Fiddler’s Canyon, Utah

Our hike at Fiddler’s Canyon wasn’t into the canyon itself but rather a climb up one of the mountains that was actually an uplifted and titled section of crust that had been fractured thousands of years ago. There is no trail here and the going can be very steep, particularly in the middle third of the climb when the incline frequently exceeds 45 degrees and requires the use of your hands; due to the angle and the loose scree it was a physically challenging climb at times but it was the descent that caused us more problems. It was estimated that the distance from where we parked to the top was between 3 to 4 miles and though we did measure the elevation at the top and calculated it was about 1,400 feet up.

As the trees thinned out and the wind picked up near the top it became quite chilly despite It being the first week of April and I admit to being a bit disheartened when I realized that the top I had seen from the base was actually a false summit. Luckily the next stretch was both more sheltered and less than a half mile; once I reached the highest point I had incredible views down into Fiddler’s Canyon and back into the mountains. After a snack we walked the ridge line, exploring the twisted pines and looking beyond into the green valley that lay between us and the next line of mountains. Our descent was occasionally a controlled tumble but we made it down in one piece, stopping to take pictures once we were past the steep parts.