Hideout Canyon is not a canyon I recommend to most. The canyon is not very technical, and not very narrow, making it not a popular choice with most groups. Throw in about a 14 mile day and even fewer groups are interested!

That being said, if you like a long day out wandering on Cedar Mesa, this is a nice outing. The route finding challenge, lack of people, and remote feel make it a day I enjoyed. Be fit and start early, the miles make for a tiring day.

Rookie Mistake Side Note: Hideout Canyon is one of my most memorable solo trips. I did the canyon in the fall after heavy rains. Wanting to go light, I elected to bring a drysuit instead of my usual heavy wetsuit. All went well during the day, and I congratulated myself after the final rappel on how smoothly the day had gone. Well, not far below the final rappel I encountered a deep pool. As I started across the pool, the buckets of water filling my suit quickly reminded me I had unzipped my drysuit after the last rappel to let some heat out!! I frantically flipped over to the backstroke and managed to get it re-zipped before the suit filled entirely and I sank like a stone. A rookie mistake that I had to chuckle at myself about!

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