Little Horse Slot Canyon Hike - WOW

Hanksville, Utah
Boondocking



The gang arranged for us to hike Little Horse Slot Canyon for my actual birthday today.  It's an 8+ mile hike.  You hike up one side of the mountain through Little Horse Slot and take a dirt road that connects to the other side which is Bell Slot Canyon.  I promise, the pictures are amazing!

 Lee, Trace, Cori, Greg and Steve.

You start out walking up an open wash then quickly come to the split. We're glad we chose Little Horse first.  It was more impressive so if you can only do one, I'd suggest Little Horse.

This hike was just down the dirt road from where we were boondocking.

The colors throughout the slots change dramatically depending on where you are and the time of day.  The sun can wash out some of the color, but if you can get into the shade you can catch some more intense colors.  Some were more grays/blues/purples and other parts were brighter orange, reds and pinks.

We also played around with the settings on our phones, but it was too much work.

The slots were very long.  Sometimes they were wider in parts and you were walking mostly in loose pebbles and sometimes it was much more narrow.  The pebbles actually made it more difficult to hike in.  Like walking in sand.  Most of the hike was flat with the exception of some spots where a little bouldering was required.

 

The varied landscape was awesome.  You'd come out into a more open area and the walls of the canyon just went straight up.  It made you feel so small. 

In some spots the walls were smooth and colorful and in some there were holes were long ago oceans swirled about.

The colors were spectacular!

 

Steve going through part of the slot canyon.

Cori!

Most areas you just hiked, but some you had to crawl through openings.

Some were very tight!

Some you had to duck and hike under.

This section snaked and swirled around.

Most of the time you are concentrating on your footing but you have to remember to look up. The beauty of these slots is all around you.

Just loved the crazy shapes.

This section reminded me of walking through a dinosaur skeleton.

Doesn't even look real, does it?

 

The Swiss Cheese Wall.

I always find hearts when I'm hiking.

 We've left Little Horse Canyon and are now connecting to Bell Canyon on the other side.

 

The portion of the off-road connecting the two was a bit uphill and much warmer! 

There were some of the most amazing colors here though.

Another heart worn into an old piece of wood that must've washed down the slot from who knows where.

Steve, Greg, Cori, Lee and Trace.

We carefully walked along this wall to get past the large boulder Trace is standing on.

It's much bigger when you're up close!  Now you can see why we didn't jump down.  There was no way to climb down either.  It was too smooth.

Sometimes it was a graceful slide, other times not.  There was a little butt scooting too!

 

Lee had a little slip coming down a previous rock.  It happens.  Well, this time he was prepared!

If you want to see his previous mishap, go to their blog to see it HERE.

Getting closer to the start.  Bell side seemed longer and it was more open.  As the day went on the clouds cleared and it warmed up.

And here we are.  Almost out of the stream bed and back to the cars.

This is my favorite all time slot canyon!

 

What a great birthday!