Pleiades Canyon August 6

I had heard rumors of this canyon for several years. I knew little about it apart from its reputation as a secretive and beautiful cavernous sandstone canyon with stunning spring-fed waterfalls all year round. It’s a gem that has been carefully guarded by visitors, largely to protect the canyon- it is one of the few remaining easily accessible canyons in the area that has yet to have a bolt placed in it.

It’s called Pleiades because there are 7 waterfalls to rappel off of (one for each of the sisters in the constellation). Prior to this road trip I decided to pick up the trail (so to speak) of where I left off years ago and caught a lucky break in my research. From before we set out on the road trip, I knew this would be a highlight of the trip for me. The canyon may be tragically short, but its sweetness exceeded my expectations and it's one of my very favorites.

We hiked across mountain meadows in bloom and birch forests. Far below us was Moab and the infinite expanse of Canyonlands bleeding into the horizon. We contoured into the valley and followed the very lush fern-bordered mountain brook downstream to where it cut a gate through a resistant band of sandstone. Here we geared up and continued a few more minutes to the first waterfall which drops beneath a large boulder into a dark grotto. A few more minutes of open stream brought us to the lip of the second waterfall.

From here the waterfalls are so rapid-fire that we did not even put our rope away until the end and the canyon seemed to drop vertically more than it extended horizontally. The forth rappel was where things really got good- a free-hanging drop next to a fanning waterfall leads into a great chamber filled with golden light. The water was brisk, but pleasantly so with the day’s warmth, the protection of our wetsuits and the distraction of the canyon’s beauty. The other two were patient despite my photographic attempts.

The view down from this chamber was glorious- a dark and twisted slot about a meter wide in places with cascading whitewater ricocheting downward. These last few waterfall rappels straight down the gut were great fun, although spring snow-melt conditions might be a bit too much! The last waterfall was the biggest at 22m.

The last obstacle was probably the most dangerous- an exposed and slippery tilting log that acts as a bridge to bypass the last slot downclimb. Once down, the canyon gave way to the lush forest and the stream regained its innocence.

From here it was a mere five minute walk on a trail back to the top of the canyon, making the prospect of a second lap very appealing! Pleiades is a spectacular canyon I hope to return to again (and again!). We hiked back to the car in our wetsuits, which was a convenient way of drying them out for the next adventure.

Black Hole of White Canyon August 5

"WARNING. Do not attempt the Black Hole descent. The conditions in the Black Hole have changed due to flash flood debris. Experienced canyoneers feel safe passage is not possible at this time. Safe retreat or rescue may not be possible...blah blah blah..." said the sign at the parking lot (and another one further down into the canyon we past).

In 2003 the canyon became clogged with 70ft high log jams after a significant flash flood, turning an easy canyon into a very dangerous one overnight. While the canyon is still recovering, it is certainly passable and certainly a great adventure in its current form.

We hiked down a side canyon to join White Canyon, here already hundreds of feet deep. Evidence of fresh flooding abounded as slippery gooey mud and a waterline on the canyon walls. For over two miles there are no reasonable escapes. The canyon starts wide (maybe 20-40ft) with a gravel or mud bottom. Before long boulders and bedrock appear as the canyon narrows into its first slot filled with chocolatey-brown water. We put the wetsuits on and carefully secured gear in dry bags in anticipation of several very long swims.



The opacity of the water and slippery/squishy mud bottom made every step an adventure as you could not see what the next step might hold. Eventually we found ourselves at the top of a downclimb into a very obvious swim. I very ungracefully demonstrated to the other two how not to downclimb it (by mostly falling). As there would probably be no getting up this obstacle once we all got down, I told the other two to wait while I swam along the canal to make sure escape was possible. The chocolatey waters grew grosser with each turn and I made appropriate grunts and moans to warn Ryan and Sara of the joy they would soon be experiencing. Rocks had filled in the top of the slot so that it felt like I was swimming through a cave.

The waters went from frothy and loamy to being completely covered by a floating mat of organic debris including logs, twigs and pine needles with the distinct aroma of decay. I tried two methods- first: beached whale manuvers to crawl across the semi-floating mass, and then the more effective second: an icebreaker strategy (pushing the mass the either side and then quickly swimming through the gap before it closed up again). I then had to climb out of the cesspool, which proved tiring. I had never experienced anything like that. I called the other two to follow, then climbed to where I could enjoy watching them swim.



The canyon opened up for a while, then slotted again at the next turn in the canyon. It just kept going and going! This repeated three or four more times with some great swims in some dark slots and some fun downclimbs. We found a ledge to have lunch on in one of the darkest parts of a slot. Near the end we came across one log jam which thankfully was only about 9ft high and easily surmountable. The canyon then widened and it seemed like a good place to remove wetsuits.









