Description:
Death Valley Draw is one of the main tributaries with drainage into Hackberry Canyon.(Kelsey 2017) During a sever drought, the cattle grazing in the area had no means to get into Hackberry Canyon for water "80-100 head of cattle choked to death" in the area. "That's why they call it Death Valley". (Kelsey)
Trail/Route:
From the end of the road which creates an "eye of the needle" loop (37.4497, -111.9588) park and follow the cattle trail south. Looking to the hikers right you will see another road ending at a fence and the "wilderness area" posts. The cattle trail drops into the combined arroyo (left and right hand sides) and after a few feet climbs out on the right hand side to combine with the old road.
Follow the cattle trail through sage brush, which drops in and out of a few minor washes coming in from the west. Soon the trail makes a gradual descent into the bottom of Death Valley Draw.
The hiking is sand - gravel river bottom, wide with the occasional slick rock and minor dry falls. All easy to step across or work around. Some are beautiful swirl circles of water cut stone.
Death Valley Draw
Slickrock with 3 small blind arches (picture right) marking the dryfall for Death Valley Trail
Slot Canyon
Continue hiking for 1.5 kms (Kelsey 2017) and you will reach a large section of slick rock in the river bed. On the hikers right are 3 small blind arches etched into the side of the slickrock marking the entrance of another dryfall. This is the direction of travel for Upper Death Valley Trail. "If you want to enter Hackberry via the lower end of DVD" (Death Valley Draw) continue down canyon another 1 km.(Kelsey) You'll find a massive chokestone which forces the water to the hikers left carving a short but impressive slot canyon about 50m long.(Kelsey) To the right of the chokestone is a sandy work around which leads out onto a sandstone knoll of sorts. Both Kelsey's work-arounds should be accessable from this point. I did not examine them, nor can I validate their existence.
Backtracking to the Upper Death Valley Trail, the solid based slick rock wash leads in a generally southern direction. Continue to work the various arroyo's that meet the slick rock wash hiking toward a white Navajo Sandstone peak with a red cap. The sandy ridge to the west is the goal. At the sandy ridge is where I stopped. From this view point the trail can be spotted near the base of un-named peak 6590 to the west, but there is no mistaking the massive white Navajo Sandstone wall and slickrock bowl above the trail. The two round rocks marked on map 21 (Kelsey) can also be seen as well as the other prominent peaks in the area.
Panorama view of Death Valley trail
References:
"Death Valley Draw, Upper Hackberry Canyon & Upper DV Trail" Hiking and Exploring the Paria River, by Michael R. Kelsey, 6th ed., Kelsey Publishing, 2017, pp.130-130.