Happy Canyon - An Amazing Slot Canyon in the Middle of Nowhere

Happy Canyon - An Amazing Slot Canyon in the Middle of Nowhere

Happy Canyon. How can you not want to go to a place called Happy Canyon? Well, the best way is to read beta and you'll quickly learn about the notorious road to Happy Canyon. For years, I've had this on my list, but the warnings about the impassable road kept me away. For those who follow the channel, you know that I'm a chicken s$#t when it comes to off roading, and this sounded like it was an entirely different level. Stories from canyoneers - who are notorious for driving just about anywhere to get to a canyon - about trying to bike in, hike in or ride dirt bikes to get to this place. Many did not succeed.

So I kinda gave up on Happy Canyon until Tina and I were headed to the area for another hike and we had a free day. I recommended Happy Canyon, which she ignored and went about researching hikes....only to come back to me like an hour later and say "Let's try this place called Happy Canyon". I gave her a hard time for not listening, although knowing myself, I don't blame her for not listening to me. It has to be trying, especially since she's been stuck listening to me for well over a decade now.

Anyway, the newest beta said the road had been vastly improved, so we decided to go for it. And the beta was right. At first anyway. Actually all the way to the end. The road has now been graded by the BLM so it isn't super rough, but toward the trailhead it has some steep drop offs that got into Tina's head a little bit. Me, I was already fearing for my life way before the sketchy part, but that's just how I roll.

When we got to the trailhead, there was an amazing campsite with a beautiful overlook down into the canyon the Dirty Devil River had carved out. It looked like Canyonlands only without the crowds. I love this area and have wanted to explore this part for many years now. So we set off on the trail...which was actually the sketchy road that I'd read about for maybe 3 miles or so. See, the BLM just blocked the sketchy section off, which I have to say was an improvement because there's no way I would drive anything larger than a 4 wheeler on this. As much as I don't like hiking roads, the scenery combined with the certain death if you were on 4 wheels made it enjoyable enough.

Eventually we came to the drop in where the trail steeply descended into the canyon. It was slow going (loose dirt and gravel), but short enough. The next obstacle was the Dirty Devil River. The Dirty Devil was flowing at around 150 cfm (or something like that) which we'd read was about where it started to get dangerous to cross, but we didn't find anything deeper than to our knees. It was freezing cold and you couldn't see through it to gauge the depth, but it wasn't that bad.

And then it was on to Happy Canyon. Happy Canyon is known to be a very picturesque slot canyon that is non-technical. If it weren't so difficult to get to, I'm sure it would be extremely popular. As it is, the road and overall remoteness of the area keeps it lightly traveled. We saw three other people the entire hike.

Overall, a great adventure and a great day. If you're feeling really adventurous and have the right vehicle, maybe give Happy Canyon a shot.

Music by Epidemic Sound:
- We Are Giants - Silver Maple
- High and Dry - Mattias Tell

Music by Artlist:
- Dylan Thomas Bitter Bitter - The Duke of Norfolk
- A Winter Migration - Ardie Son
- Tonight is Golden - Ardie Son