The day started with some uncertainty and frustration as Keith and Lukas struggled to free our shuttle vehicle from deep sand, but eventually returned triumphant. Delayed, we rallied to drive around to the start and try to make up for lost time. Happily a wonderfully straightforward five minute approach dropped us into the canyon bottom, and moments later into the sculpted shadows. The canyon started strong and only got better. The tightest sections of the whole trip were right near the start, good to get out of the way. We all did our best to go light and tight with our packs but the inevitability of all the canyon gear, overnight gear, and preparing for the unknown added up. We had a few minor downclimbs but overall this slot was a scenic stroll in and out of darkness.
The slot notably widened to maybe about 10 feet with a rat's nest of a flash flood log jam suspended 50 feet overhead, a sobering sight! Beyond was the first true darkness, and we readied headlamps for the first rappel.
Below the first rappel the darkness was total. We worked our way through some more pack-pass downclimbs and some spidery narrows for what felt like a long time. Eventually the darkness abated into a cathedral-like passage with golden light, then the second rappel. Below was a dramatic surprise foreshadowing things to come. A fresh 30 foot high rockfall completely blocked the canyon! We cautiously climbed one-by-one avoiding loose rocks as best we could. At the summit I was relieved to see the backside was no different and worst case scenarios of the rockfall partially burying some rappel to make progress worse were gone.
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| Darkness! |
After this brief interlude in the wider rockfall hallway another rappel dropped us back into the continuation of the upper slot. It continued fantastically with golden sculpted twisting passages, really high quality stuff. Just before the end of the slot we stopped for a lunch break. In total the upper slot was about 3500 feet long; it sounds so trivial to say it but that managed to keep us well occupied for an hour and a half.
The slot ended and the canyon widened into a generic sunny, meandering sand slog. The scenery was pretty standard and the shadows harsh enough that I did not seem to take any noteworthy photos. We also hiked pretty steadily, the unknown of the middle slot on all our minds. We passed the only sandchute exit to the canyon and continued on. The 2.5 miles of sweaty sun went by rather quickly as we chatted while we strolled. The middle slot started shallow but began to deepen through some rappels and downclimbs.
The second half of the middle slot was even more scenic with some nice walking hallways and particularly zebra-striped rocks in a sculpted section. The frequent mudcracks were a nice reminder of the dry conditions we were appreciative for; this would be a very different canyon with constant mud or water. The third rappel had some particularly rough looking bolts and was a short 9ft overhanging drop into a deep pothole. I managed to meat anchor everyone down and then carefully lower myself onto their shoulders. Shortly on was the penultimate rappel of the middle slot and the moment of truth. I went down first, rappelling over some jammed debris in the final 50ft of the canyon and onto the meager takeoff ledge at the end of the world.
I roasted in the reflective sun on this bird perch as I evaluated our options. The bolts were not at all were they were supposed to be and there was no evidence at all of them, suggesting several inches of flash flood erosion since they were install over 20 years ago. I did find one healthy looking bolt and a piton jammed in a bolt hole next to it for a double anchor, with flood ravaged webbing linking the two. I could feel the magnitude of exposure beneath me but could find no reason not to trust the bolts with some new webbing, and so we opted not to place any new bolts. I was going to go first, but we agreed it would be prudent to rig the end of the previous rappel rope as a backup safety, and I should be on hand in case we decided to place more bolts. So Keith went down first, disappearing over the edge and into 230ft of air. As he slowly descended I could not help but notice the bizarre situation below. We were expecting a trickling creek but instead could see deep, dark, still waters with deeply submerged cottonwoods; we knew something was not quite right and it was an eerie thing to drop into. I adjusted the webbing equalization, but other than that the anchors looked solid and I went next. I dangled my pack and then my feet over the edge. It has been a while since I have done such a large freehanging rappel, but the adrenaline and sensation of slow-motion skydiving was immediately remembered. I had an abundance of friction at the top of the rappel but by about halfway down it loosened considerably such that I had Keith give me a light fireman's belay while I used a leg wrap for added friction. I wish I had a photo of the view down, a spectacular alcove with some of the most interesting mud formations I have ever seen, great mounds, streaks, and popcorn of solidified mud from this roaring waterfall in full flood. Touchdown was certainly a relief!
Keith kindly stayed on the belay for the other two, letting me wander around taking photos. Springs emerged at several locations along the alcove as small rivulets feeding the dark reflective plunge pool. Swallows circled overhead and canyon wren calls echoed. Truly a special place. Thankfully we all made it down without incident and the rope pulled relatively smoothly considering. I stripped down to my boxers with the pleasant temperatures, not trusting this dark lake we would try to skirt around.
We started off on canyon right and quickly realized there were zero trails in this place. This was a veritable lost world. A lush green walled-in oasis with only one way in and one way out. Other than bats we were probably the only mammals for miles around. This was the land of lizards and birds. We made slow, scratchy progress working our way up and down the vegetated sand banks beneath the right wall. The water to our left was deep and continuous. We made it about 0.3 miles down from the end of the middle slot where we abruptly lost our right bank. Ahead as far as we could see was water and flooded trees, wall-to-wall. We all stared in disbelief. Shit just got real. We did not have wetsuits but were now staring down the cold facts that we had nowhere to go but forward through the frigid waters. We had no idea how long this swim could be; worst case it could potentially be a full mile, which we were unlikely to survive. I was already down to my boxers but prepped my pack to fit as much as possible inside my drybag. Lukas and Keith led the way then I reluctantly waded in.
