Mule Canyons

[gnwatts]

The first time I laid eyes on Mule Canyon, I was not a happy camper. I was with my friend PJ in the early 1990's, it was raining and cold, and we had been hiking up North Mule Canyon. We had seen quite a few ruins, which was a consolation. We had decided to make a loop hike up North Mule out and into the upper part of South Mule and back to the car. I was stuck on a steep section going out a small side canyon of North Mule, it had stopped raining and I was in one of those "I can't go forward and i can't go down" scenarios. Having a full pack on did not help. I ended up working out my problem by going sideways. We made it out of North Mule, so we camped on the mesa in between the 2 canyons. The next morning was even colder and windier, but no rain. We made our way down a side canyon into South Mule and it got sunny, the wind stopped and I thought I was in heaven. The pines in North Mule seemed depressing in the cold rain, but the pines n South Mule were magnificent.

Fast forward a few years and we needed a place to introduce our 7 year old son to backpacking. We had car camped before, but never backpacked with him. So South Mule Canyon immediately came to mind. I have slides of these trips, but they are buried in my "35mm slides to scan" box. Suffice it to say this is the perfect southern Utah family backpacking experience. It has all the criteria:

1. An easy, beautiful 3.5 mile hike, easily accessible from Hwy. 95. It is a perfect hiking distance, to a beautiful large camp site in a grove of pine trees.
2. Good water near by.
3. Ruins near by.
4. It has one of thee largest pools I have seen on Cedar Mesa, deep enough for diving most years.

We always invited another family or a few of our son's friends. You can swim, dive, explore, and visit exquisitely preserved ruins. It was always fun sharing ruins and rock art with our son and his friends.


The big pool a couple of miles up South Mule:

Looking up canyon from above the pool:

The camp site is towards the upper left of the picture below:

The author:

My friend Mike:

What my friend Mike saw when he woke up:

A nearby ruin:

View of the ruin from across the canyon. You need to climb up the logs. it looks worse than it is. I am a total coward and I did it. This shot shows a lot of this ruin. The main structure, with an open common area behind the wall to the right (with rooms into the caves behind) and a separate upper structure that I have never seen a way into in the upper right. Also, there is a smaller structure above and to the left out of the picture:

The common area, with door openings into the cave to the left. There is also a door into the cave behind me:

Door Details:

Door in the back of the cave:

Door lintel:

I love this room. The fingerprints make it come alive:

Another structure nearby:

Pine tree:

Another cool site nearby. You have to hike up and to the left, across under the cliff face, and then before the defensive wall (the only way through) you have to down climb about 15' to the gate opening. It is not that difficult but the exposure is pretty extreme. I am sure most people on this site would have no problems:

The other side:

Another neighbor:

The further up canyon you go the more amazing the colors get. The stone really is purple.

So, if any of you folks have kids, and want to introduce them to backpacking and also whip a little anthropology on them this is a perfect place.
I will post my shots of north Mule after I find and scan them.
Thanks for looking.

Featured image for home page:

 

[Bob]

Lot of years since I have been in Mule....they are really nice....

 

[Tyler]

Awesome TR. I've been looking for something remote, but easy to do for kids. This might be it. What was the time of year you would recommend? Also, is that pool spring fed or just seasonal run-off?

 

[gnwatts]

Thanks.
These shots were taken in late March and mid September. The water in the big pool was certainly a better temperature for swimming in September. Most of our family trips here happened right before school started back up in the fall. Warm days and cooler nights, as the elevation is around 6400'. I have been through in the summer too, and found it very nice and hot (not as hot as other Cedar Mesa canyons, kind of like upper Dark Canyon if you have been there). Not as many bugs as lower down. You will find more day hikers in the summer. Most people turn around at house on fire ruin, or at the big pool, and you might find you have the place to yourself. To date I have never found anyone at this camp spot, but it has been a few years since I have visited this canyon.

As there is no permanent stream running into that pool I would assume it is spring fed. I have seen it low, but never so low you could not swim in it.

 

[mike_offerman]

What kind of length was the entire trip? Would it be doable in a day, or would you not have enough time to see the ruins along the way?

 

[gnwatts]

It is 3.5 miles or so to that camp spot, from where the road crosses South Mule. It is doable in a long day, but it depends on how much time you want to spend obviously. You could easily spend a couple of days exploring just the upper end of South Mule.

 

[Dave]

Add me to the list of people who have only gone so far as House on Fire (aka not far at all). I'd love to explore this canyon system further. Nice shots.

 

[pixie1339]

Awesome report! I'd love to backpack here sometime. I've only been as far as the ruin after House On Fire. Is is difficult to cross over to North Mule?

 

[Bob]

Take the short cut drop in from the highway halfway up the canyon.....do upper mule as a nice day hike.

 

[Yvonne]

Add me to the list of people who have only gone so far as House on Fire (aka not far at all). I'd love to explore this canyon system further. Nice shots.

I'm in the same boat, I've only gone to House on Fire but would love to explore more of the canyon.

 

[gnwatts]

Awesome report! I'd love to backpack here sometime. I've only been as far as the ruin after House On Fire. Is is difficult to cross over to North Mule?

It has been 20 years since I did the loop, and we went the other way, but my memory (such as it is) recalls I found the hike down into South Mule to be easier terrain to cover than the hike out of N Mule. The hike out of N Mule was in the rain and not ideal, and I was not relaxed until we got on top of the mesa between the 2 canyons. Steep but short.
I would classify the hike out of N. Mule and into S. Mule as a technical backpack with some exposure, a little nerve wracking (@ least for me) but a lot of fun. Do not do this in the rain!
BTW Kelsey or one of the other books might have this hike listed.

 

[Nick]

Beautiful photos, Greg. I particularly love that first shot with the tree and the wall. Great stuff.

 

[gnwatts]

Thanks Nick.

 

[Taylor F.]

Brilliant TR. Thank you!