I wasn't sure how comfortable @mini.turbodb would be under the stars and on slickrock, but with a few strategically placed rocks - which we all placed around our pads - to alert her to a getting-too-close-to-the-edge situation, she slept great. Better than either @mrs.turbodb or me, in fact!
We'd set an alarm for two minutes before sunrise, which was technically about 30 minutes later than we should have gotten going. The cool morning temperatures are much nicer to hike in, and we weren't yet familiar with how long it would take to filter our water. Regardless, we had a relatively easy morning around camp, our breakfast consisting of Quest Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Protein Bars. They were gross, but reasonably filling and didn't add much weight to our packs, so there was that. Plus, we hoped the other flavors we'd brought along would be better.
Visiting Grand Gulch for a day hike requires a pass, and camping below the rim requires an overnight permit. Both are inexpensive and help to fund our public lands. They need our support more than ever.
For more information, check out BLM Utah Cedar Mesa Permits and Passes Information.
Gathering up cameras, our nearly empty water containers, and the First Need XL Elite water filter, we headed back up the canyon to the pool - Cow Tank - I'd found the night before. And of course, along the way, we stopped to check out the large rock panel my compatriots had discovered.
Less than half an hour after sunrise, the ancient canvas was already bathed in sunlight.
An Orange Mallow gleamed in the morning rays.
When visiting rock art and ruin sites, be respectful.
This is most easily done by following the Leave No Trace principles; leaving the place exactly as you found it and taking with you only photographs and memories. In case that is not clear enough for some reason, here are examples of respectful behaviors:
Cow Tank rock art.
Whitewashed.
These swirled hands reminded me of the prints I'd seen at Shaw Arch.
Procession of sheep.
I'm not sure why, but I really liked the simplicity of these lines.
One white man is not like the others.
In a nearby cave, we found sharpening grooves. (top left) | Corn cobs and stone flakes. (bottom left) | And a grinding slick. (right)
After poking around for a bit in the warm sun - a luxury we'd later wish we'd skipped as the temperatures rose into the mid-70s °F through the afternoon - we pushed onward, reaching the pool of water I'd found the previous evening. Plenty of tracks - both human and otherwise - suggested that this was a frequently visited place as we set about readying the filter.
Thank goodness for filters, that water looks gross.
I shouldn't have been surprised - the filter we were using came highly recommended by someone who'd declared himself "very picky about the water I drink" - but it was amazing to see how clear the water was as we poured it into our bottles. It tasted good too, which I can only assume is not what we'd have experienced if we were sampling it directly!
At any rate, the filter was reasonably quick, but even so, it took us a good twenty minutes to filter the 8 liters of water - hopefully enough to last us through the day - that would tide us over until we found our next pool. And then, we stuffed them in our packs and resumed our trek through Grand Gulch.
As we scrambled up to some rock art, we saw the nicest Claret Cup of the trip.
I wish we'd been a little earlier to catch this panel in the shade, but it was a nice high white panel above the wash.
Parade of birds.
Having been in lower Grand Gulch only a few weeks earlier to hike Shangri-La and Water Canyon, it was remarkable how bright the foliage was as we continued along the trail. The Cottonwood trees - only just starting to bud on our last trip - were a now brilliant green as they cascaded down the canyon, offering us a nice respite from the sun's rays.
Gulch of green.
Shady alcoves became favorite stretches of trail as we tried to beat the heat.
The ladies.
Rim light.
Cottonwood colony.
We stopped for lunch somewhere around the mouth of Step Canyon. We hadn't run into any water since leaving Cow Tank, so we were glad to be carrying a full load, even if it meant heavier packs than we'd have otherwise preferred. As we had the day before, PB&J sandwiches were assembled and consumed in mere seconds, followed by four slices (each) of juicy mandarin orange - the only fresh food we'd eat for the day - that were savored slowly.
And, it was about this time - and certainly in this area - that I pushed a little way into Step Canyon in search of the Quail Panel. For some reason - though this is a relatively well-known panel - I'd gotten my waypoint from Wikipedia, and it was quickly obvious that it was wrong, and I had no idea where we should be looking. I suspected that it might be across the wash from our current location, but with a teenager who was seriously considering trying to jog the remaining 20 miles to the head of Kane Gulch in order to "get to a shower," I decided to abandon the search and leave the Quail Panel for a future foray through Step Canyon. Instead, we moved on to the next waypoint, only a few hundred feet in the "towards showers" direction.