After removing wetsuits, Sara and I napped in the canyon's shade as Ryan found an impressive trundling platform and let some large rocks rip with an echoing thunder. The exit was not nearly as straightforward as I expected and involved a precarious branch propped over a void and a couple slab climbs. At the end we came off the route (following other tracks that had veered off-route) and ended up climbing a loose 15ft 5.6 chimney to gain the rim. It was then a short walk back to the car. We drove down the dirt road to the mouth of White Canyon where we floated and relaxed in the warm backwaters of Lake Powell.


The exit

Cedar Mesa Ruins August 4

A great day was spent visiting a few of the better preserved and more interesting ruins on Cedar Mesa, one of the main hotspots for ancestral Puebloan culture.

Five strong, we all enjoyed a leisurely morning catching up. Unfortunately the day’s heat began early and it was well and truly toasty by the time we set off into Road Canyon to visit a photogenic cluster of granaries carefully built at the back of an alcove in the canyon wall. The ceiling of the alcove has exfoliated to reveal interesting stains on the rock and at the right time of day light bounces from the canyon wall opposite to illuminate the ruins in golden light.

The preservation of the site was amazing. Individual finger presses patterned the ancient adobe walls. White hand print silhouettes adorned the varnished ceiling as if to say "Hands off. These are ours." 3-inch corn cobs could still be found inside the granaries. All about 800 years old! We all enjoyed the cool shade before heading back. Unfortunately Jiana and Joe had to depart.

Ryan, Sara and I continued on to another unusual Road Canyon ruin known as the Citadel. The place is a curiosity and I know of no similar ruins anywhere else. It was obviously built as a last resort; a great fortress of desperation in hard times. The ruin is on an island of rock surrounded by cliffs and connected to the canyon rim by a long and narrow causeway- the only way to access the ruins.

As we crossed the causeway, we noticed remnants of two defensive stone walls spanning the width of the isthmus, further safeguards against attack. The only obvious source of water would have been in the canyon bottom far below, meaning they would have had to haul enormous amounts of water a great distance to avoid a siege. A 5-room structure spans the width of a long rock overhang. Careful considerations like windows and holes for smoke near the roof suggest this fortress was carefully designed. Rocks were carefully chosen for the structure’s construction. What a history of forgotten wars this place must have.

Still left with ample daylight after our two hikes, we opted for a third in McLoyds Canyon. We made the wise choice of taking Ryan’s truck on the long dirt road. Portions of the road crossed slickrock with occasional drop-offs and ditches. Once we arrived at the canyon rim we could see several interesting ruins in the shadows of overhangs worth checking out. We climbed down into the canyon and halfway up the other side where most of the ruins occur on a distinct ledge.

In contrast to the last ruin which was a desperate fortress, the main ruin here was an incredible 13th century palace. Water would have been a short distance below. The location is dramatic- right on a bend in the canyon with several visually-pleasing hoodoos out front. The structures seem to suit the location and I am sure the inhabitants connected to the magic of the place.

The architecture is magnificent and unusual. The main 5-room house is entered from a doorway in a tall exterior wall turreted like a castle. The rooms branch off of a spacious interior hallway inside the exterior wall, which is rather usual. Small white rocks are imbedded into the adobe walls for decoration and several pictographs and patterns adorn the walls like wallpaper. The center room is painted all black apart from a white stripe with stipples that wallpapers the room. On one side of the room is painted a crescent moon and on the exact opposite a full moon. Small downward-facing holes in the wall would allow light to enter and might have been used for spying. The wood in the structures are perfectly preserved, with delicate reed ties still intact. To the west are the remains of a kiva, immediately to the east is a cluster of buildings with strange doorways, one of them unusually pronounced and circular.

Ryan and I explored several more well-preserved granaries on the same ledge further downcanyon. We all enjoyed the solitude and history of the place until sunset. Thanks to Ryan's truck for getting us places Sara's low slung car really preferred not to go.

Canyon de Chelly/Monument Valley August 3

After a long, slow drive towing a trailer to New Mexico, Sara was finally moved in and we were free to road trip for about a week and a half. We drove across the forested highland mesas of the Navajo Reservation in and out of torrential thunderstorms. As we approached Canyon de Chelly National Monument, it was obvious the worst storm was directly overhead. When we arrived, the canyon walls shown silver from the rains and we cowered from the nearby booms of thunder. Ephemeral waterfalls plunged hundreds of feet down vertical sandstone cliffs, only to disappear in minutes. We did well with the timing as it seemed to mostly rain when we were driving in the car.

