Tent Rocks – Slot Canyon

Altho I knew I couldn’t make it to the top of the Monument via this trail, I wanted to walk it until I reached the point I knew I couldn’t go on.  I just love slot canyons!  For those of you who may not know what a slot canyon is, it’s basically a very skinny canyon.  At times, slot canyons can get to be so narrow, you can barely fit thru it! But, you’ll see…..

Trees in the Canyon

As if the canyon didn’t get narrow enough at points, we had to share the floor of the canyon with the trees!  Still, I do love the way the colors of both the canyon and the trees set off each other beautifully!

Up in the Tents

Walking along the slot canyon trail, I happened to look up to the side at one point, and saw this apparent trail leading up among the tent rocks.  I don’t think it was an actual trail, tho, as it “began” about 6 feet up the canyon wall!

Around the Bend

The trail only seems to be getting narrower – it’s the trees taking up a lot of the room.  They do help to sort of point out the direction we need to be heading, tho!

Where’s Jeff?

Can you see Jeff waiting for me to catch up on the trail?  I purposefully included this image so that you can gain a perspective of how tall the canyon walls are!  One nice thing about that is that there always seems to be a bit of shade one can stand it to escape the hot rays of the sun.

Looking Up at Tent Walls

Once again, I looked up at the canyon walls right next to me, and saw the tent rocks perched on top of the canyon wall.  This is a good illustration of how the tent rocks can look so tall (hundreds of feet tall), but actually are only, at most, about 90 feet tall.

Getting Skinny

The walls are really getting close now!  The trail (canyon floor) keeps getting narrower and narrower.  I now can truly understand why people need to be very cautious when walking thru canyons like these during the monsoon season, when afternoon brief rainstorms can pop up at almost any time.  If there were a sudden downpour, the rain run-off could happen very quickly and totally flood this canyon.  It wouldn’t last long, and the rainwater would run off very quickly, but if one were unfortunate enough to be caught in the canyon at the moment the flood waters came thru, they could certainly drown.  However, no chance of rain on this day!

Walking in the Slot

Now I’m feeling that I’m truly walking in a slot canyon, and it’s this part that I love to be in and photograph!  During points along here, I was actually bracing myself on both canyon walls in order to keep my balance on the slanted terrain of the floor!

Walk Along the Wall

Ah, the trail opens up here for a bit, and we again are sharing the floor of the canyon with the trees.  Who knows what’s just around the bend?

End of My Trail

What was around the bend was the end of my hiking this trail!  Those rocks would require a bit of climbing to get over and I figured it was at this point that the climb really started and it would get rougher and rougher.  So, reluctantly, Jeff & I turned back toward the trailhead and our car.

Finding Our Way Out

 Isn’t it funny how the way back can often look so different from the way it looked when you passed it going in the opposite direction?  Thank goodness for us, there’s only one way in or out, so we knew we couldn’t get lost!

Enjoy!