Horseshoe Canyon Hike
Last spring I went with a couple friends down Bluejohn Canyon and out Horseshoe Canyon, and we passed by the Great Gallery, one of the world's best pictograph panels. I decided then and there to drag my family back one day. This weekend, that day came!
We couldn't do the full Bluejohn route, which is many miles and includes rappels, but there's a great down-and-back hike into Horseshoe Canyon, and we set our sights on that. I'd originally hoped to do the hike in late February, thinking the weather would cooperate, but Utah has been cold and wet and miserable since January, so we postponed until mid-April. We invited a family from our neighborhood along - Chad and Lisa and their three kids - and also Bri and Mason, and Friday afternoon hit the road for the Super 8 in Green River.
Our first stop was the Wendy's in Price, and when we got there we discovered that Asa had brought a friend along: a ball of ice he'd made out of the hail falling at our house when we left. It had since melted, as balls of ice do, and his backside was soaking wet. He didn't complain even once in the car, and luckily, Michelle had packed an extra set of clothes for all the kids. We traded out kids with Chad and Lisa for different sections of the drive all weekend, and they all got along famously the whole time.
That night we swam at the hotel and then went to bed. Our room was huge, with three queen beds, and everyone actually slept pretty darn good.
The next morning there was a line a mile long at the waffle maker in the lobby, and we smuggled out some muffins and bananas for Bri and Mason, who ended up in a different hotel.
We left a little after 8:00 on Saturday morning and took highway 24 down to Goblin Valley and then took off east on a dirt road. We decided to chance the drive in our minivan, and it turned out to be a fantastically maintained road - 50 or 60 miles an hour most of the way. We passed a huge area of sand dunes on the way, and the road had been graded right through the middle.
The trail follows an old mining road down to the canyon bottom and then you hike up-canyon for a few miles. The stream was flowing in a lot of places, which was pleasant, and it really warmed up to something like perfect as the morning went on. Our kids were getting grumpy by about 11:30, so we took a break and had lunch. Somehow most our breaks ended up just us sitting in the sand in the sun, which was less than ideal but not that bad.
There are four pictograph panels in Horseshoe Canyon, and they get progressively better as you go along. The first is High Gallery, way up on the east wall, and you can't see a whole lot.
A little further along, across from where Water Canyon comes in, is Horseshoe Gallery. You can hike up a sneaky side trail and see some bonus pictographs of a dude hunting a buffalo or something and some crevices carved out for grinding corn.
After that is Alcove Gallery in a huge sheltered alcove. Most notable here is that several early 20th-century visitors felt compelled to scratch their own names over the top of the ancient drawings. Bob Vance (presumably not of Vance Refrigeration) did so in 1921.
Finally, about four miles from the start, you end up at the Great Gallery, which is just stunning. The kids were very excited to see the Holy Ghost Panel, and Leah picked up on the idea that the two small figures are farther away, like in the background, which I never would have figured out. Everyone had a good time looking through the binoculars, signing the register, and making up meanings for the various figures. The most hotly contested was the significance of a little dude holding a trumpet or flute or gun (??) or broom (????) and apparently dancing.
The hike back was a slog, to be sure, but I was so proud of our kids. Emmie slept a long, long time while I held her in my arms and hiked ahead. Asa seemed at first to be low-energy, but I think he was really just focused on the task at hand and loving every minute in an intense way. He walked every step of the eight or so miles (Michelle clocked in at 25,000 steps, so imagine how many Asa steps that was!).
Leah astounded us with her grit. Not only did she hike the whole way, but when we got to the final climb up to the rim, she got it in her head that no way was Uncle Mason going to beat her, so she put it in high gear and was the first one in our whole group to make it back to the trailhead! She officially graduated into awesome hiker this trip.
Bryn and Addison were also troopers - not a word of complaint from Bryn, and Addison had so much extra energy that he and Chad and Lisa's oldest son raced to the top of a huge rockfall while the rest of us were taking a break. On the switchbacks up to the rim, we made it through with help from classics like "My Old Man's a Sailor," "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Pop on the Wall," and "There's a Hole in the Bucket."
After we got back to the cars at about 5:15, we headed to the Chow Hound in Green River with Bri and Mason while Chad and Lisa pushed ahead. Everyone delighted in this family-favorite greasy spoon - Addison commented with something like, "I don't know how to explain, but when I eat that food, I love it and hate it at the same time!" I ended up eating something that really disagreed with me, so I got real familiar with all the rest stops between Price and Spanish Fork. And let me tell you, there are some sketchy rest stops in that stretch of road.
Seriously, though, it was an awesome trip and I couldn't be prouder of the kids! Already scheming about the next big trip... Plus also, since Horseshoe is part of Canyonlands, Michelle, Addison, Bryn, and Leah have officially joined the Mighty Five club! Asa still needs to visit Arches, and this was Emmie's first national park.
