Neon Canyon

Drive: "Hole in the Rock Road": The ~20 mile drive on is on dirt and can puncture tires. It is nice to have a vehicle with good tires + real extra wheel + a plan on dealing with a flat tire. The turn to Egypt Rd is rough with a few wash sections to drive over. The section mile is extremely rugged with spots of gravel & dips that needs high clearance. There will be a lot of cars that park before the rugged section and most people just walk that section. From the parking area, head down the slick rock slope. Look back and identify the mountains in the distance as the points to keep track of when coming back. Coming back in the darkness will be a challenge so be aware of the ranges where the vehicle is parked. Approach option #1: via Fence Canyon. The initial portions are in the sand and slick rock. The route goes through the Fence Canyon trees toward the Escalante River. There will be several crossings of the river to navigate and flow should be considered. When it is hot during the day, the shade from the trees and river is nice. Approach option #2: the "bee-line" shortcut route goes direct and is exposed to the sun. At the junction of Neon Canyon & the Escalante river is a nice location to rest under the trees with views of the river and the walls of Neon Canyon. Many hikers will come this way to see the Golden Cathedral so be aware of this when setting up rope for the rappel through the roof of the Golden Cathedral. After the junction: start into the canyon towards the Golden Cathedral. As you leave the area with the large trees, the walls of the canyon start to go up high. As the canyon makes a left turn (left up canon), there will be a marker point to start ascending the slick rock up to the ridge. During out visit, there was a cairn marking this turn up above.