Johns Canyon
We only saw one other vehicle and no other people on the Johns Canyon trail while we were there. It really felt like a desolate area, which was both good and bad. Still, we had Gerry cans with us that were full of gas and there were two vehicles in our group, so we didn't worry.
The trail was easy to find, and the first section of the trail to Cedar Point was straight with lots of visibility. We made it to the switchbacks in no time after already passing the truck on his way out.
We went through the gate, closing it after us. The scenery there was impressive, though we wished we could see the water below us.
We went out to what looked like it might be an overlook, but it didn't get us close enough to the edge. We decided to stay on the main trail for the rest of our time on it.
Once we turned into Johns Canyon itself, the canyon walls were closer. We all noticed the Rock Slide right away, though we didn't know for sure if it was where we were headed or not. It was an interesting part of the canyon wall, and we were all fascinated by it as we passed it on the other side of the canyon.
Then we got to the waterfall and we all got out to see the sights. It looked like someone had camped there recently, so we assumed the truck was in here. It would have been a nice camp spot. Then we noticed lots and lots of tracks from small snakes in the wet sand. Maybe it's not a great camp spot after all.
The waterfall was small because of the time of the year, but we imagined it was pretty big at times. That water fed down Johns Canyon into the big canyon in Glen Canyon.
We were losing our daylight so we hopped back into our Jeeps and kept going. We worked our way around to the other side of the canyon, discussing the Rock Slide and if we could get past it. When we got to just above it, we got out and walked it.
We all decided immediately that we wouldn't try it. It was a bit of a descent down an eroded and rocky hill to the Rock Slide itself, where the trail was fine but overgrown. Then, when you started back uphill, the section of trail had really eroded. The rocks were exposed, making ledges that would drop you or slide you out to the cliff's edge. Then the climb back up was also eroded and tricky.
We knew that the trail would end, eventually, and we'd have to come back out. It was almost dark, and it would be pitch black the next time we were through. Even if it was noon and it hadn't rained in weeks we still wouldn't have tried it. The darkness and the mud made it impossible for us, so we did our exploring and turned around to head out.
It didn't take us long to get back to the trailhead. The shelf road was a bit creepy in the total darkness, making it even more interesting on the way out.
We hadn't aired down very much, so we jumped onto the highway to head to Bluff for dinner at the Twin Rocks Cafe. They even had Band-Aids for Monica, which was an added bonus.
It had started to rain, and that rain would last through the night and into the next day. It would mess up our plans for that day, but until then we'd try to get some sleep. What a wonderfully surprising day all around.
