Ever since I viewed photos of slot canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park, I have dreamed of hiking within the vertical rock walls reaching towards the sky allowing glimpses of sunlight into the mystical formations designed by nature over millions of years.
When there is a threat of rain, the possibility of flash floods increases causing torrents of water to fill the narrow canyon walls carrying various forms of debris cutting through the soft rock for millions of years, resulting in a great variety of colorful rock shapes and forms. You must always be aware of the weather when planning a hike in any slotted canyons.
Sometimes most locations are in remote hidden areas, which adds to the travel adventure experience.
I always thought my first hike of a slotted canyon would be the Narrows in Zion National Park. However, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico was and will be a pivotal moment in my hiking life as my first slot canyon hike.
There is a certain visual beauty of the slotted canyon walls reaching several feet into the sky with trees, and shrubs growing out from the walls.
A slow-moving tarantula was a surprise since rain the past few days was intense in the canyon area. There is a section of about 30-40 yards where I felt like a goat climbing upwards to the rewards of the hike.
The hiking trail leads you out of the narrow canyon walls onto a Mesa with vistas to take your breath away at 6,760 feet above sea level.
The tent rocks themselves are cones of soft pumice and tuff beneath harder caprocks and vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet.
As I write this blog post, I’m excited knowing my future is bright with the number of locations I will hike and experience, and yet the spring of 2018 cannot come fast enough. 🙂
Wow. Wow. Wow
Such breathless photos. Not to mention the memories that full filled your heart with a life long dream. Happy journeys.
😘😘😊
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I am fascinated by the slot canyons, also. I have not ventured to the most famous ones but when on a trip with friends to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes we discovered some slot canyons. It was eerie but at the same time very beautiful and a peaceful silence. You can’t help but wonder who else long ago set foot in the canyons…if the walls could talk………
What a beautiful place. I’d love to go hike there. I always feel at home in the desert. The canyon walls, the sage grass, everything. Look forward to your next journey.
Tobias, I getting to love the desert myself. 🙂
Looks like a fantastic hike. We’ve not done this for many years! The last time we did was around the Murchison in western Australia. Breathtaking pictures you’ve got!
Hey, thanks Mel & Susan. It was mysterious and magical. 🙂
I want to climb into your photos and walk through them. So beautiful.
Hey, thanks, Adventuredawgs.
My first (and so far only) slot canyon hike was The Narrows at Zion – just six weeks after Tropical Storm Irene devastated my community in Vermont, so I found myself highly anxious at the possibility of a flash flood – and also quite, extraordinarily beautiful. Your photos are great!
Your photography is beautiful!
I just hiked The Narrows in October and it was AMAZING! It’s now my favorite hike ever! I’d love to check out other slot canyons! Nice pictures!
Thanks. I planned to hike the slots in Zion and other parks. 🙂
The grooves on the rocks are really beautiful,it’s like pottery being shaped
Zion NP “top down”, overnight hike through the Narrows was one of my all-time favorite hikes. My favorite places on earth are those that relatively small numbers of people go to at any given time. There’s something so peaceful about being out there!
You are so correct Heather!
The ultimate in travel for a nomad is the quiet peacefulness involving only nature and the immediate surroundings. 🙂
Very beautiful. Thank you for opening my mind to this gorgeous area.
Absolutely breathtaking. We will definitely be adding this to our bucket list. Thank you for sharing your adventure and amazing photos.
Thanks, I’m even more excited to hike the slots in Zion. Good luck on the PCT. I followed the Youtube site of Homemade Wanderlust who completed the PCT in 2017.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQhqmV26773qZhzqJz4VFcw and I will add you to Darwin onthetrail PCT hike for 2018. Good luck remain safe and enjoy. 🙂
Thank you =)
This looks like a fantastic hike! I would love to go there someday! https://trekmytravel.com/