Bull Valley Gorge, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument - Utah

Passing a chokestone

Where else in all of the southwest can you see a earthen bridge formed on top of a pickup truck that slid into a narrow slot canyon, becoming permanently wedged high up between the canyon walls? Unfortunately, the accident killed three men returning from a hunting trip in the 1940s. Even today, with a larger bridge on top of the now-empty pickup, crossing the canyon in a wide SUV can be a little disconcerting, especially after you stop and look down into the canyon and see its floor some over 200 feet below.

Bull Valley Gorge is located on the Skutumpah Terrace, a mid-elevation plateau just east and below the cliffs and hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park. Yellow Creek and Sheep Creek, two streams originating in Bryce, flow eastward crossing the terrace just north of Bull Valley. The Gorge is deep and dark, and well worth the trip.

The best times to hike are spring and fall, particularly during dry stretches. Because of the terrace's elevation, at around 6200 feet, early spring and late fall can be quite cold. The authors hiked Bull Valley in mid-October, but overnight temperatures dropped below 20 F.

We've never heard of anyone needing to rappel in Bull Valley Gorge, but a 30-foot accessory cord for lower packs will be helpful. Remember that conditions are very volatile here and can change after just one storm, as you'll read in just a moment.

Getting There:

Take Highway 12 west out of Panguitch, Utah. You'll pass the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park. Continue east to the town of Cannonville, turning south in town toward Kodachrome Basin State Park,

Follow the road south and a little east for a about 3 miles. The first signed road to the right takes you to upper Sheep Creek and Yellow Creek. Continue south about 1/2 mile past this sign to a second dirt road heading right and signed "Bull Valley Gorge, 9 miles".

This road's clay bed that can be treacherous when wet. Combine the slick clay with the road's steep dugouts cutting up and down ridges and there is the potential for disaster. Play it safe and avoid this road if there has been any recent wet weather. Also, be sure to allow time to get back to pavement when weather approaches, not after it hits. You don't want to donate your vehicle to the area's road building efforts like the unfortunate hunters at Bull Valley.

A high clearance vehicle is recommended, as you'll follow this dirt road up and down ridges, steep inclines, and across several streambeds. At one point you'll drive across the concrete spillway just below a small reservoir to the right with a steep short drop off to the left.

The last creek crossing is Willis Creek. There is a large flat grassy area on the right immediately before crossing the stream. After crossing Willis Creek, the road ascends steeply up a ridge and then a short distance to Bull Valley Gorge. The Gorge creeps up on you--in fact you can barely see it until you are right on top of it. The earthen bridge across the chasm is the giveaway. Just before the bridge, on the right there's a hiker's gate in the fence. You can park at the gate, or in a pull out on the far side of the bridge. You'll find a small camping spot (a short flat pullout) less than a quarter mile above the bridge on the left.

The Trail

There are two or three entry points into the gorge. All are located a little more than a half-mile up canyon from the hiker's gate. As you hike along the rim, peer into the canyon where possible to check out the canyon floor. Look for any sign of water. It wet times there is often a large pool just up canyon from the bridge. Keep checking the floor, especially where you see boulders. It you see pools on the downstream sides of the boulders, you'll find the hiking much more difficult. Continue to follow the trail along the rim until you reach a 12-foot drop into the canyon. You may be able to chimney down this, or you may find a log at the bottom, which you can lower yourself onto and climb down. There are two cracks a short distance down canyon from this drop-off that are possible to downclimb. One is about 20 feet, the other about 60 feet. The first (shorter) crack is only possible if there is a log at the bottom.

These entry points may change with each flash flood. The authors' first attempted to hike this canyon in late October, and entered at the first drop by chimneying. Within the first half-mile we encountered two chest deep, very cold pools, and could see more and deeper pools ahead. We abandoned the hike, exiting by climbing out of the second 60-foot crack. A youth group was rappeling off a sturdy Juniper tree just a few yards from the crack.

"We saw the unmistakable evidence of a monstrous, unbelievable flash flood. . . The gorge is about 20 feet wide and 70 feet deep. The flash flood had completely filled the entire gorge and spilled over the top with enough force to uproot the Juniper tree ..."

Exactly one year later, we made another attempt to hike the gorge. The chimney route had been clogged with small chokestones, but a log had been placed at the bottom of the dryfall. A log had also been placed at the base of the 20-foot crack.

