Goblin Valley near‑daily rescues
Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park saw near‑daily rescues last week, including calls for flash floods and hypothermia that prompted ranger warnings. (x.com) Social posts from park officials and rangers described multiple incidents and urged caution for visitors in changing conditions. (x.com)
Goblin Valley State Park rangers in Utah answered search-and-rescue calls nearly every day during the week of April 6, including flash-flood and hypothermia incidents. (kutv.com) Park officials said the run of emergencies included flash flooding at Little Wildhorse Canyon, one rescue in Little Wildhorse, and a technical rescue at Goblin’s Lair. KUTV reported the Goblin’s Lair rescue happened on Thursday, April 9. (abc4.com) (kutv.com) One of the week’s biggest calls came on Wednesday, April 1, when hikers in Little Wildhorse Canyon were caught in a flash flood just outside the park boundary. Several people were washed down the canyon and treated for minor injuries after rangers and crews from Emery County, the Utah Department of Natural Resources, and Green River State Park reached them. (abc4.com) Outside later reported that another recent call involved hikers who became dangerously cold after weather shifted in the canyons, part of what rescuers described as a surge in incidents in early April. The magazine said local teams were pleading with visitors to slow down and reassess plans in changing conditions. (outsideonline.com) The warnings focused on Little Wildhorse because the route looks manageable at first. Park officials said the slot canyon is rated family-friendly and “pretty easy,” but it generates many rescues each year and can become deadly when rain falls anywhere in the drainage above it. (abc4.com) (kutv.com) That mix of easy access and fast-changing risk is central to the story. The Bureau of Land Management describes Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyons as one of Utah’s most popular slot-canyon hikes, an eight-mile loop that usually takes about four hours and includes scrambling sections. (blm.gov) A slot canyon is a narrow sandstone passage, which means storm runoff gets squeezed into a smaller space and moves faster. ABC4 noted that flooding can hit even when it is not raining inside the canyon itself, because storms higher in the watershed can send water downstream. (abc4.com) Park staff told visitors to check forecasts before entering canyons, carry a map, water, extra clothes, and a first-aid kit, and turn around when conditions change. After a week of near-daily rescues, that was the message rangers repeated most often. (abc4.com)