Lone figure on a flake.
Two guys and their snake.
Multi-colored men. I really liked how the guy in the middle seems to be hunched over and walking. The guy on the right has a duck head.
While the true meaning behind the duckhead man petroglyphs will likely never be fully understood, a few possible interpretations - based on the cultural and historical context of the Ancestral Puebloans who created them - are that the duckhead man represents a shaman who could transform into a bird and fly to other realms; that he is a symbol of water and fertility, since ducks are associated with rivers and lakes; or, that ducks were the form taken by Katsina (spirit beings) when travelling.
The white guys aren't the interesting ones. Initially, we didn't even notice the two camouflaged figures.
I spotted Two-Story Ruin - which I didn't realize was anything more than a small granary from our current viewing angle - just as we turned away from photographing the camo-yellow, duckhead pictographs. On a high ledge, I hoped we could find a way up and that the ledge was wide enough to traverse once we were there. It turns out it was, but only for "me" rather than "we."
We all got to enjoy this overachieving Claret Cup, but only I continued on to the ruin.
Rather unassuming from this side.
Two-Story ruin from the other side.
Rock art of Two-Story Ruin.
This guy looks like he's slide-stepping. (left) | Snake. (right)
A close up of the protruding floor joists that supported the "upstairs." (Albeit with no actual stairs.) (left) | View out of the second story window. (right)
Not wanting to push on quite as long as we had the previous day, and having heard that there was crystal clear water near Green House Ruin, our discussion turned to one of whether we should camp near the mouth of Green House Canyon or keep going for another mile or two before settling in for the evening. Consumed in this conversation, neither @mrs nor @mini.turbodb noticed as a parade of twelve hikers approached us from the opposite direction.
Turns out, these were a group of 55-78-year-olds who were part of the Sierra Club. We'd run into a couple of their group just as we'd readied ourselves at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station, and @mrs.turbodb - always good remembering names - quickly reminded Kathy of our encounter. This went a long way to break the ice, and before long, we were all chatting about what we'd seen so far, water sources, and our plans for the rest of the week.
Unsurprisingly, all of us planned to go see the Green House Ruin, though when I asked the Sierra Club guide - a 74-year-young whippersnapper - if it was accessible, I was promptly given the side-eye and told "technically yes, but it depends on your tolerance of exposure."
I filed that away as "challenge accepted," and as the Sierra Clubbers filled their water bags straight from a murky pool of water that looked significantly worse than what we'd filtered at Cow Tank, and definitely not anything I'd describe as the crystal clear water we'd been told about, our party of three got a few minute head start toward the ruin.
No surprise how Green House Ruin got its name.
At first glance, Green House looks inaccessible, but there's almost always a way, and before long I'd worked my way a little further along the base of the cliff and found a crack I could climb to the upper level. As I did, the Sierra Club group reached the lower viewpoint, and to a series of, "No way we can get up there," it was fun to hear someone spot me as I reached the ruin, and exclaim that "someone is up there!"
Knowing I wouldn't have the place to myself for long, I set about snapping a few photos.
Green House door.
Green House view.
Even more interesting than Green House itself - in my opinion at least - were a couple of granaries in the same alcove. Reasonably hard to reach, these still had their door slabs, always a fun find since they often seem to wander off as more folks visit.
Small granary.
Larger granary.
As I climbed back down, I got another side-eye from the Sierra Club leader - who was on his way up with the more adventurous senior citizens - and we chatted for a couple minutes about some of the rock art elsewhere in the gulch. As part of this, he assured me that the Quail Panel I'd missed was not at the mouth of Step Canyon, rather it was "up a good way," which made me feel a little better about not finding it earlier in the day.
By now it was nearing 6:00pm and @mini.turbodb had already headed back to the packs so she could sit down in the shade and rest. As I hooked up with @mrs.turbodb - who was chatting away with the more reasonable seniors who'd not climbed to the ruin - I mentioned that in looking for the ruin access, I'd also found the crystal-clear spring water and that we should camp somewhere nearby so we could use it to fill up the following morning.
That worked for her - and we both knew it'd be music to the kiddo's ears - assuming we could find a suitable location, so as she relayed the plan, I set about looking for an access trail to a bit of slickrock I hoped would be flat enough for us to call home for the night.
