It was gradual, the dawn of my understanding of Grand Gulch and its magic. Only five years ago, I rode a motorcycle right up the Moki Dugway, its dirt surface ascending in precipitous twists and turns, and traveled blithely across the gentle slope of Cedar Mesa, oblivious to the treasures hidden within its canyons. That changed with repeated visits to Arizona and Utah. Seeking new hiking destinations, I noticed an adventure guide offering a Utah backpacking trip and, through the itinerary, learned for the first time of Grand Gulch. I quickly determined to hike it on my own, and thus my path was laid.

Along the trail through Bullet Canyon.

The Grand Gulch Experience

Grand Gulch carves the surface of southeastern Utah’s Cedar Mesa in serpentine fashion for more than 50 miles, and its tributaries add miles of cliff-lined canyons which provided sheltered overhangs to people of the past. This area was occupied by Ancestral Puebloan people between 800 and 2,000 years ago and it is literally an outdoor museum with scores of ruins, some perched high on ledges and under overhangs, adorned with artifacts and rock art.

It was to experience the solitude, scenery, and slickrock (in this case smooth and wind-polished but more tacky than slick) of the desert canyons that I sought Grand Gulch, but the appeal of walking through this natural museum was for me its biggest draw.

My husband, Bill, and I were halfway through a two-week visit to Arizona and Utah when we arrived at Grand Gulch. We had spent the first week on a four-wheeled adventure driving the Arizona Backcountry Discovery Route, a trail stringing together dirt roads from Mexico to Utah. Along the way we stopped for a few days in Flagstaff to visit with other adventure travel enthusiasts at the Overland Expo. Now, finally, we were ready for the pedestrian aspect of our trip.

Driving from northern Arizona, where we had stopped to hike Water Holes slot canyon, we approached Cedar Mesa from the south. From Mexican Hat, Utah, we traveled north on Highway 163 to Valley of the Gods, and traversed the valley on a winding dirt road. This spot is little brother to Monument Valley, and is the more intimate and less traveled of the two. Valley of the Gods Road ends at SR (Utah State Highway) 261, which becomes Moki Dugway, climbing the southern escarpment of Cedar Mesa with tight switchbacks and steep grades. The dugway, a term describing a roadway carved from a hillside, was built in 1958 for trucks hauling uranium ore. The term “Moki” is derived from a Spanish word used by explorers to describe the natives as well as the vanished Ancestral Puebloan culture.

The pavement resumes atop the mesa and SR 261 passes through the Grand Gulch Primitive Area to intersect with SR 95. The Kane Gulch Ranger Station is on SR 261 about four miles south of the junction with SR 95. Along SR 261, dirt roads (many of them recommended only for high clearance vehicles) lead to numerous trailheads. Within Grand Gulch, we had chosen to day hike Bullet Canyon, the trailhead for which is located 7.1 miles south of the Kane Gulch Ranger Station. It is Road 251 and marked with a sign for Bullet Canyon.

Bullet Canyon is the largest tributary of upper Grand Gulch, running east-west for about six miles. Its main attractions are two well preserved Ancient Puebloan sites, Perfect Kiva and Jailhouse Ruins, situated close together about five miles down the canyon. Its trailhead is easily accessed, just 1.1 mile from SR 261. Primitive camping and vehicle camping are available near the trailhead.

Bullet Canyon

Arriving at the Bullet Canyon trailhead late afternoon, we found a pleasing campsite and made camp, enjoying the sunset over Cedar Mesa. The next day, we were slow to get on the trail, starting about 9 a.m. It was the middle of May and would be warm, but not miserably hot. Our guidebook indicated a round trip of 9.5 miles to Perfect Kiva and Jailhouse Ruins. The area was lightly visited. We had seen a group of three young men at the trailhead and they had preceded us on the trail, but we saw no other hikers at the start. From the trailhead, signed “Grand Gulch 7 miles,” we followed the path west to the mesa rim, then descended a cairned route to the wash bottom. Bearing right (west) into the canyon we climbed over ledges, among boulders, around and over pouroffs and a spectacular slickrock cascade, through brush and trees, and experienced about 900 feet of elevation change. It was a challenging hike – one I would rate moderate to strenuous.

