Three couples made it to the entrance of Zebra slot canyon before us, and all three turned back without seeing the famous striped canyon. We were the only ones prepared for the cold water, and even then it was a real struggle to reach the end of the slot canyon.

This was honestly one of the toughest hikes I've ever done. The freezing cold water combined with tight narrow slots made hiking slow and painful. We did this hike in November on a very cold day. The temps the night before got down below freezing and the high for the day was only 39 F.

Suggestions for hiking Zebra Slot in these conditions (lots of water and freezing temps).

1. Bring neoprene socks (or even pants) to change into once you reach the water. Warmer feet can make a huge difference when hiking in freezing water.

2. Bring a trash bag, or waterproof bag for warm dry clothes to put on once you're out of the water. We happened to have grocery bags but they had holes so we had to hold them over our heads the whole time so they didn't get wet.

3. Be very careful about banging your knees and elbows on the rock walls. Also rubbing your skin against the rough sandstone. Our wet legs were so numb we didn't even realize we were rubbing them raw at first.

4. Know it's going to be tough, and mentally prepare for it.

5. Allow for a couple days of rest afterwards. Our bodies were bruised, sore, and exhausted. (I'm 43. It might be easier if you're in your twenties)

#slotcanyon #deserthiking #utah #zebraslot #tunnelslot