As I scampered around the confluence of Green House Canyon and Grand Gulch, I hoped we'd be able to take advantage of the view for the next 12 hours!
After a bit of poking around, I found a spot just above - and out of sight - of the sandy spot the Sierra Club group claimed as their own. Not only did it offer a few flat spots for us to lay out our bags, but it sported easy access up another couple levels of sandstone to our own personal ruin!
Secret ruin.
Having found camp a couple hours earlier than the previous evening, we relaxed on the warm sandstone as the light changed around us and the large group below went about their business, completely unaware of our presence. Dinner for us was another Peak meal - Sweet Pork & Rice, one of our favorite - and all the water we could consume, knowing we'd have no problem refilling in the morning.
We hit the sack early - before it was even fully dark. Day two had been a doozy.
As dusk settled in, someone in the group below called everyone together to begin their evening seminar. The topic - something about the Uranium found in these parts of Utah - surely chosen to put any eavesdroppers to sleep. It worked a charm, and soon - as I struggled to read a few pages on my Kindle - I heard snoring a few feet away on the sandstone.
Left the light on for ya.
The Whole Story
Twenty minutes to filter water before moving on. -- That's exactly why I prefer Iodine. Those Sierra Clubbers have a good compromise: just collect water in a water bag and then filter at leisure into clean vessels.
I'm glad I did my hiking there decades ago, before many people knew of those canyons. In 1972 (?) the BLM first identified Cedar Mesa as a special area, and visitation has been climbing rapidly ever since.
It's definitely more crowded down there than it used to be, but we still only ran into 1-2 other groups each day, so I think the permitting is working reasonably well. Surely there are places - close to ingress/egress - that are busier, but the amount of effort to hike more than 6-7 miles really cuts down on the traffic.
As for the water - 20 minutes seemed fine to me, and might have been an exaggeration on my part. Certainly it included all of the "setting up" and cleaning the filter afterwards so we weren't leaving sediment in it for the next time.
Ultimately, I was quite pleased with the filter; water was clear and tasted great, which went a long way to keeping us all happy!
I'm one of those walk-till-you can't -anymore old timers @ 81 yrs now, only good for 5 miles/day. Thank you for bringing the joy of your exquisite talents to all our hearts. Keep it up!
I hope I'm walking-till-I-drop too! At 81 and 5 miles/day, I'd say you're doing fantastic! Definitely outpacing a bunch of my friends these days.
Was just out on a trip with a bunch of buddies in their early 30s and the one who's always been the "hiker" with me in that group made a comment that he really prefers 4 miles or less per day now. What?! I suggested that 12-18 was a much better number, which is what he and I used to do together. Strange how the little handheld computers we carry around all day have reduced our desire/ability for outdoor activity.
How many nights were you out there?
So appreciate your photos and narrative. Been wanting to do this for a long time. It may have to wait until Fall.
Is there a #3?
Glad you're enjoying the photos and stories Joann! We were our for five nights and it was probably a good length for hiking this distance and seeing "some" of the rock art and ruins along the way. We probably could have added a couple of nights if we wanted to search for more. Of course, that would mean going longer without a shower - and especially for our teen daughter, that's nearly the end of the world - so I think what we did was good for us.
There's a #3, 4, and 5 coming. You can see the thumbnails of them, and enter your email if you'd like to get a notification when I post them over the next week or so, on the trip homepage, here: First Time Backpacking: Into Grand Gluch (Apr 2025). I don't use the emails for anything except sending out trip reports, and each email has an unsubscribe link if you're no longer interested.
Thank you so much for the reply back. I look forward to 3,4 and 5
Want to go right now, but it’s too hot.
October is the plan.
Love your explorations on Death Valley too. Esp on the hard to get to areas. I have a Rubicon that pops up into sleeping quarters. Company called Ursa Minor.
If I feel uncomfortable I just exit thru the ceiling inside and jump into the drivers seat and away I go. Only happened once near I 80 near SanRafael Swell.
Love love love Valley of the Gods.
Escalante. Grand Wash is next. Then those hard to reach areas you write about in Death Valley. You inspire me.
Thank you!!!!
That green is quite rare.
I think the only green I'd seen prior to this was Green Mask. Saw some yellow on this trip to (Day 1), which I've not seen very often, either.
Some green at long fingers. also the flute player panel.
Hmm, haven't seen (or heard of) either of those. Will need to look into them! Thx for mentioning them.