I did this hike in the summer of 2003 as a solo. I took three days for the entire walk, a couple of them quite long, based on Michael Kelsey's recommendations in his Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau (see our Guidebooks page for a link to the book on Amazon.com). This was the first time I had used his guidebooks and it was what sold me on them.

This hike begins at the Knowles Canyon trailhead, easily found by following the directions on our Colorado Canyons page. The trailhead has a sign and a small parking area. The trail is pretty obvious all the way to the Colorado River. This is where things change. Once you reach the river, the trail more or less disappears and you are faced with some serious route finding. I followed game trails wherever possible and improvised the rest, till I reached the mouth of Mee Canyon. I found myself walking in the river at a couple of points, and was very happy that I had my newly acquired trekking poles.





















The pickets at the Knowles Canyon trailhead. When I did this hike there were no markers past these two.






















Equipment tip- If you have not tried using trekking poles, give it a try soon! They take a tremendous amount of weight off your back and knees through the course of a day, transferring it to your arms. They are a great aid in balance and are especially useful when climbing up or down canyon walls, or walking along a slick, muddy river bottom.

As Kelsey points out, this hike is not for the faint of heart. It is a wonderfully grueling walk at times, and if you attempt it you should be in good shape and experienced- or you should give yourself more than three days (I think kelsey did it in two). The canyon hiking- in Knowles and Mee Canyons- is great, easy with the usual amazing scenery all along the way. Between the two canyons is the tough part. Climbing out of Mee Canyon has a couple of questionable moves, and getting from the Mee Canyon trailhead back to the Knowles Canyon trailhead was a chore. On the map you will see Twenty Eight Hole Wash- this is the culprit. There are probably more than twenty eight crossing as you make your way back to where you parked. Some of them are straight down steep dirt embankments, ten to twleve feet down, and then back up the other side. There area also some places that may be private land that has to be skirted around. The easiest way around all this is to have two vehicles.




















Ledge that must be negotiated at the exit to Mee Canyon. There are also a couple of short climbs you must make to get to this ledge, and another beyond. Note the canyon bottom in the left of the frame.