The area is primitive. Once on the trail, there are no signs (other than cairns) or maintained trails, and no archeological site is marked in any way. The canyon floor is sandy, and along the first few miles we were shaded by cedars, large cottonwoods and other riparian vegetation, indicating the presence of water. An hour or so into our walk, we stopped for a break beneath a cottonwood and another hiker walked by, returning to the trailhead. He had started very early in the day, done the same trip we were doing, and was now about to finish before the heat of the day. Smart fellow.

As the canyon became deeper the terrain became more appealing and Utah’s characteristic red sandstone walls towered above us as we walked beneath a clear blue sky. Wildflowers and cacti were blooming, with colors of red, orange, yellow, fuchsia, and even the delicate pink blossoms of wild roses.

Our guidebook stated that Perfect Kiva was located 4.5 miles from the trailhead but when our GPS indicated we had traveled that distance, we saw nothing to suggest we were near the site. We continued walking and looking and finally climbed up the slickrock to a point high on the canyon wall in a place that looked promising, where side trails were evident. Nothing. Eventually we rounded a bend and saw a tent pitched in a shady spot on the canyon floor. Looking up, we saw in a south-facing alcove what looked like a structure high on the canyon wall, near an overhang. Bill saw movement there, and we decided we had arrived. We ascended the slickrock, with a bit of boulder scrambling. The thing we thought was a structure was just a pile of rocks but it appeared sufficiently manmade to point us in the right direction. The tent belonged to the three young hikers we had seen at the trailhead and they were exploring the kiva when we climbed up over the last ledge, but they soon left us to ourselves.

Perfect Kiva features a complete kiva which has been partially restored, a small house, and several other structures, along with pictographs and long, impressive grinding stones overlooking the canyon. A modern juniper ladder allows visitors to descend beneath the reconstructed roof into the subterranean chamber and imagine the ancient ones’ rituals. When we tired of taking photographs and exploring, I lunched on a roast beef sandwich and Fritos while Bill attempted to nap.

I sat in the quiet, doing such an ordinary thing – eating a sandwich – and pondered what an extraordinary moment it was. In the cool breeze, I gazed out over the large stones where Ancient Puebloans had worked grinding corn, looking upon the same canyon, feeling a breeze as fresh and cool. It was a magical connection.

For Bill, however, the breeze was a bit too cool for napping even on this warm day, so we soon continued down the canyon, searching for Jailhouse Ruins. We stayed high on the canyon wall walking on slickrock. Before we had traveled far, Bill spied our goal. The white, moonlike pictographs above Jailhouse Ruin are striking, and visible from a distance. The structure is built into small ledges high on the canyon’s north wall and is named after a small, barred window that gives the false impression that one of the structures had been a prison cell. Even at its significant height from the canyon floor, we were able to ascend to it easily on the slickrock. The ruin incorporates a granary, and the remains of small corn cobs lie there on a windowsill, looking centuries old. Here in a more protected alcove, Bill got his nap and I photographed pictographs.

Ahead, the canyon continues generally northwest to intersect Grand Gulch, but we turned back and began our return to the trailhead, now hiking in the heat of the day. We ended the day tired and a little dehydrated, both of us finishing off the water in our Camelbaks as we approached the end of the trail about eight hours after we started, showing 13.1 miles on the GPS. We had originally planned another Grand Gulch hike on the next day, but that would have to wait. Although we were highly satisfied with our experience, we were exhausted.

A few days later as we were returning to our home in central Oklahoma, we stopped at the Lowrey Pueblo, part of the Canyon of the Ancients in southwestern Colorado. It’s a nice job of preservation – well marked, with smooth sidewalks for easy access only a few yards from the paved parking lot. We strolled around, chatting with other visitors. But it left me cold. It felt sterile and dead, so far removed from the life of the people who built it. It was there that I clearly understood how special our experience in Grand Gulch had been. It was magical indeed, and well worth the effort, to connect with the Ancients deep within the canyons of the Southwest.

Information

When visiting these fragile archeological sites, take care not to harm them and leave all artifacts in place. Never touch or put chalk on rock art figures, and obviously don’t write on the rocks. Take only pictures, and leave only footprints. Permits are required for hiking and backpacking in the canyons of Cedar Mesa, including Grand Gulch. Day use permits may be obtained at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station or at trailheads.

For a map see the Trails Illustrated map 706. For getting to and from the trailhead and finding other destinations to explore in the state, an atlas like the Benchmark Maps Utah Atlas can be helpful. See the Hiking Utah guidebook for more info on hiking destinations in Utah.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 17 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.