May 8, 2022 – Grand Gulch, Utah — It started with a book I received kind of out of nowhere – “Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen – A guide to 36 Sites Across the Southwest” by Dave Wilson. Flipping through the book, I came across hike #32 – Grand Gulch (via Collins Canyon) and Bannister Ruin.
Bannister Ruin is a ruin likely inhabited in the 12th and 13th centuries. It gets its name from the two wooden poles built into the stone walls in front of the main door. I think it was these bannisters were what drew me to this place.
The hike to Bannister House Ruin is 9 to 10 (14-16km) miles round trip. My GPS gave me 11.6\18.6 mi\km. by the end of the day, but I suspect a lot of that was caused by the signal bouncing around the canyon walls. The hike was not particularly difficult. The hike down Collins Canyon was a little steeper, but the hike up Grand Gulch was pretty flat with a slight uphill grade.
Bannister House Ruin was almost hidden from the trail. There was a grove of trees between the trail and the canyon wall. If it wasn’t for my GPS telling me I should be close, I might have passed by it.
The ruin sits in an alcove with an upper and lower portion. The upper portion is where the ruin sits and lower portion contains an above ground kiva. The ruin itself is inaccessible, but you can go up to the kiva which is chained off.
The hike back was tough. I drank the last of my water about a mile and a half from our vehicle and I was starting to dehydrate quickly. Temps were 100° F+ (38°+ C) that day. At one point, I just had to find a shady spot and take a good rest and contemplate my choices in life, but eventually I got up and finished climbing out of the canyon.
We drove back to our hotel in a sandstorm exhausted.
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