near Kanab, Utah
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Sand Cave near Kanab, Utah |
October 23, 2019
I am on the way to Kanab, where I will headquarter for several days of hiking. Just outside of town and right next to the highway is a sandstone cliff featuring a cave with five sizable openings. Exploring it has been on my bucket list for some time.
I will have plenty of company
Start of the trail
There is a catch, however. Getting up to the cave involves ascending a
fifty-foot cliff. Although trails are running everywhere, there is no
clue as to the best place to climb this thing. A young couple is heading purposefully
toward the cave itself; I'll follow them and see what happens.
Perhaps they know the best way
Down and up
Nope. Those guys also must be newcomers, for there is no possible climbing route over here.
Dead end
Heading back the other way
It's looking better
The couple ahead find a suitable spot; starting up the slickrock, the man chants, "Like a mountain goat".
Mr. Mountain Goat is barefoot
I continue along the cliff to see whether an even better opportunity is available, finding one at the leftmost end of the cliff.
This looks easy enough
The slickrock scramble is dispatched without incident, although for safety I cherry-pick the route in a couple of places.
A five-minute cliff-top traverse should do it
Made it!
Sand Cave Arch
Whoa! What's this on the ceiling directly above me?
This is why I go hiking
Sharing some tour info
Back end of the cave
Two more openings
There is plenty of graffiti
From the back of the cave
Starting back
It is becoming crowded here
Trying their luck on the steep ramp
Back down the way I came up
§: Well, that was fun. This scramble is not for the faint of heart,
but for most it's pretty easy. Liberally speaking, one could consider the cave's
five openings collectively as a quadruple arch.
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