Canyon de Chelly is a peculiar National Monument in that it is owned by the Navajo, and with the exception of one trail, there is no public access to the canyon itself (without a guide). The Navajo still live in and farm the canyon. We drove to all the viewpoints, which gave enough of a sense of the canyon and its many ancestral Puebloan cliff ruins to satify me. It's a nice canyon, but I found the roads and cattle detracted from the beauty of the place and it only made me long for the wilds of Escalante. We continued on across the high plateau country towards Monument Valley, passing several interesting volcanic spires along the way.


Spider Rock at left





Monument Valley. What an enormous parking lot and visitor center! To their credit the visitor center/hotel was very tastefully designed and blends well into the rocks from below. The weather continued to shift from dark clouds to lightning to rain to rainbows, which added much drama to the geology.

Geologically, it is an interesting place to sit and ponder how these great towers and buttes came to stand isolated above a flat plain. Presumably a meandering canyon system once cut through the area, followed by long periods of wind/rain/frost erosion undermining the vertical-walled de Chelly Sandstone causing collapse and further isolation. It is clearly a very old landscape millions of years in the making!









After catching a golden sunset against dark storm clouds, we drove on through Mexican Hat and up the Moqui Dugway to Cedar Mesa where we met up with friends to camp for the night.

Black Canyon of the Colorado July 26-27

Sara and I loaded up the kayaks and drove across the Mojave desert and through the vast sprawl of Las Vegas to Boulder City, Nevada for a classic 2 day 11 mile kayak trip down a mild, but scenic, stretch of the Colorado River. With a high of 103°F (39°C) and a low of 84°F (29°C), I was definitely not in New Zealand anymore (where it was currently snowing at sea level)! The crystal-clear dam-released river water was a brisk 54°F (12°C), but in the heat felt very refreshing.

We put-in our kayaks at 9am (by which time the temperature was already well into the 90s) immediately below Hoover Dam. As we launched, the flow from the dam was increased and we cruised downriver with hardly any effort. So fast in fact that by the time I noticed where we were, we had already passed several things I wanted to check out. We did check out a few of the large alcoves on the Nevada side of the river and watched several hot springs pouring out of the valley walls.

We tied up the kayaks at Boy Scout Canyon where I set up a hammock for Sara to nap in and then I wandered up the canyon. Almost immediately I came across a stream of hot water sinking into the streambed. Upstream the canyon narrowed considerably, with several waterfalls of hot water that could be climbed with fixed ropes. 2 unclimbable waterfalls with fixed ropes brought me to a dramatic wide-walled amphitheater where the canyon poured over an enormous dry fall from above. Here I saw the first of many Bighorn sheep. Back at the river I attempted to help some stranded (but well-stocked) house-boaters who had beached themselves by the falling river level.

We next stopped at Moonscape Canyon, another canyon with flowing hot water a short distance upstream from its confluence with the Colorado. We past several hot pools before arriving at a really nice pool someone had made at the base of a waterfall where we stopped for a few minutes, about all we could take in the heat. Just downstream on the Colorado I spotted a cliff jump of about 30ft, which we both jumped off of. I enjoyed it more than Sara did...

Photo by Sara




Sara about to jump

This stretch of river historically had several rapids before the river was dammed above and below. We set up camp a short distance up the canyon below Arizona Hot Springs where I found a flat spot out of the river bed and a suitable location to set up the hammock (a key ingredient). It was a nice camp, but we ultimately had to retreat back down to the water's edge for the night where it was appreciably several degrees cooler. It was still the hottest night I had had since Borneo. Fortunately the 20% chance of thunderstorms did not seem to materialize.

In the morning we checked out Arizona Hot Springs, the main pool of which is accessed via a bolted metal ladder up a hot waterfall. Above, the water has been dammed wall-to-wall with sandbags in the narrow slot canyon to present a unique soaking experience. If it was not 100°F I would have been all over it!




Pretty girl, hot spring and slot canyon. If it was not 100°F, this might have been heaven.

We re-packed the kayaks and headed downstream. This day there was a strong headwind, which forced us to paddle strongly and steadily to make progress. As soon as we stopped we would immediately start drifting upstream. We passed through the narrowest part of the Black Canyon where both walls dropped straight down into a deep and green Colorado River. We made several swim stops to cool down and checked out a couple of the alcoves and the old gauger's house site which provided a nice view back to the end of the Black Canyon. The last mile and a half to Willow Beach the canyon widens considerably as it escapes the rhyolitic tuff and cuts through metamorphic basement. By this point the wind had died down to only the occasional gust, which made for more pleasant traveling.

Looking back at the end of the Black Canyon

In all it was a very worthwhile trip, as much for the easy overnight river trip as for the interesting side canyons and hot springs along the way. I would probably do it again, although closer to winter to be able to enjoy the hot springs and on a Sunday and Monday when motorized watercraft are not allowed. Thanks to Sara.