20th anniversary trip {Kanarra Falls}

The summer after I finished my freshman year at Elon, my family took a two week motorhome trek across the great Southwest.  One thing ton our original itinerary for that trip was to hike a slot canyon.  Unfortunately, due to threat of flash floods on the day we had allowed for the river hike, our time in Zion's Narrows had to be cancelled.  While that trip remains a highlight of my "pre-Ian years" (taking a similar trip with our kids is a bucket list item...do they make motorhomes for a family of eight?), I was always disappointed about missing time in a narrow canyon.  

obviously not quite there yet...

 As Ian began researching for this trip, he knew we'd include Zion's Narrows in our hiking, but he wanted to find one a bit more "out of the way" in order to assure less crowds.

And so for a mere $12 each he secured us two of the 150 daily permits to hike the Kanarra Falls trail in Kanarraville, just east of Cedar City and near the Kolob Canyon section of Zion.  When we pulled into the parking lot and saw numerous empty spaces, we knew we were in for a serene hike.  In fact, we didn't see many people during our entire hike, but thankfully caught a group of three just as we began so we didn't have to try to get a selfie at the sign.

Initially the canyon was deep but quite wide and I wondered if we were really going to get the "slot canyon" experience.  It was quite beautiful though and we slowly made our way through, trying to avoid stepping the creek as much as possible...the sun was warm, but that water was COLD!  Just crossing from one side to the other when there was no other way gave us numb feet.

i'd gotten my toes wet already and tried to navigate without submerging my feet as much as possible.

And then at about one and half miles, we got our first glimpse of where the canyon narrowed and suddenly we understood why people are in awe of slot canyons!

At this point we were near the biggest crowd we encountered all day...a group consisting of two couples who had recently relocated from big cities to southern Utah.  All four said they had grown tired of the rat race and were bored with conventional retirement so they moved to an area with tons of beautiful wilderness to explore.

We chatted with them for a bit and then graciously accepted their offer to pass them (we caught up to them right at the narrow canyon entrance) and explored further.

The sheer magnitude of the walls so close around us coupled with the amazing lighting had us all but forgetting how cold that water was.

A short way into the slot, we came upon the first falls...a fifteen foot rock jam waterfall.  A fallen tree with metal bars has been fashioned into a ladder of sorts and with careful footing and the assistance of the tethered rope, we made our way up and over.

We continued to make our way along and within a few tenths of a mile, the canyon widened briefly, providing a great spot to stop for a snack and to admire the view.

After a quick refuel, we continued on our way.  Very quickly the walls narrowed in again and we found ourselves in an area that we could easily touch both canyon walls with our arm span.  This is where a decision had to be made.  We knew we were very close to the next falls.  We also knew that the water was insanely cold.

And right here there was a spot thigh deep with no way around.  While it was only for a few steps, I couldn't bring myself to wade into the hole.   I climbed up on the rock to the left and watched my incredibly brave...and apparently part yeti...husband forge the creek and disappear around the bend.

He was only gone a few minutes when he came back with a photo of the upper falls to provide me information to make the decision of pressing on or just admiring it from his selfie.

Beautiful?  Yes.

So I tried again to make my way.

Got about to calf deep water and decided that if I left the sense of wonder there would be incentive to return one day...

Back to the warm rock I scrambled.  Ian climbed up on the rock beside me like a lizard sunning himself to dry his pants.  And then, spurred on by the prospect of a real meal, we began the hike back to our car.

Some spots were a bit trickier than others.

But we both made it unscathed.  With one last gaze back into the canyon we headed out, full of awe and excitement that our first day had already brought...and it wasn't even 2pm yet!

[There is something to be said about the vastness of the earth, as well as the vastness of the heavens, in reminding us how small we are and how great God's creation is.]
― Aleksandra Layland, The Feathered Crown: A Windflower Saga Novella

We were amazed to find that we had cell coverage and did a quick search on Yelp to find a place to grab lunch.  The Kanarra Falls Snackery was a perfect way to conclude an amazing first half of the day.  We shared a toasted roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips and became hooked on the combo of pear, peach and mango in a smoothie.

It was hard to leave the idyllic town of Kenarraville behind, but the day had much more to offer, so onward we pressed.

**this two hour hike, along our sunset hike at Cedar Breaks and our sunrise hike at Delicate Arch was one of my three favorite hikes of the trip**