| Author | Thread |
|
|
04/27/2005 10:21:33 AM · #1 |
A slot canyon is a narrow water cut canyon usually in sand stone. They are very common along the Arizona-Utah border. Hiking in a slot canyon involves wading through cold/muddy/smelly water and often times swimming. Obstacles are common, including house sized boulder jams that need to be climbed over or crawled under and shear ledges that need to be ascended or descended. There is always a chance of a flash flood in the form of a 20-50 foot wall of water crashing down on you, so you need to be very aware of the weather in the areas that feed the canyon you are in. Notice the logs wedged in the canyon in the photos. These got there from when the canyon was flooded. They usually flood a few time a year. Basically, it̢۪s the ultimate hiking adventure. It doesn̢۪t get any better then canyoneering.
Day 1 – the plan was to do a 16 mile loop hike through Bull Valley Gorge, Sheep Creek, Willis Creek, and then walk the dirt road back to the starting point. When we arrived at Bull Valley Gorge the snow melt runoff was much more the expected. Being a 16 mile hike through a very rough canyon we knew we’d be pushing daylight the way it was, but with run off that heavy we would have been swimming much of the day (not a good thing when the air temp is 50 and the water temp is even less). So we came up with an alternate plan to hike Sheep Creek to Willis Creek to the road and back to the start. This turned out to be a 9 mile loop. We wadded through ankle deep water most of the day and only encountered a few obstacles that needed to be climbed over.
Day 2 – We hiked Wirepass Canyon to the confluence with Buckskin Gulch and took Buckskin Gulch to an area called middle trail (the only place in the canyon where it is possible to climb out). 18 miles total. There were 20-30 pools that we had to go through, luckily none were much more then knee deep, but several were very cold! There are a handful of obstacles on this route including a couple 6 foot ledges and a 30 foot boulder jam that needed to be climbed over. Wire pass is named so because it is very narrow in a few places. I had to walk sideways through one spot because my shoulders are too wide. Buckskin is considered the most impressive slot canyon in the world. The walls extent 300 feet high on both sides in most places and it gets as narrow as a few feet. There is no real way to describe hiking in one of these.
Day 3 – The plan was to hike to Toadstools and go into Antelope Canyon, but we woke up to a mix of rain and snow that was very heavy at times. Weather report said chance of afternoon showers and we all got a laugh when they kept repeating that weather report all morning. We knew Antelope canyon would be out of the question and Toadstools would probably also be out (probably both flooded). Instead, we took advantage of the rain and explored the rim of the Colorado River Gorge where all the washes were flowing. These washes flow only a few times a year and not for very long when they do, so this was a rare treat. We probably covered about 5 miles off trail before packing up and heading home.
PS in the first group photo I̢۪m in the blue t shirt, in the second group photo I̢۪m in the green jacket.
//www.pbase.com/darylf/april_2005
|
|
|
|
04/27/2005 10:32:16 AM · #2 |
Nice shots Daryl. Slot canyons are really fun. When the light is just right, amazing things happen to the sandstone. Buckskin Gulch is a very exciting place. I want to go back soon. Thanks for sharing your amazing journey through these wild places!
I have a few shots from slot and narrow desert canyons, too. Perhaps we ought to get together one of these weekends, eh?
 . . . . .  . . . . . 
 . . . . .  . . . . . 
And Steve Davidson won a ribbon with his photo from the Complexity challenge:
 Here's another nice one from Steve: 
Let's go hiking!
|
|
|
|
04/27/2005 10:40:01 AM · #3 |
That sounds like a cool trip. Although a few to many miles for me. You have a couple of shots there I really like. I took my 11 month old boy on his first hike last weekend. 2 miles is about all he could handle. He had a ball though.
Tim |
|
|
|
04/27/2005 11:09:37 AM · #4 |
Those are great photos. I've only been to Antelope Canyon and also hiked the Narrows in Zion. That is the best time ever...nothing like hiking a slot canyon when the weather is great.
Here's a film scan from 2000 of Antelope.
 |
|
|
|
04/27/2005 12:29:23 PM · #5 |
I'll have to wait until this evening to thoroughly review the pics, but wanted to say that this is a way cool trip! It's something that is very high on my travel "to do" list.
|
|
|
|
04/27/2005 01:04:34 PM · #6 |
Daryl... Super pictures. I envy you for going on that great hike. Makes me want to go back up there again soon.
The area along the Arizona/Utah border is unique and special. Buckskin is incredible. The pictures of the flowing water by the dam are amazing.
Thanks for sharing.
For those interested here is a link to images from that area I took including galleries to the Toadstools and Antelope Canyon that Daryl mentioned but opting out going to because of the weather.
|
|
|
|
04/27/2005 01:21:58 PM · #7 |
Wow, Daryl, thanks for sharing. Amazing scenery and super photos!
I'd be scared to death of landing in the muck with my camera, you're very brave. |
|
|
|
04/27/2005 02:05:33 PM · #8 |
Thanks all. It truly was an amazing trip and my photos do no justice to the area. Now if only I could make a living hiking these canyons...
Dsidwell: I'd love to go on a photo safari with you someday. We should get permits for Coyotte Butts for the fall. I've never been up there Future DPC outing??? We walked right by the trailhead as we entered Wirepass Canyon.
Beetle: One of the other guys on the trip brought his Rebel, I thought he was brave! When I was the first guy in the water on the pools I'd walk slow and poke around with a foot to find the shallow spots since you can't see through the muck. Who ever went through first guided the others through the best route. I did nearly slip into a underwater hole once, but I was able to quickly regain my composure.
I was kind of sad we didn't get to go into Antelope Canyon (I haven't been in there since I took up photography), but the washes flowing on the gorge rim is a rare thing and I'm really glad I got to see it.
|
|
|
|
04/27/2005 02:55:53 PM · #9 |
The photos are fantastic! I made note of my favorites...3237Wirepass and 3335BuckskinGulch. The colors, textures and natural curves are so beautiful. I've got to go there someday! Thanks for sharing them with us...
[/url] |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/12/2025 03:14:35 PM EDT.