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| Out of land! |
The water was brain numbing but I doggy paddled with my clunky shoes and pack as best I could. The swim ended up being 600 feet long to a fresh rockfall fully blocking the valley. Beyond the rockfall dam was the trickling creek we were expecting to see from the start. This was our best case scenario! Though we were all chilled to our cores, we were greatly relieved to have dry land to continue walking on. This really was starting to feel like an adventure!
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| The rockfall dam and the black lake beyond |
We hiked a short distance further along this pleasant creek until we arrived at the most perfect sweeping undercut alcove with a pristine sand bar at its center. While we all were originally thinking of camping further on, right above the lower slot to make the next day a little smoother, we all agreed this camp spot was too fantastic to walk past. We set up one of the ropes as a clothesline and set about getting out of dry clothes and making dinner. Unfortunately Lukas and Suhei had a drybag malfunction, which led to some moist camping gear for them and motivation to build a small fire. Spirits were high. We had a big epic day of beauty and challenge, a perfect camp spot, and more adventures and unknown to look forward to tomorrow. I slept pretty well overall, but despite camping deep beneath the overhang the moon still found us for about a half hour of bright silver light.
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| Our dreamy alcove camp |
The next morning found us fairly motivated for an early start to tackle another long day. Happily all my gear had dried apart from my shoes. Just downstream of camp was yet another (third for this canyon!) canyon-blocking rockfall dam, this one only ponding the creek to thigh depth. More nice canyon strolling beyond was a great start to our day. A half mile from camp the creek started to drop in little foot-high falls over sandstone bedrock and just beyond was the obvious start to our third and final slot, the wet one! There were some nice patios and sand banks above the slot but we were all in agreement that we made the right decision camping where we did. We spent some time scouting the entrance options for this slot. The slot was only 500 feet long but appeared to be every bit as wet as we expected. Three of us used the two bolts on canyon right that dropped us about 30 feet to dry ground. Suhei to her enormous credit opted for the single bolt straight into the first waterfall with its deep plunge pool below, while the rest of us wanted to stay dry for a few more minutes. In hindsight the falls would have made a spectacular jump so I had some minor regret.
Below the first falls was a pleasant flooded corridor, then another lovely section with a bedrock patio. At the end was rappel two, a breath-evicting rappel into a waterfall and a deep, dark swimming pool below. Suhei went down rappel three immediately after and together we set up a gear zipline, managing to keep all the packs dry through this double rappel section. We all were shivering once we took that first plunge but still took the time to take lots of photos and enjoy this truly unique slot canyon. One of my favorite views of the trip was looking back towards rappel three and two (frontispiece).
There was a little patch of dry ground between rappel three and four. Rappel four had some truly awful bolts (half out) but we deemed suitable for the eight foot drop with a water landing. A short wade across a green pool brought us to the final bolt station and a fantastic view out of the end of the slot. This last rappel of about thirty-five feet was down a fanning whispering falls to the edge of a deep green plunge pool rimmed by an overhanging fern garden and interesting springs. This was yet another world-class scenic beauty, and a fitting end to our technical canyon sections.
We put our harnesses and ropes away and started "the slog". We had a solid 2 miles of dense riparian canyon to pass through. The path of least resistance was usually wading calf to waist deep through the stream, sometimes with a swimming motion with our arms to part the thick vegetation. Progress was slow, tiring, but steady. Interestingly there were a series of warm springs entering the creek along the way such that the creek temperature changed dramatically from the cool slot above. Frogs and lizards were plentiful in this section. Occasionally the creek would reach a patio area and cascade over bedrock but mostly it was the narrow overgrown channel. The canyon took just enough of a turn to give us some shade to stop for lunch.
As it turned out the lunch spot signaled the end of the dense vegetation and the remaining half mile until our tributary exit was nearly continuous bedrock with little cascades and plunge pools- beautiful! We reached the tributary on the true right and turned up to follow its much more meager creek. Another short distance with green vegetation, golden bedrock, and clear waters.
We stopped by the creek in the last shade before our rockfall climb out exit. We were making pretty good time but still had to repeat the formidable exit Keith and I did three days prior, this time on a much hotter day and with heavier packs. After good long drinks from the creek, all that was left was escape. Fortunately the escape route was fresh in Keith and my minds'; the familiar landmarks increased our efficiency and mentally were less draining despite the abundant sweat. We stopped a couple times briefly in shade but otherwise the exit was without much drama. All up it took us just under two hours to gain the rim, not bad at all considering. A sandy sage slog lead got us back to the car, which had a curious threatening note on it which we were later able to clear up. Back the the start for the other car and Keith and I were off, lots of driving to get back to socal.
The day's adventure turned out to only be just beginning with driving the full length of Kanab twice, extensive car troubleshooting and dismantling, and other silliness. Long story short I ended up leaving Keith in Kanab and driving myself solo in his car, arriving back home at 4:30am. I was planning to stop sooner but was bizarrely awake despite the big day, presumably I was still riding the excitement of four days of some of the best canyoning I have done, with this last canyon being the easy standout. It really was an incredible canyon with amazing variety of scenery and technical challenges in one of the wildest places I have been in a long time. At the end of it I just felt exceptionally fortunate to have a chance to experience this special place. Big thanks to the rest of the team, especially Lukas.
