Indian Canyon to Peak 8,344′

May 16, 2026

I’ve always had an interest in why places are named the way they are, particularly when it sounds like there might be an interesting story behind the name, as was the case for Indian Canyon at the very head of Nine Mile Creek. I thought by visiting the canyon that I could glean some insight into the name but that wasn’t the case on this trip. What I did find was simply a very pleasant mid-elevation hike, perfect for this time of year. While planning my hike and doing a little research I happened across a hand-drawn Utah Division of Water Rights map from 1960 that showed Indian Canyon and its tributaries, none of which are named on any USGS topo maps. The side canyons had names like Slick Rock Trail, Water Canyon, Trough Hollow, and Bedgrounds Spring, indicating that somebody (probably a rancher) with intimate knowledge of the area was involved in making the map. Finding that map and then envisioning what I might find in those canyons sealed the deal and made me settle upon this area for my weekend hike. I planned a loop going up the canyon and then on top of the ridge to peak 8,344′, then down into Whitmore Park, up the head of Soldier Creek and down the head of Nine Mile Creek.

Hydrographic Survey Sheet 402, 1960

It was nice having a short drive and hence not having to wake up any earlier than I usually do. I started the hike at about 6:30 AM and followed a trail, which in one short section showed some relatively recent construction/shoring-up, and passed through a couple of gates before reaching the watercourse. There I saw the leading edge of the water flowing down the canyon, and also some bear tracks. Dammit. That put me on edge the entire time I was down in the narrow canyon. I normally listen to a podcast with one earbud while I hike, but this time I played it through the phone speaker not only so I could hear better with both ears, but also so any bears could hear me coming. I looked around the mouth of the canyon labeled “Slick Rock Trail” on the DWRi map hoping to find an obvious trail, but the only trail I saw faded away in the trees.

Gate at the mouth of Indian Canyon

Shored-up trail

Another fence/gate

Leading edge of running water

Small bear tracks

Mouth of Slick Rock Trail Canyon

Trail peters out here

I continued up the watercourse in the main canyon and encountered a small waterfall that I wasn’t expecting. Instead of backtracking and finding an easy way around it I just made a moderately difficult climb out on the right side. Just above the falls was a small sagebrush flat where I found evidence of past use, but I’m not sure what kind. There were some small pieces of lumber, a couple of cans, a large but broken glass tube, a big metal stake driven into the ground, and a pile of burned coal. It kind of gave me the vibe of an old drill site but the ground didn’t seem disturbed enough for that. Up the canyon from there I saw the first signs of a road, which I hadn’t noticed on the ground before because I was down in the watercourse most of the time. Even now that I know the road is there it’s still not discernible in any of the historical imagery in Google Earth, but I can see it easily in the 1938 aerial imagery. It appears to go another mile up the canyon from the possible drill site.

Falls bypassed on the right

Clinker from a burned coal pile

Large metal stake driven into the ground

Glass tube

Possible old road

Watercourse left and road right

Farther up the canyon I went, passing a game/cow trail up into Water Canyon that now I sort of wish I’d hiked up at least a little bit. Just beyond there I found an old camp with some trash and bed springs and an undated L.W. inscription in large letters. The camp was in a strange location. It was only a small open area surrounded by brush, quite sloped, and with a drainage cutting through the middle of it. Perhaps it was much different 100 years ago. The road was much clearer between there and the mouth of Trough Hollow.

Steep trail exiting out Water Canyon

Bench trail above Indian Canyon

Cans below a cowboy camp

Strange location for a camp

Bed springs

Bed and mattress springs

Metal box

Glass bottle

Metal and glass jar lids

L.W. inscription

Old road

I hiked up into Trough Hollow and it quickly narrowed up and became rocky and brushy, but there were bear tracks in the mud and claw marks on the sandstone in the bottom. I returned to the mouth and found a good trail going up the west side, above the watercourse, and I followed it for over a third of a mile until it got steep and rough. I turned around there without having found any namesake trough. Back in Indian Canyon and a quarter of a mile above the mouth of Trough Hollow was another camp with a cot frame half buried in dirt and debris.

Mouth of Trough Hollow

Bear claw marks on the sandstone

Narrow and rough watercourse

Good trail exiting out of Trough Hollow

Trough Hollow opening up

Dense vegetation in upper Trough Hollow

Steep trail climbing out of Trough Hollow

Back in Indian Canyon once again

Cot frame

I got near the head of the canyon and the trees opened up a bit, except for a short, steep, and very dense and brushy section on my way up to the ridge south of the canyon. I got to the top of the ridge and enjoyed a nice view into Whitmore Park and the head of Soldier Creek.

Trail in upper Indian Canyon

Mouth of Bedgrounds Canyon

Steep trail out the head of Indian Canyon

Head of Indian Canyon

Atop the ridge

View into Whitmore Park

Nine Mile road at the top of Soldier Creek

Whitmore Park

From there on out I mostly followed the crest of the ridge east toward peak 8,344′. Along the way I found an arrow that a bow hunter had lost–not the type of arrowhead I’m used to finding! I got to the peak and scratched into the sandstone just below it was an inscription by Will Ham with a date “Aug 19,” but it’s unclear if the 19 is the day of the month, or just a partial year and the rest has eroded away. Some dark storm clouds were moving in so I didn’t spend much time at the summit. I had been considering going farther east to investigate a spot where a tent is visible in the 12/2006 Google Earth imagery–I wanted to see if I could figure out why anybody would be camping up there–but I think finding that arrow earlier answered that question.

View up the ridge toward peak 8,344′

Typical view on the ridgetop

Arrow

View toward the heads of both Nine Mile and Soldier creeks

Rock outcropping on the summit

Diet Sprite can?

Will Ham, Aug 19

On the summit, dark clouds to the west

View over Nine Mile Canyon

I retraced my route back along the ridge until I reached the spot where I planned to drop off to the south toward the paved road in Whitmore Park. I stopped and ate lunch before beginning the descent, glad that the storm clouds had passed overhead without dropping any rain. Just below my lunch spot there were some easy ledges to descend, then some steep deer and elk trails that I followed down. At a narrow break in another cliff band there was a fence strung between some trees. I scrambled my way down those last ledges and then it was a flat and easy walk of about half a mile to the paved road.

Start of the descent from the ridge

Easy drop at the top cliff band

Elk and deer trails on the way down

Fence strung between cliff bands and around a tree

On top of the lower cliff band

Last downclimb

Below the lower cliffs

Easy walking from here

It was just another mile of walking along the paved road until I reached the truck. I stopped to try locating a benchmark on the side of the road but didn’t have any luck. I did spot a neat inscription, though: it was simply the word “Utah” carved deeply, and with part of it eroded away. I wonder why it was made, and whether it used to say something else that’s been worn off. I left the pavement for a short distance where part of the original road paralleled the modern road. It finally did sprinkle lightly for the last quarter of a mile. The forecast had called for a 30% chance of thunderstorms between noon and 3 PM, and I got back to the truck right at 2 PM. My GPS registered 9.4 miles and 2,200′ elevation. This hike wasn’t much like I expected it to be. I hoped to find at least some rock art, but didn’t anticipate the old road through the canyon or the cowboy camps. And the mystery still remains…why is it called Indian Canyon?

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