We also saw the unmistakable evidence of a monstrous, unbelievable flash flood at our exit point of the prior year. The gorge is about 20 feet wide at this point and nearly 70 feet deep. The canyon makes a hard right turn at the 60' exit crack. The flash flood had completely filled the entire gorge and spilled over the top with enough force to uproot the Juniper tree the youth group had used to rappel. Logs and branches were stuck in the trees and brush ten feet or more above the rim of the gorge. One would assume--incorrectly--that you would be safe up on the rim of a 70-foot deep gorge even during a flash flood. There was a 15 inch diameter ponderosa pine stuck in the canyon wall about 50 feet up that hadn't been there the year before. Clearly, conditions change frequently and dramatically.

After entering the canyon, you'll encounter several obstacles right away. These are all fairly simple to down climb, unless there are pools. Water makes footing treacherous. In most cases, you'll be taking advantage of rocks and logs jammed or placed below boulders to lower yourself, usually only 6 to 10 feet. If there are pools, you'll be unable to assess the depth, and unable to see the logs and rocks for footing. If you find the water too cold or are uncomfortable proceeding here, abandon the hike here. There are sure to be worse obstacles ahead. If there are no pools, then you've lucked out, and passage will be much simpler. There could still be water ahead, but it'll be less deep and less frequent.

The canyon winds, deepening quickly to over 200 feet as you approach the bridge after 30 to 45 minutes. Looking up, you'll clearly spot the old pickup, now serving as the base of the bridge. The gorge narrows significantly here to only a few feet across. There is the potential for more pools in this area. These have the potential to be deeper and longer pools when water is present.

Continue down canyon. After passing the bridge the gorge widens and continues to deepen, reaching depths of over 400 feet below the rim. You'll encounter more obstacles, most similar in height and difficulty to those experienced early on. One large chokestone requires chimneying about 18 feet down on a steep sandstone slope to a log placed at the bottom. There is a great bomber handhold on the bottom of the chokestone, but your arms bear the full weight of your body as you slide your feet down the slick rock for the last foot or two. Less experienced hikers, or those with little climbing experience, will want a rope here. If the log gets washed away, a rope would be required, or you'll have to search for an alternate route.

You have two exit options. First, after about 4 miles, you'll reach a wide spot in the canyon with large cracks ascending to both rims. This takes anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours, depending on whether there are pools to slow you down and the experience level of your group. The crack is probably a fault line crossing perpendicular to the Gorge. On the right (looking down canyon), a slide area supports a stand of pine. You can exit here by climbing to either canyon rim. The authors climbed the north rim, an easy scramble, and rimwalked cross country about 30 to 45 minutes back to the car at the hiker's gate. There is an established trail on the south rim, leading us to believe that you can also climb out the south side, but we did not try it.

Alternatively, you can continue down canyon another 3 1/2 to 4 miles, until you reach the confluence with the Sheep Creek. The canyon widens and deepens considerably as you proceed, reaching over 800 feet to the rim. Follow the streambed just over 1 mile to the confluence with Sheep Creek. Walk up Sheep Creek (generally north) through a broad valley until reaching Willis Creek, the first stream you'll encounter. From the confluence of Bull Valley and Sheep Creek to Willis Creek is a distance of 4 1/2 to 5 miles.

Turn left, following Willis Creek upstream. There are good narrows in Willis Creek. After 3 miles you'll meet the road at the grassy parking area. This makes for a longer day hike, especially if you have only one car. You'll have to roadwalk another 2 to 2 1/2 miles back to your car at the hiker's gate, making a total of about 20 miles round trip. The road portion of the hike would be very difficult in hot weather.

If you exit at the fault and return to you car, you could drive back to Willis Creek and hike a couple of miles downstream to see the best narrow of Willis, then turn back. In this way, you could complete both Bull Valley Gorge and Willis in one easy day if there are no significant water obstacles in Bull Valley.

The total time to hike Bull Valley to the fault exit and back to the car is about 5 to 6 hours, with no water obstacles. To hike down Bull Valley to Sheep Creek, up Willis Creek and back to your car at Bull Valley would be an all-day affair for an experienced hiker, and probably too much for the majority of hikers. Water would also be a problem on the longer hike, especially in warmer weather. You'd need as much as two gallons per person, or plan on filtering or treating either Sheep Creek or Willis Creek water.

By Steve Mann
Steve Mann is the Editorial Director and a Co-Founder at GearReview.com.