Neon Canon is one heck of a hike. It’s about 10 miles round trip with a 1300-1500 foot elevation change depending on the route. Add another 0.5 miles for a side trip to some interesting but graffiti-marred petroglyphs.

Feature Image Details

• EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera
• Canon 16-35MM F4 L Lens at 16 MM
• F16 seconds, ISO 200 for 1.5 seconds

This is a difficult hike. I carried eight 500 ml bottles of water, food, a camera and two lenses, and a tripod.

That’s a lot of weight over a lot of distance.

I did the trek on April 20, with Sue and Fred Birnbaum, a pair of strong hikers who did this hike once before. Please visit their “Explorumentary” Hike Golden Cathedral and Neon Canyon

That is Sue in my lead image.

Hike Details

Traveling east on Highway 12 from Escalante, Utah, turn right onto the gravel Hole in the Rock Road a few miles out of town. Drive 16.7 miles, turn left (heading east) at the sign for “Egypt, 10 mi.” Zero-out your trip odometer. Stay straight on main road. At 3.5 miles, cross Twentyfive Mile Wash. At 9 miles, a culvert identifies the Egypt 3 slot. At 9.5 miles, turn right at intersection. In ten miles park in large lot. It’s about an hour and a half from Escalante depending on road conditions.

Do not do this hike alone, especially the beeline route that is an unmarked scramble across the desert.

We camped in our cars overnight at the trailhead and started hiking at the crack of dawn. I did not take any shots until we were in sight of the canyon.

Primroses

The primroses were spectacular at this spot and an unexpected bonus. You can see neon canon in the distance. You have to wade the Escalante River to get there. The water was just over my knees.

A ranger informed me the day before that the water level was low. The winter snow that feeds the river from higher up had not yet melted.

Timing window for this hike is narrow. On April 20, the Cottonwoods had just started to leaf out. By June, it will be miserably hot. Late April to mid-May is best. The water in the Escalante river will be higher in May.

The hike is doable in the fall with the caveat that that days are much shorter so there is very little time for pictures.

Neon Canyon Minus Sue

This shot requires a very wide angle lends. 16mm full frame is barely sufficient. I have an 11-24mm lens but that would have added another 41 ounces.

Even knowing that I would have liked to have had that 11-24mm lens with me, I would not have taken it because of the weight.

Standing in the Water Looking Back

The contrast difference looking back is extreme. It is very easy to blow out the highlights unless you severely underexpose the shadows or blend exposures.

To give you as sense of scale, that is Fred sitting on the log at the right. This shot was at 18mm.

On the way out, we took a half-mile round-trip diversion from the beeline route to some interesting but graffiti-marred petroglyphs.

I can understand the 1881 overwrites, but the very new stuff bothers me. It’s all over. Then people try to scratch out the graffiti, making the problem worse.

Still, it’s an interesting place, worth a small excursion.

Equipment

Those interested in my equipment and recommendations can find it here: Mish’s Equipment List.

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My next post is coming up shortly. Sue, Fred and I took a nice hike to Water Canyon near but not in Zion National Park in May.

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Mike “Mish” Shedlock