a few weeks ago it was dry:

http://backcountrypost.com/forum/index.php?threads/escalante-march-2012.657/

Anyone know if this is still the case? Thanks!

 

[Bill]

intuitive cat would be the man to ask.... have you seen much rain down there Mr Cat?

 

[Seldom Seen Anderson]

I was there last saturday and there was one section with shin deep water but it has rained since then a bit I believe. Have you considered peekaboo with your boys over Zebra? Lots more bang for your buck!

 

[pixie1339]

I'm headed to the Escalante area with my family this weekend (Apr 7/8). We've never been down the Hole in the Rock road and are psyched.

I had planned on avoiding Zebra since the boys are probably not into a cold swim but summit's trip report indicates that a few weeks ago it was dry:

http://backcountrypost.com/forum/index.php?threads/escalante-march-2012.657/

Anyone know if this is still the case? Thanks!

I'll be there with my son this weekend, as well. We're planning to do Zebra on Saturday. Maybe we'll see you there.

 

[regehr]

I was there last saturday and there was one section with shin deep water but it has rained since then a bit I believe. Have you considered peekaboo with your boys over Zebra? Lots more bang for your buck!

Thanks Seldom! The Peekaboo/spooky area was where I was planning to take us before I saw summit's awesome report. Due to stupid constraints ("jobs") we only have one full day down there. I'm looking for a hike suitable for a 5yo, a 7yo, and a wife who has sort of a serious dislike of exposure. This seemed to rule out whichever of peekaboo or spooky has that dicey-looking climb right at the start but I figured we'd do the other one and also poke up the Dry Fork a ways and see those narrows.

So you'd recommend that trip over Zebra given the circumstances?

 

[regehr]

I'll be there with my son this weekend, as well. We're planning to do Zebra on Saturday. Maybe we'll see you there.

Excellent . Yeah I figured these hikes might have lots of people on (what looks to be) a perfect april saturday!

 

[intuitive cat]

intuitive cat would be the man to ask.... have you seen much rain down there Mr Cat?

We've had pretty much no precipitation around Boulder & Escalante within the last couple of weeks. that last storm that passed through missed us. there were just light flurries for a little bit, nothing to speak of.
the last time anything significant fell was the day that Summit describes in his Zebra trip report.

 

[Nick]

Excellent . Yeah I figured these hikes might have lots of people on (what looks to be) a perfect april saturday!

Good thing that "a lot" of people on Hole-in-the-Rock Road is still nothing compared to any of the hikes around Moab or Zion. I've seen quite a few cars at the Dry Fork trailhead for Peekaboo and Spooky, but never more than a few cars for the Zebra Trailhead.

 

[regehr]

We've had pretty much no precipitation around Boulder & Escalante within the last couple of weeks. that last storm that passed through missed us. there were just light flurries for a little bit, nothing to speak of.
the last time anything significant fell was the day that Summit describes in his Zebra trip report.

Thanks! I'll wave as we drive through Boulder

 

[Nick]

I don't think Zebra would be that bad even if there were a bit of water. I went in March 2010 and there were quite a few pools in the beginning of it. Several you could walk around before it narrowed up, the rest were easily stemmed over. But even if we didn't stem them, it wasn't like it would have been wading or anything. Shin to knee deep, tops. Might just be a good idea to throw some Keens in the pack or something. Here's a few shots of the wetness in March 2010.

 

[Bill]

I hear it can get pretty big and deep.....

 

[Nick]

I hear it can get pretty big and deep.....

Awesome. Ya know, somebody ought to build a damn so I can take my motorboat up in there!

 

[Bill]

Awesome. Ya know, somebody ought to build a damn so I can take my motorboat up in there!

think about how many more people could enjoy it!

 

[regehr]

Thanks again for the info, folks, we had a great all-day hike yesterday. Zebra was all dry and lots of fun. The real star of the show was a longish trek across the slickrock desert behind Zebra: open country, amazing colors, and oceans of moqui marbles. We dropped back into Harris right next to Tunnel slot, which was hip-deep for me. The walk back to the road was pretty long for the kids. Just before arriving at the cars around 5:30pm we ran across a German family, walking the other direction, w/o packs. Hopefully they were either really fast walkers or else had the sense to turn around before dark.

 

[pixie1339]

Did you have two kids with you? I'm trying to figure out if it was you and your family that my son and I talked to after we didn't find Tunnel.

 

[regehr]

Did you have two kids with you? I'm trying to figure out if it was you and your family that my son and I talked to after we didn't find Tunnel.

Yes that was us!

After we talked I went to look for tunnel (only about 4 minutes away, at the cairns you mentioned) while my wife and kids hung out. They were tired and weren't going to enjoy the deep, cold water anyhow.

We were bummed for you guys, but were not in a position to catch up.

 

[pixie1339]

Yes that was us!

After we talked I went to look for tunnel (only about 4 minutes away, at the cairns you mentioned) while my wife and kids hung out. They were tired and weren't going to enjoy the deep, cold water anyhow.

We were bummed for you guys, but were not in a position to catch up.

Well, cool, it was nice to meet you. We were bummed that we missed it, too, but hey, at least now I know where it is. We were so pooped from trekking up Harris Wash that by the time we spotted the cairns on our return, we didn't have the gusto to do anything other than hike back to the truck. If the water was hip deep on you, it would have been even higher for me, so we may not have made it very far before we decided to turn around anyway. Oh, well. I'm sure we'll get there another time.

 

[intuitive cat]

Thanks again for the info, folks, we had a great all-day hike yesterday. Zebra was all dry and lots of fun. The real star of the show was a longish trek across the slickrock desert behind Zebra: open country, amazing colors, and oceans of moqui marbles. We dropped back into Harris right next to Tunnel slot, which was hip-deep for me. The walk back to the road was pretty long for the kids. Just before arriving at the cars around 5:30pm we ran across a German family, walking the other direction, w/o packs. Hopefully they were either really fast walkers or else had the sense to turn around before dark.

I'm in love with that open country above Zebra.

 

[regehr]

A few pics from Zebra, Tunnel, and the slickrock area above them:

http://blog.regehr.org/archives/703

 

[pixie1339]

A few pics from Zebra, Tunnel, and the slickrock area above them:

http://blog.regehr.org/archives/703

Those are great pics! We'll have to check that area above the slots out next time. My son was totally digging the moqui marbles.