My attempts at the elusive Zebra Slot
Zebra Slot, third time’s the charm, indeed!
The first time around we had scheduled day 1 for Coyote Gulch and day 2 for Zebra Slot Canyon. As luck would have it, we got lost doing the iconic Coyote Gulch hike, and was forced to spend the night unprepared in the canyon in freezing November. We were too tired, and had spent enough time finding our way back the next day that we couldn’t muster the effort to go back and do the Zebra slot on day 2. For those interested in reading up about our Coyote Gulch misadventure, I have a post dedicated to it now.
On the second attempt, a full year later, we tried this again in December. We made it to the mouth of the Zebra Slot canyon, only to find out that the slot had iced up. While my friend & I were debating whether the slot would hold our weight, another hiker joined us. After briskly roping himself up, he started treading carefully on the thin ice. In just a few feet from the entrance, the ice cracked suddenly & he fell waist deep into freezing water! BRRRR! We pulled him out quickly, and thankfully he had a pair of dry clothes to change into. Phew! Mission Abort!
On the third attempt, we took off on Friday to make it a 4 day long weekend for the July 4th, and headed back to Escalante to do this hike in summer.
The trail-head is at the third cattle guard in the historic ‘Hole in the rock’ dirt road just outside Escalante, Utah. This dirt road was used by Mormon pioneers to chart a descent to the Colorado river, and has several access points to popular hikes like Zebra slot, Peek-a-boo slot, Tunnel slot, Spooky Gulch, and Coyote Gulch. None of these hikes are marked, and they require a little bit of route finding, and map navigating skills.
The 6-mile hike to Zebra slot has no elevation gain, and the path is well traveled; however, the pay-off isn’t great if you’re not into photography. The last mile is through a wash. Walking through loose sand in the high desert sun is nobody’s idea of fun, and it does get highly claustrophobic at the slot. However, it does lead you to this photogenic spot with pink striated strips.
My friend and I had a gallon each, and felt it was too little. If you plan the hike in summer, please watch out for flash floods, do the hike early in the morning, and carry tons of water!
Hike details:
- Hike distance: 6 miles (out and back)
- Hike difficulty: Easy, the hike itself is pretty straightforward, but a lot of it is in direct exposure to the sun
- Elevation gain: 300 feet
- Hike time: 3-4 hours
- Trailhead: Part of Escalante/Grand Staircase National Monument. Trailhead is the third cattle guard in the historic ‘Hole in the rock’ dirt road just outside Escalante, Utah
[…] 3: Early morning hike to the Zebra Slot canyon, lunch & split up. Vishnu & I will drive to Kanab, […]