Grand Staircase-Escalante NM
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Zebra Slot & Tunnel Slot Grand Staircase-Escalante NM |
April 16, 2014
Yesterday's visit to the tourist-infested Calf Creek Falls area was just a
warmup; today it is time to venture down the hideous Hole-in-the-Rock
Road to the first of several scheduled trailheads. Compelled to travel at as
little as 10 miles per hour in places due to washboarding of the road surface,
my Outback is delighted when I stop to park after just eight miles of torture.
Not much activity at the trailhead...
...and no identification, either
Clouds are abundant, but non-threatening. For me, it always is difficult to predict what will happen to the weather around here.
Getting started
Before long, the trail reaches a rocky area sporting some predictably interesting formations.
That fence isn't guarding much of anything
As I reach another open area, I know that the first objective is over in that next rock outcropping.
Heading for the distant slickrock
Low Braya
Low streamflow
There it is — an opening in the rock just where it is supposed to be:
Approaching Zebra Slot
Just inside the entrance, a little puddle is easy enough to inch around.
A minor obstacle
Claustrophobic, yet exciting
I must admit that being in here alone is a bit eerie. I'm no
fraidy-cat, but I cannot help being reminded of the commemorative
plaque down at Lower Antelope Canyon showing the names of the eleven people
who drowned in a flash flood there in 1997, while in the company of the
resident guide (the only survivor). Today's skies are sufficiently
inclement that, when I encounter a section of canyon that would necessitate
a scramble though a section just six inches wide, I decide to proceed no further.
Some nice photos are going to be missed
A moqui marble was here
Multi-colored stones
I breathe just a bit more easily after exiting the slot.
Off to the next attraction
Just half a mile around the corner is the entrance to a scenic wash with rock walls steep enough to prevent climbing in an emergency, but I'll venture in anyway.
It is beautiful in here
Entrance to Tunnel Slot
Some neat stuff around the opening
It's time to go in...
..or is it?
Oops! No sooner do I enter the slot than I encounter a puddle more than a foot deep, and there's no way around it. A strong canyoneer could inch his way over it, I suppose; but I am not one of those. Thwarted again!
Heading out already
Well, that's too bad; it wasn't far to the other end. When visiting slot canyons in the springtime, one must be prepared to deal with water hazards.
Patterns
Northwest Indian Paintbrush
Desert Marigold
According to my research, there is some special stuff above the upper end of Tunnel Slot. Today I cannot get through it; but by returning to the mouth of the canyon I should be able to go up and around, and I do. Locating the objects of my search proves easy, because they are all over the place:
Moqui marbles ⇔
The spherules are iron oxide concretions — a sort of hematite 'glue' around a sandstone center. They weather more slowly than the surrounding stratum, finally detaching from the host rock as it erodes away. These geologic phenomena were predicted to exist on Mars; and in fact such "Martian blueberries" were discovered at Meridiani Planum.
Moqui marbles had substantial spiritual significance to the Hopi Indians. Nowadays any interest tends to be purely commercial, and that is principally why it is illegal to remove these or other materials from federal parklands. I will content myself with a few photographic memories.
Upper Tunnel Slot Canyon is a contorted sandstone maze, seemingly unable to make up its mind.
Reminiscent of The Wave down near Buckskin Gulch ⇔
Heading back down beside the deep wash
Tile Lichens fungi
Firecracker
Former plant life
Now that I know the lay of the land, it is easy to shortcut back across the open area.
Landmarks can be helpful
More patterns
The threatening sprinkles have arrived. I really need to get a poncho
long enough to cover my lumbar pack, thereby solving several issues.
As it is, I wrap my rain gear around my camera and carry it under an arm as I
scurry down the last mile of path to the trailhead. Just now, four hikers
appear — the only humans I have seen today.
Trying to beat the rain
§: This nearly level walk served as a good initiation to the wonders
of Escalante. Although my canyon explorations were curtailed by prevailing
conditions, visiting all the fantastic rock formations was a lot of fun, and
observing my first-ever Moqui marbles was a real treat.
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