In October 2025, we spent two weeks exploring southeastern Utah. We spent our first night at Goosenecks State Park, overlooking the San Juan River, before moving on to Cedar Mesa. Our planned week of boondocking on Cedar Mesa turned into just two nights, due to the moisture that was driven into southern Utah by tropical storm Priscilla. We had a great site near Natural Bridges National Monument, but it would have turned into a muddy mess, so we retreated to an RV park in Blanding for a few nights. At least we got in two days of hiking before the weather turned on us.

Moon House Ruins (10/7/25): Our first hike on Cedar Mesa was to the Moon House Ruins in McLoyd Canyon. We had to get a permit to do the hike, as daily visitation is limited to 20 people. The drive to the trailhead had several slickrock sections with some ledge step ups, which provided a good opportunity to learn what the Tacoma is capable of. We opted to skip the last mile plus of 4×4 road, so what should have been a half mile hike to get to the ruins ended up being just under 2 miles. While short, the hike isn’t trivial, with a challenging descent of a five-foot slickrock pour off and some steep sections getting down into the canyon and back up the other side. But it was worth it to see the ruins and it was even better to only see a few other people while we were there.

Owl Creek to Nevills Arch (10/8/25): For our second day on Cedar Mesa, I opted to do another hike while Sue and Cato hung out in camp. I hiked down Owl Creek to Nevills Arch and it was one of the most fun hikes I’ve done in a long time. Scrambling on slick rock, just enough challenging route finding, a cool climb up to an arch, and best of all I had it all to myself!

After spending three days hunkered down in the rain in Blanding, we packed up and headed to an RV park in Hanksville on Saturday as that put us closer to our next boondocking location in North Wash. It looked like it was going to start drying out, but there was still some rain in the forecast, so we weren’t ready to go back off the grid just yet. On our way to Hanksville, we stopped at Natural Bridges National Monument. We had wanted to do a hike there, but due to all the rain, we opted to play tourist instead and just drive to all the scenic overlooks, with one short walk to a nice viewpoint. After looking down into the canyons we’d be hiking, we know we’ll be coming back to do the hike.

North Trachyte to Main Trachyte (10/12/25): We spent two nights at Dukes RV Park in Hanksville. On our second day there, we decided to do a hike down North Trachyte Creek to where it joins the main fork and hike back up Trachyte Creek. The north fork is supposed to be a dry slot canyon, while the main fork has a permanent stream. With the recent deluge, we were expecting some water in the north fork, but not nearly as much as we actually found. So we got wet and muddy, but had a great time!

Leprechaun Hike and East Blarney Canyon (10/15/25): After two nights in Hanksville, we reverted to our original plans and headed to the Sandthrax dispersed campsite where I’d be doing my advanced canyoneering class later in the week. We got set up in a great site and spent the rest of our first day loafing in camp. On the second day, we got to witness a rare double rainbow in the morning and then we spent the afternoon on the practice wall working on canyoneering skills. On Wednesday morning, we hiked a mile into the lower portion of Leprechaun Canyon. And then we had an early dinner, so that I could do a night canyon (East Blarney) for the start of my advanced canyoneering class with North Wash Outfitters.

Hogwarts Canyon (10/16/25): The first two days of my advanced canyoneering class involved learning about rigging (twin rope techniques, using a fiddlestick), setting up traverse lines and guided rappels, and practicing passing knots and ascending. But we also did Hogwarts Canyon, a really fun canyon that gave us a chance to practice many of these techniques.

Woody Canyon (10/18/25): The last day of my canyoneering class we took on our final challenge, an advanced canyon known as Woody Canyon. Woody is known for its pothole challenges and with the recent rain, we were expecting there to be even more water than usual. We all wore wetsuits for this canyon and that made a big difference. We got to do a lot of partner assists when entering and exiting the potholes and we also practiced some new techniques, including rappelling off a hook in a solution pocket and throwing a potshot to help with getting out of a keeper pothole. The canyon was actually in “easy” mode due to the higher water level and thankfully there was only one really stinky pothole. All in all, this canyon was a super fun adult version of playing in the mud puddles after a rain storm!

Arscenic Canyon (10/19/25): On the day after class was over, I teamed up with two classmates, Britt and Chris, to do a graduation canyon (my first canyon without an instructor present). We chose Arscenic Canyon, as it is a short canyon that isn’t too physical. It starts with one big rappel (200 feet) into a beautiful chamber. And then there is a lot of walking through a deep slot, with some fun down climbing and a bit of stemming to avoid the worst of the mud and potholes. There is also an amazing corkscrew section part way down the canyon. This is definitely my favorite canyon so far. And on the exit, we got to check out an unnamed arch.