Neon is one of the most instantly recognizable canyons in Utah, due to the spectacular chamber at the bottom of last rappel known as the Golden Cathedral. However, getting to Neon is no trivial task. This very remote canyon is located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, one of the most scenic and diverse natural areas in Utah. The Monument, located in southern Utah, spans 1.87 million acres and is larger than the state of Delaware. Hole in the Rock Road near the tiny town of Escalante is by far the most popular entry point to this magical area.
About 20 miles up the well-graded (and now recently paved, alas) Hole in the Rock Road, there is a turnoff to the much less traveled and unmaintained Egypt road. At the very end of the road, a half hour of a bouncy and rocky, high-clearance drive, lies the Golden Cathedral Trailhead. Our party arrived at the large parking lot at 7am, ready to go with large packs full of camping gear, wetsuits, and canyoneering tools. With heavy packs and light hearts, we began hiking down the three-mile trail leading to Fence Canyon, a popular camping area right on the Escalante River. For full beta about Neon Canyon and information about Fence Canyon, see Road Trip Ryan’s excellent write up here: Canyoneering Neon Canyon – Escalante – Road Trip Ryan.
Before 9am we reached our camping spot, a large and inviting area next to a beach on the river. With waterfront property next to our camp, we had a luxury camping experience with clean water and bathing built in. Packs were unpacked and canyoneering packs repacked with all necessary gear and some neoprene, and off we went to cross the river over and over again until we found a trail heading to our destination. Along the trail we found panels with ancient petroglyphs as well as unusually creative cowboy glyphs easily over 100 years old. It seems that cowboys and early settlers enjoyed carving their names and other images into rocks next to and on top of petroglyphs. This particular set of panels featured modern drawings of two men in a fist fight, along with a man with very long arms and a horse.
We continued on our approach up a series of benches and soon saw the open canyon below us. We walked parallel to the canyon, watching it slot up until it turned into a tiny little crack in the earth. That is where we geared up and dropped into a narrow side canyon slot. Immediately we found ourselves in beautiful narrows, illuminated by unearthly light from above. This is where my innate talent for being very small comes in handy! We squeezed through the narrows until entering the main canyon.
The narrows continued, and soon we began to encounter shallow pools. Neon is known for two keeper potholes that can be full of water and easy to get through, or empty and difficult to enter and exit. We encountered the first pothole, which had water up to the waist but was not nearly full and had a large lip to get up. Of course we sent in the Otter, a true denizen of water, who finds the desert to be very dehydrating. A handline had been rigged for the advance team to descend into the pothole and figure out how to escape. The escape was fairly simple, tossing a heavy pack over the lip and then using a rope foot loop as a counterweight to climb up and then extract everyone else by pulling them up. Unfortunately, the Otter strained his shoulder muscles entering the pothole using the handline. First aid was swiftly applied in the form of a brisk massage using a carabiner. Somehow, the tenderizing helped, although it looked like torture from the outside.
We continued through gorgeous narrows filled with waist-deep water. Golden light played on the water and illuminated the walls. The next obstacle was a silo that needed to be crossed over a chasm filled with dead wood. There was a small rabbit hole next to the silo that looked appealing to the small people in the group, but the geometry was such that we would have to dive into it head-first, which was rather concerning if we got stuck. So instead, we stemmed over the pit and went on to the next rappel. Finally, the water deepened and we were all swimming through the narrows.
We descended into a wonderful chamber containing two small holes and an arch that could be squeezed through, leading onto a ledge about 10 feet above a pothole full of deep water. The aquatically inclined in our party were excited to jump right into this gross bit of Utah water. The rest of us preferred to rappel down and keep our heads and noses dry. After this brisk and cold swim, we had an extended bout of lizard time in the sun on warm sandstone to warm our soggy bodies. Then, it was time for the final rappel.
The last chamber is absolutely spectacular, and we got lucky with the lighting as well. From the top, you see bottomless narrows descending into a glowing green and yellow pool 90 feet below. This area is backlit as you descend into a narrow chute, which abruptly ends in a long free hang to the bottom of the Golden Cathedral. From the bottom, the view is incredibly different, as you can see two huge circular openings in the ceiling, carved out of a huge sandstone slab above. As each person came down, they glided through one of the openings and through the empty space of the Cathedral into the water. Easily one of the most scenic rappels that I have ever seen. And as if this wasn’t enough, the ripples in the water projected magical designs onto the ceiling. For most of the party, a section of the pool was lit up at the bottom, as we all tried to capture the photo of them descending into a ray of light.
After everyone came down and many photos were taken, we headed back to the Escalante River and the trail back to our campsite. It was going to be a very early start the next day to go visit Choprock.
