Bell And Little Wild Horse Canyons And Goblin Valley State Park

BOU AVENUE
Bell And Little Wild Horse Canyons And Goblin Valley State Park

On 11 October 2016, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked a loop through Bell and Little Wild Horse Canyons in the San Rafael Swell of south-central Utah followed by a visit to nearby Goblin Valley State Park. When we arrived at the entrance to Goblin Valley State Park the night before, we were dismayed to learn that the campground was already full since we were hoping to take a shower there (the showers are only available to registered campers). Ironically, there was a thunderstorm over the park when we arrived, and we could have had a "shower" anyway by just standing out in the rain if not for the numerous lightning strikes that were blitzing the area! Instead, we drove to the trailhead for the loop hike to camp there for the night (the trailhead lies in Bureau of Land Management territory). Fortunately, the thunderstorm quickly moved off to the east, and our disappointment at not having showers was soon forgotten as we enjoyed a nice and quiet Canadian Thanksgiving dinner highlighted by some delicious pumpkin pie for dessert.

I wear that shirt with pride!

Sonny's shirt seems to match the surrounding landscape near Goblin Valley State Park.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

	A thunderstorm rumbles in the distance behind Zosia. At left is Wild Horse Butte. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny cooks his "Thanksgiving dinner" at the trailhead to Bell and Little Wild Horse Canyons. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia had the foresight to buy a pumpkin pie before heading into the wilderness. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

The next morning, we hiked the loop clockwise by going out through Bell Canyon and returning via Little Wild Horse Canyon. Even before reaching the junction between the two canyons, a deep pool of water forced us onto a bypass trail which climbs up a rocky bench and then drops back into the main wash. At the junction, we kept left and hiked through Bell Canyon which is generally easy except for a couple of tricky spots requiring what I would classify as Class 4 scrambling albeit without much exposure. After emerging from the north end of Bell Canyon, we missed the connecting road leading to Little Wild Horse Canyon and wound up hiking further north for some distance along a nondescript wash before I realized we were off-route. Rather than backtracking, we simply headed cross-country until we intersected the road near the north end of the loop. Back on track, we soon reached the signed junction for Little Wild Horse Canyon, and shortly after this, we came across a gentleman from Alaska who was also hiking the loop in the same direction. This was the first person we had seen all morning, but as we proceeded further into Little Wild Horse Canyon, we began to encounter more and more people, most of them going in the opposite direction to us. Another deep pool of water forced us again to take to a bypass route high above the canyon. Getting back down into the canyon from the bypass route proved to be the crux of the day as we had to down-climb a rather tricky Class 4 step along the way. I even gave some assistance to the Alaskan as he accompanied us for part of the hike through Little Wild Horse Canyon. A little later, we were forced to remove our boots and wade through several small pools of water, the worst one being about crotch-deep. While not particularly difficult to pass through, these pools were a natural place for people to congregate and the source of a lot of fun, laughter and maybe even a little grief. The rest of the Little Wild Horse Canyon was less problematic, and we were soon back at the loop junction and hiking out the same approach route (after all the excitement of Little Wild Horse Canyon, it would be easy to forget about the initial bypass trail).

	Prior to the loop junction, it is best to bypass this canyon via the bench on the left.
	Zosia enters Bell Canyon.
	Zosia scrambles up a narrow section of Bell Canyon.
	Bell Canyon opens up a bit at this point.
	Although very close to the top of this pour-over, Zosia would actually back off and find an alternate route which is easier.
	Near the north end of Bell Canyon are some impressive cliffs.
	Surprisingly, there is some water flowing through the wash near the north end of Bell Canyon.
	After missing the connecting road to Little Wild Horse Canyon, Zosia hikes cross-country to get back on track.
	A jackrabbit boldly ventures out into the open.
	Zosia passes some brilliant yellow rocks on her way to Little Wild Horse Canyon.
	Sonny trudges through dried clay. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia down-climbs a short wall along Wild Horse Canyon.
	A large chock stone is wedged above a section of Little Wild Horse Canyon which needs to be bypassed. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny assists an Alaskan gentleman down a tricky step along the canyon bypass. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The Alaskan gentleman watches Zosia step over a shallow pool of water.

I feel like having BBQ ribs all of a sudden...

Zosia passes through some very interesting rock formations in Little Wild Horse Canyon.

	Little Wild Horse Canyon gets a bit narrow here.
	Sonny enters the wettest part of Little Wild Horse Canyon. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia wades through the deepest pool.
	Zosia weaves through another narrow section.
	Sonny down-climbs a short drop in the canyon. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny emerges from the south end of Little Wild Horse Canyon.
	Total Distance: 17.8 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 6 hours GPX Data

Upon returning to the trailhead, we drove to Goblin Valley State Park ($13 USD for day entry) to have lunch before hiking yet another loop entailing the Carmel Canyon Loop, the Curtis Bench Trail, and the main Goblin Valley. The afternoon heat made this second hike a lot more wearisome, and toward the end, we were happy to simply get back to the car and head to the next town--Hanksville. We checked into a motel there, and after a much-needed shower, we capped off our day with a well-deserved dinner at Duke's Slickrock Grill.

	Three "goblins" (hoodoos) watch as Zosia investigates a cactus plant near the end of the Carmel Canyon Loop.
	Zosia hikes along the Curtis Bench Trail.
	Zosia relaxes on some rocks at the end of Curtis Bench Trail. The Henry Mountains are visible on the right horizon.
	Some goblins can be seen in the valley west of Curtis Bench Trail. At centre on the horizon is Wild Horse Butte.
	Zosia heads for the parking lot across Goblin Valley.
	Zosia hides under a giant "mushroom".
	Total Distance: 7.2 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 2 hours 45 minutes GPX Data