3/28/07
Now that I had one of my hiking fears put to rest, I decided to try out another one - hiking a slot canyon. The same BLM officer who recommended the Toadstools Trail also sent me down for a hike near the Coyote Buttes area in a slot canyon named Wire Pass. Both hikes were short and fairly close together so I was more than willing to hike them both in one day before heading down to page.
It was the idea of flash floods and Aaron Ralston that unnerved me so. All my southwest hiking books warned of the dangers of flash floods. My friends who have hiked in the southwest warned of the dangers of flash floods. All throughout my trip, my obsessive brain reminded me of the dangers of flash floods. And even though, the BLM officer assured me that no rain would fall anywhere today, I kept eyeing the heavy (snow-laden) clouds above and kept an ear open for the warning sounds of rushing water.
Not that it would help once I entered the canyon itself. Then there was Aaron, the poor guy who had to cut his arm off with a pen knife after the got pinned by a boulder while hiking through a slot canyon. I knew I would never be able to do that and would lie languishing in my fate, lost forever. Or, until the next hiker came by as this seemed to be a rather popular route.
This route was easier to follow. Just meander along the wash to the narrows of Wire Pass. As I entered the pass and the walls began to close in around me, I relaxed a bit. Still concerned with my own little fears but ready to experience this place: the sandy floor strewn with rocks, the smooth-looking walls with a fine texture, the curves, the swirls. I came to a drop, several feet over a boulder wedged between the walls. Buckskin Gulch was somewhere ahead but this would have to be my turn-around. I didn't have my pen-knife with me, nor a buddy to push me up on the way out. This will need to be explored later.
Now that I had one of my hiking fears put to rest, I decided to try out another one - hiking a slot canyon. The same BLM officer who recommended the Toadstools Trail also sent me down for a hike near the Coyote Buttes area in a slot canyon named Wire Pass. Both hikes were short and fairly close together so I was more than willing to hike them both in one day before heading down to page.
It was the idea of flash floods and Aaron Ralston that unnerved me so. All my southwest hiking books warned of the dangers of flash floods. My friends who have hiked in the southwest warned of the dangers of flash floods. All throughout my trip, my obsessive brain reminded me of the dangers of flash floods. And even though, the BLM officer assured me that no rain would fall anywhere today, I kept eyeing the heavy (snow-laden) clouds above and kept an ear open for the warning sounds of rushing water.
Not that it would help once I entered the canyon itself. Then there was Aaron, the poor guy who had to cut his arm off with a pen knife after the got pinned by a boulder while hiking through a slot canyon. I knew I would never be able to do that and would lie languishing in my fate, lost forever. Or, until the next hiker came by as this seemed to be a rather popular route.
This route was easier to follow. Just meander along the wash to the narrows of Wire Pass. As I entered the pass and the walls began to close in around me, I relaxed a bit. Still concerned with my own little fears but ready to experience this place: the sandy floor strewn with rocks, the smooth-looking walls with a fine texture, the curves, the swirls. I came to a drop, several feet over a boulder wedged between the walls. Buckskin Gulch was somewhere ahead but this would have to be my turn-around. I didn't have my pen-knife with me, nor a buddy to push me up on the way out. This will need to be explored later.
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