We couldn't do the full Bluejohn route, which is many miles and includes rappels, but there's a great down-and-back hike into Horseshoe Canyon, and we set our sights on that. I'd originally hoped to do the hike in late February, thinking the weather would cooperate, but Utah has been cold and wet and miserable since January, so we postponed until mid-April. We invited a family from our neighborhood along - Chad and Lisa and their three kids - and also Bri and Mason, and Friday afternoon hit the road for the Super 8 in Green River.
Our first stop was the Wendy's in Price, and when we got there we discovered that Asa had brought a friend along: a ball of ice he'd made out of the hail falling at our house when we left. It had since melted, as balls of ice do, and his backside was soaking wet. He didn't complain even once in the car, and luckily, Michelle had packed an extra set of clothes for all the kids. We traded out kids with Chad and Lisa for different sections of the drive all weekend, and they all got along famously the whole time.
Soggy but unfazed
That night we swam at the hotel and then went to bed. Our room was huge, with three queen beds, and everyone actually slept pretty darn good.
The next morning there was a line a mile long at the waffle maker in the lobby, and we smuggled out some muffins and bananas for Bri and Mason, who ended up in a different hotel.
We left a little after 8:00 on Saturday morning and took highway 24 down to Goblin Valley and then took off east on a dirt road. We decided to chance the drive in our minivan, and it turned out to be a fantastically maintained road - 50 or 60 miles an hour most of the way. We passed a huge area of sand dunes on the way, and the road had been graded right through the middle.
It was windy and chilly at the canyon rim, but we threw on our warm clothes, put Emmie in her polar bear suit, and hit the trail right at 10:00.
Dino tracks along the way
You can see the road carved out on the other side of the canyon too. See the tiny people waaay down there? That was our destination.
Is this why they changed the name from Barrier Canyon to Horseshoe Canyon?
There are four pictograph panels in Horseshoe Canyon, and they get progressively better as you go along. The first is High Gallery, way up on the east wall, and you can't see a whole lot.
After that is Alcove Gallery in a huge sheltered alcove. Most notable here is that several early 20th-century visitors felt compelled to scratch their own names over the top of the ancient drawings. Bob Vance (presumably not of Vance Refrigeration) did so in 1921.
Addison said this is Darth Maul, and I can't say he's wrong
A break in the shade for these two rock stars
Bri and Mason conquer a sand hill
Finally, about four miles from the start, you end up at the Great Gallery, which is just stunning. The kids were very excited to see the Holy Ghost Panel, and Leah picked up on the idea that the two small figures are farther away, like in the background, which I never would have figured out. Everyone had a good time looking through the binoculars, signing the register, and making up meanings for the various figures. The most hotly contested was the significance of a little dude holding a trumpet or flute or gun (??) or broom (????) and apparently dancing.
A nice guy took our picture; the other hikers (we saw maybe 20 all day) made a wide berth around us
The hike back was a slog, to be sure, but I was so proud of our kids. Emmie slept a long, long time while I held her in my arms and hiked ahead. Asa seemed at first to be low-energy, but I think he was really just focused on the task at hand and loving every minute in an intense way. He walked every step of the eight or so miles (Michelle clocked in at 25,000 steps, so imagine how many Asa steps that was!).
Leah astounded us with her grit. Not only did she hike the whole way, but when we got to the final climb up to the rim, she got it in her head that no way was Uncle Mason going to beat her, so she put it in high gear and was the first one in our whole group to make it back to the trailhead! She officially graduated into awesome hiker this trip.
Bryn and Addison were also troopers - not a word of complaint from Bryn, and Addison had so much extra energy that he and Chad and Lisa's oldest son raced to the top of a huge rockfall while the rest of us were taking a break. On the switchbacks up to the rim, we made it through with help from classics like "My Old Man's a Sailor," "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Pop on the Wall," and "There's a Hole in the Bucket."
Addison and his bud are teeny dots in the middle of this picture
Michelle, Asa, and Bri almost to the top
After we got back to the cars at about 5:15, we headed to the Chow Hound in Green River with Bri and Mason while Chad and Lisa pushed ahead. Everyone delighted in this family-favorite greasy spoon - Addison commented with something like, "I don't know how to explain, but when I eat that food, I love it and hate it at the same time!" I ended up eating something that really disagreed with me, so I got real familiar with all the rest stops between Price and Spanish Fork. And let me tell you, there are some sketchy rest stops in that stretch of road.
Seriously, though, it was an awesome trip and I couldn't be prouder of the kids! Already scheming about the next big trip... Plus also, since Horseshoe is part of Canyonlands, Michelle, Addison, Bryn, and Leah have officially joined the Mighty Five club! Asa still needs to visit Arches, and this was Emmie's first national park.
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