31.7 - Zebra Canyon

The intention to get up early was there, but since no one heard the alarm clock, we did get up at 8:30 as usual. So we hurried in order to get to the canyon fast. We managed to leave the campground at 9.30. However, the Hole-in-the-Rock Road turned out to be really, really difficult to drive, so it took us another hour to get to the trailhead. At 11.00 we left.
The first 2 miles were OK, because there was a well established path, or at least you could easily spot the footprints of the other people. Once we got to Harris Wash, however, no more footprint, so we kind of walked around, trying to find the slot. Of course we finally did, and we even met some other people there who told us what was ahead.
Knowing that we would get into the water, we took off our shoes and left everything except cameras and my walled at the entrance of the canyon. And off we went. The first 50m were hard, we thought, because we had to really get wet and squeeze through very, very tigh canyon walls:

 

After the first 50 m, however, it got even tighter and we had to climb past a few really thin slots:

 

 

However, when we got past these obstacles, we were in the heart of the canyon and it was worth it:

 

By now, it was 14:00, so perfect time for the Fleischmanns to hike back to the camper through the desert. Of course we had enough water and professional hiking gear, so we were actually more or less OK:

 

 

At the car, we turned on the generator and the air conditioning to get it cool a bit. Selma made some lemonade with ice and we ate some sweets. That got our body working again.

 

We drove the 7.8 miles back out at an average of 7.8 miles an hour and went to the Outfitters Cafe where we had delicious Pizza / Calzone.

 

Afterwards, we went East again, following Scenic Route 12. First, we drove along endless red and white cliffs and canyones, beautiful road! At one point there was a canyon to the left and one to the right, and just the road in between! Later, the road went up, up and up until we were back at 10.000 feet with an incredible view of the Colorado Plateau. And finally, we arrived at the 1000 Lakes RV park where we got a nice spot, watched the sunset and did laundry. Of course we also caught up with our blog, as you can see ;-)