Into the Slot Canyons, Part 1
Trail to the slot canyons
November 14th, 2020
To those of you celebrating today, Happy Diwali! Wishing you health, happiness and joy during this festival of lights!
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Today we’re hiking into the slot canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. To get here, we drove 25 miles down dusty, dirty Hole In the Rock Road. From the parking area, we hiked a mile across a gradually descending landscape to a dry river bed. From there, the trail dropped below surface level into Dry Fork Slot Canyon.
Dry Fork Slot Canyon leads to Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon, which leads to Spooky Slot Canyon. The whole loop is about six miles and, if you’ve never hiked a slot canyon, it’s as much a mental experience as it is a physical one. As you see the canyon narrow in front of you, your instinct is to stop moving forward while your sense of adventure wants to keep going. As the trail goes deeper, the sky above becomes a sliver of blue between the canyon walls. Sunlight is your only connection to the world above ground but along with it comes the realization that there’s no way up out of these walls… only forward or backward.
Today we’ll get through Dry Fork Slot Canyon (by far the widest of the three) and tomorrow we’ll move on to the others. I’ll step aside so you can explore. Just follow J — he knows the way! And there’s a little video thrown in as well.
More tomorrow,
Kelly
Post of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together. This series features travel photos from my archives, shared with you while staying close to home.
Dry Fork Riverbed
Opening of Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Dry Fork Slot Canyon
Canyon Texture
Nearing the end of Dry Fork Slot Canyon
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I like it, this one seems easy, I prepare myself mentally for tomorrow. Thanks for the great pics.
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Yes, in hindsight this one is hardly a slot. 🙂
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Fabulous! But not for the claustrophobic 🙂 🙂
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Thanks, Jo! 🙂
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Amazing landscape, and again the videos actually show the reality of the place, the photos only show the beauty 🙂
I am adventurous till this one, not sure I will be able to brave it as the walls start to close in, gives me claustrophobia like some old Indiana Jones adventure movies. I would rather follow the camera 🙂
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It did feel a bit like Indiana Jones! I had to tell myself I was going to make it through. Thanks for following the camera! 🙂
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This looks like no man’s land — fascinating, beautiful, but also scary. Fortunately you had a way out, and you had provisions. But I wouldn’t want to be caught there after dark.
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We saw a family of four leaving the parking lot to hike these slot canyons at 5:00 p.m. and I was really fearful for them. They didn’t have any gear or extra layers with them. Hopefully they knew what they were doing and made it out before dark!
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I hope so as well. I would NEVER want to be caught in there after dark.
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Thank you for taking me on this wonderful trip.
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My pleasure! Thanks for coming along, Joan!
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Soooo cool! Great photos. Looking forward to the next ones.
Alison
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Thanks Alison! We’re avidly looking for more slot canyons to explore near us. Hopefully more to come in the future.
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Fantastic photo’s as always! Although they gave me flashbacks to James Franco in 127 hours!
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Omg, I know! Being here in these canyons I could definitely get a sense of the isolation and terror he must have endured. There would be no way for anyone to hear you screaming for help. I will never do this kind of activity alone!
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A great opportunity to do it with someone though! Looked like an amazing adventure 🙂
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So grateful for your wonderful photos. The American southwest is so amazing.
Steve
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Thank you, Steve! I agree. This trip gave me a whole new appreciation for what we have right here in the U.S.
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Looks like fun to me Kelly. Looking forward to the next one! Wouldn’t want to be there is a heavy rainstorm. 🙂 –Curt
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No way, José! Would not go if rain was in the forecast!
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🙂
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In many ways, this reminds me of the Siq in Petra. The difference is the one in Jordan is a lot busier with tourists and horse carts. It must have been a cool adventure for both of you!
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Cool! I can’t wait to get to Petra!! Hopefully soon!
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Great shots of the bends and folds of the earth in those canyons. It looks like sticky batter to me, all scraped up and then glopped back down the sides of the bowl!
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Thanks! Great analogy. Like chocolate chips in cookie batter! I do wonder how all those little dimples and pimples formed. Such a cool texture.
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I like the videos you provide to see this beautiful place in Utah, I’ve always wanted to go to see these amazing canyons, I hope to be able to go someday. It’s beautiful!
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Thank you! Happy you enjoyed the videos! I’m trying to shoot more, especially in places that are hard to put into words. I hope you get to see Utah someday!
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