A Badger, Soap, and the Side Canyon Names That Stuck

Two of the first drainages you’ll encounter in the Grand Canyon are named Badger Creek and Soap Creek. Like much of the Grand Canyon, there’s an interesting story behind the names of these two side canyons. Despite having different names, Badger and Soap Creek share a common tale.

In the mid-1800s, from the 1850s to the 1870s, a man named Jacob Hamblin embarked on a series of exploratory expeditions through Southern Utah and Northern Arizona at the request of Mormon Church leader Brigham Young. During one of these expeditions, Hamblin and his crew would name Badger and Soap Creek.

On this particular journey, Hamblin and his crew were running low on supplies and were miles away from the nearest place to resupply. In desperation, they decided to hunt for food in the surrounding area. It wasn’t long before they encountered a badger. With little luck finding more appetizing prey, they decided the badger would have to suffice. Hamblin, using one of the rifles on the trip, shot the animal, bagged it up, and continued on their expedition. The side canyon drainage where the badger was shot was subsequently named Badger Creek.

The group hiked about five miles downstream before resting in another drainage for the night. This was the perfect opportunity to make a meal. The group built a fire and set a pot over it, hoping to turn the badger meat into a stew. The meat turned out to be tough, and the fire struggled to keep the stew boiling, so they left it cooking overnight, hoping for better results by morning.

When the group gathered to eat the stew they had well, for lack of better words, let stew all night, they were disappointed. It wasn’t what they expected. Instead of a tender, hearty meal, they discovered that after boiling the badger overnight in the alkaline water, the water had combined with the fat in the meat, forming a soapy substance—or so the story goes.

It’s unclear whether the substance was truly soap, if it was just something that resembled soap, or if the story has simply morphed over time. Regardless, the tale endures, and the name of the side canyon drainage—Soap Creek—stuck. 

Check out on of Hamblin’s other stops on his adventure in this blog!