Kanab, UT
A few years ago Linday, a blog follower from England, wrote and said she and husband Neil would be visiting the U.S. and would be traveling through the same town as us. We took advantage of that opportunity to meet (interestingly it was at Lake Mead). Since then we have crossed paths a number of times as they visit the U.S. often. They recently arrived in Los Angeles, rented a vehicle, and set out on a month trip across the west, mostly through southern Utah. When we found they would be driving through Kanab on their way to Page, AZ, we arranged to meet for a short hike at the Toadstool Hoodoos, about 40 miles east of Kanab on US 89 on the route to Page.
Neil and John head toward the hoodoos
From a parking area on the north side of the highway it is a short walk to the area with the hoodoos.
Lindsay and Neil
Sego Lilies – the state flower of Utah
After a brief but pleasant visit, Lindsay and Neil continued east to Page, while we headed west back to Kanab. We know we will meet them again in future travels.
The next day we drove nine miles east on US-89 and turned north on to Johnson Canyon Road headed for Lick Wash Slot Canyon. After 16 miles the pavement ends and Johnson Canyon Road turns to dirt. At that point we turned right (east) on to Skutumpah Road, a maintained dirt road.
We continued on Skutumpah for 14.8 miles and turned right just past a “Flood Area” sign. The side road ends at the trailhead, less than a mile from the main road.
A road guard keeps an eye (actually two) on traffic
Lick Wash Slot Canyon trailhead
Lick Wash goes for about four miles to where it empties into Park Wash (when they have water). We went a bit over two miles through a series of slots to where the canyon opens up before turning around and hiking back to the trailhead.
The slot areas we went through were quite beautiful.
Driving back on Skutumpah Road we had to contend with guards blocking our path. After some heated negotiations with the leader, we were allowed to continue.
Next up for us here in Kanab is a visit to some Indian artwork. More on that later . . .
Glad to see you back on the road and exploring some of my favorite landscape.
Thanks, Ingrid!
Most interesting sandstone formations with the mix of slanted and horizontal layers, eroded and solid sections. Quite unique. You do find the most interesting places to explore!
Thanks, Jeff! The whole of Utah is such a unique place for great rock variations.
Great photos and I’m loving this travelogue you’ve decided to resurrect!
Thanks so much, Janna!
Cool! Looks like you have good weather for hiking. The horns on those beasts sure are intimidating!
We have had wonderful weather for all the hiking/driving adventures I had on my must do list. Yes, the horns make these guys rather intimidating, and they watched us very closely.
Those were some huge long horns! The toad stools are so cool, you have to wonder how long it took for them to form and how long they will stay like that.
We are always wondering the same thing when we see all these various formations. It’s hard to wrap your head around the thousand/million years things have been forming.
We are headed up to the southern Utah area in a couple of weeks. I’ve added these hikes to our list. Anxious to see what else you do in that area. Thanks for sharing.
Debra, make sure you check our past blog posts. We have spent at least five years in all areas of southern Utah. You should get lots of ideas.
So glad you’re back in the blogosphere! It’s interesting to see how much Lick Wash has changed in just a little while. I thought all the snow we encountered there would melt into a strong stream in the slot areas, and yet it appears dry! So fun to see familiar things through different eyes.
We were so surprised by the differences we saw in Lick Wash from your photos. It’s amazing what a little time will do for a place.
We loved that toadstools hike. It felt like we were walking on another planet. So bizarre but so cool! And those slot canyons looked fun too! As we head east, we’ll be jealously keeping track of your awesome hikes out west. Have fun!
Leaving all the beautiful western hikes and the open scenery is one of the hardest parts about heading east. Safe travels as you return to the heat and humidity!
Isn’t that toadstool hike gorgeous? So fun that you met up with Lindsay and Neil again and shared it with them. I’m putting Lick Wash on our list for our next visit to the area. We love slot canyons.
Glad you figured out the password so those fierce looking guards let you through. 🙂
It was so nice that our paths crossed with Lindsay and Neil for at least a couple hours. I thought when we changed our plans, we would miss them.
That lead guard was not letting us pass til he was good and ready.
Great adventures…Love, love, love the slots! The Toadstools are pretty cool too!
The Toadstool is nice easy hike with a great treat. It’s one most everyone can do which makes it fun to share.
Slots and toadstools…a happy place.
I always love your slot canyons, and those toadstools are so cool!!