07.-13.05.2007: White House Canyon - Antelope Canyon - White Hoodoos - Hackberry Canyon After our failed attempt at Buckskin Gulch, we decided to try to see some of it from the other end. By walking along Whitehouse Canyon, which is very wide for the first 4 of the 7 miles and very hard walking through the sand, you can get to a confluence of Paria Canyon, Buckskin Gulch and Whitehouse Canyon. But it is a very long day hike. We got to the confluence and went along Paria Canyon for a few miles but it was quite wide. So we went back to the confluence and walked along the other side of Buckskin Gulch. It was a super walk along a narrow canyon, under boulders caught between the narrow canyon walls, and we marveled at the formations. Then we came to a spot where there was a rope over a huge boulder blocking the canyon and where you would have to scramble up about 15 to 20 feet to get to the rest of the canyon. It was already getting late and we still had to walk over 9 miles to get back to the trailhead. So we turned around and headed back. The best part of the walk was the 2-3 miles along Buckskin Gulch but it was worth walking all that way to get to it. The heat nearly finished us off on the way back through the sandy canyon though! The next day we went to Antelope Canyon in Page which is a very different canyon, with unusual formations. It is also in native Indian Territory and so there is a charge. There are two canyons, the upper and the lower, which cost $21 and $26 respectively. We went to the lower canyon and Kirsten went in alone to save a bit of money. But she missed her photo model!! Our next hike was 9 miles return to some hoodoos along Wahweah creek. Again, the walking was not easy along a sandy wash and it was also hot and sunny and there was no shade. Unfortunately, we only had some very crude maps of the area and we ended up walking along the wrong creek! We weren't the only ones who went wrong - one guy ended up walking for 5 hours before he got back to the right creek! But at least we met a man on an ATV who told us which creek we were in so that we could find the right way. It took us 3 hours to finally get to the White Hoodoos. It was obviously a popular walk because we met a lot of people at the hoodoos and on the way back. One hoodoo is called "The tower of silence" and is used in all the brochures to advertise the area. There were quite a few people who had underestimated the heat and sun and the length of the walk and hadn't taken enough water with them. Some got back extremely dehydrated! The next day was even hotter and we decided to sit it out at our peaceful spot next to the river at the trailhead. We got disturbed by a father and son who came along to do gun practice! The son, who was only about 10, was just going along and shooting at the ground not too far away from us! We put our solar shower out in the sun so we could have showers and later drove to the visitor centre where we could get free drinking water and we drove to the Paria Movie Set for a film starring Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior which was recently burned down. The road was very steep downhill and we were a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to get back up. But the views were quite stunning in the sunset with the sun highlighting the layered red rocks. We managed to find a spot at the bottom of the canyon after nearly getting stuck in sand! On Friday we went for a 9 mile hike along Box Canyon and into Hackberry Canyon. We had to cross the river several times to get through Box Canyon and on one set of stepping stones, Kirsten wobbled as she was crossing and ended up stepping into the river! On the way to Hackberry Canyon we meandered through cow country and along a wash before giving up and heading for the road. Hackberry was mostly under water and there were supposed to be dinosaur tracks on the way - but we couldn't find them despite clambering through rocks and over hills looking for them. Back at the entrance to Hackberry we didn't fancy walking all the way back and we got a lift with John and Cathy from Buffalo, New York, all the way back to the movie set, for which we were extremely grateful! Back at Winnie, we moved all the heavy water bottles into the front driving compartment and Kirsten walked up the steep hill to take photos of Winnie. We needn't have worried because he made it up easily!! Good old Winnie! Once back up on the plateau we found somewhere on the side of the road where we could get our solar shower out for a shower. Then we drove to Kanab and then headed north. Kirsten was driving and something flew in through her window. She thought a bird had pooped and it had flown in but Helen saw that something yellow and black was between her legs! It turned out to be a bee or wasp type thing. So we stopped pretty sharpish and got rid of it. Unfortunately there was more than one and Kirsten ended up getting stung on the foot by one that had crawled into her sandals! We spent the next two days on a campground in Beaver where we re-sealed the alcove window, took off the air conditioning unit from the roof to seal it where rain water was leaking in, and then painted on roof sealant. In between we also worked on the computer. We were quite exhausted.