Category: slot canyons

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trekking Samariá Gorge, Crete

The Samariá Gorge is a national park on the island of Crete, and a major tourist attraction of the island.

… the gorge is 16km long, starting at an altitude of 1,250m at the northern entrance, and ending at the shores of the Libyan Sea in Agia Roumeli.

… The most famous part of the gorge is the stretch known as the Iron Gates, where the sides of the gorge close in to a width of only four meters and soar up to a height of 500 m.

The most famous photo op, the “Portes”:

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larger original – flickr – green_lover

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hiking Grand Gulch in Utah

Legendary alpinist Greg Child is a hiker too. Guided 5 days in a raft, 5 days on foot, his trip report posted by Backpacker magazine begins like this:

It’s a sunburned September day in southeast Utah, and I’m following 10 parched hikers through a jumble of burnished boulders and sparsely spaced cottonwood trees on the floor of a sinuous canyon called Grand Gulch. Amber-tinted sunbeams filter into the 700-foot-deep chasm and light up our lanky, long-haired, bird-legged backpacking guide, Vaughn Hadenfeldt. He’s hunting for potable water, but the only pools we’ve found so far are a speckled latte brown. “A flash flood ripped through here two weeks ago,” he tells us, “and these pools still aren’t settled. If we don’t find one that is, we’ll be pickin’ grit out of our teeth all night.” …

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… read the rest of this article

See more gorgeous photos of Grand Gulch posted by Jack Brauer from his 4-day hike of Grand Gulch.

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more photos

We’ve added Grand Gulch to our list of the best hikes in North America.

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wading and trekking Paria Canyon, Utah

My favourite hike in the S.W. USA is Paria Canyon. It straddles the border between Utah and Arizona.

In my trip report, I called it the best canyon walk in the world.

Andrew and Sheila posted some wonderful photos of their March 2008 trip.

… we backpacked the 62km length of the Paria canyon. Although wet and somewhat cold so early in the season (we waded in the river proper for at least half the hike, and encountered 1 freak snowstorm on the second day), the scenery was spectacular and well worth the effort. What’s more, the snow seemed to have scared a good many hikers away, and we saw only 3 others on the trail in the 5 days of hiking!

Brilliant!

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Sheila

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They added the sidetrip to Wrather Arch, one of the world’s largest.

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See the rest of their photos on Pbase

our Paria Canyon information page

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best hikes in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas

Every time I get to Lost Wages, I spend at least one day at Red Rock. It’s only a few miles from the strip to 197,000 acres of beautiful desert wilderness.

While most outdoors folk go for the bouldering, you can quickly access great hiking, as well.

Branch Whitney posted his favourite hikes there:

Easy Hikes

  • Calico Tank
  • Fern Canyon
  • Las Vegas Overlook

    • Moderate Hikes

  • Juniper Peak
  • Boot Boulder
  • Terrace Canyon

    • Advanced Hikes

  • Bridge Mtn via Ice Box Canyon
  • Mt. Wilson via Cleaver Crack
  • Rainbow Peak without the Ledges

    • It’s Prime Time for Red Rock Canyon! – Hiking Las Vegas blog

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    larger original

    That excellent website content is available to members only. But non-members can still read their blog in advance of a trip to Sin City.

    I am hoping to get there in April, myself.

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    Man vs. Wild – Copper Canyon, Mexico

    I’m on the record as boycotting Man vs. Wild, fearing that the TV show will encourage people to do things far more dangerous than those filmed by Bear’s crew.

    But I found myself watching a full episode, lately:

    In Mexico, Bear must find his way out of Copper Canyon, and his only supplies are a water bottle, a flint and a knife. Bear demonstrates how to build a simple compass and climb sheer cliffs safely. For shelter, he uses ancient caves and makes fire with a traditional “fire saw.” Bear also demonstrates techniques for finding scorpions or grubs and fishing without a rod or line.

    Man vs Wild Episodes – Wikipedia

    It’s hard to stay angry at Bear, his boyish enthusiasm is inspiring.

    My real excuse for watching is that I’m planning a very similar adventure, dropping into Copper Canyon from the train tracks and finding my way to Batopilas village.

    (To make up for my sin of watching Man vs. Wild I watched a full episode of a real Survivorman, Les Stroud. Much more impressive in every way.)

    copper-canyon.jpg
    original – flickr

    more of Sam Meztli’s photos photos tagged Copper Canyon – flickr

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    neoprene socks on the trail

    I’ve always been suspicious of “waterproof socks” for hiking:

    Seirus Stormsock Waterproof Sock

    Seirus Stormsock Waterproof Sock

    Crow confirms “they stink”: Waterproof socks: A bad idea

    She likes neoprene socks. As do I.

    It was an accident that started me wearing neoprene, actually. I took normal hiking footwear and water walking shoes on the West Coast Trail. And ended up wearing my speciality water shoes with neoprene booties for the entire hike. They were so bloody comfortable.

    Sure my feet got “wrinkled”. But a quick rinse was enough to remove the sweat. And they dry in seconds.

    Consider this option. One example:

    Body Glove Flipper Slipper Neoprene Sock

    Body Glove Flipper Slipper Neoprene Sock

    I don’t wear neoprene on every hike. But my booties were perfect in Paria Canyon.

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    scramble Shop Creek slot canyon – Arkansas

    Just subscribed to an excellent blog:

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    A Little Closer to Heaven

    One trip was inspired by this photo:

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    … A slot canyon in Arkansas?

    That’s what I thought too until I came across this beautiful picture taken by Tim Ernst a few months back. I had to know where it was and check it out for myself. So I shot Tim Ernst an email asking…and to my surprise…he answered! I immediately called one of my friends up and told him we have to give this place a visit.

    It was an awesome place indeed. It starts as a typical creek bed in the woods and after following the creek about half a mile, narrow canyon walls just appear almost like a doorway. We headed into it amidst the horrible smell of a rotting carcass of some animal who probably fell in (most likely an armadillo, those things are so stupid). What we found was something that belongs in Utah or Arizona. But it’s not…it’s in the middle of the Ozarks. …

    Read the rest of this post and click through some of the others – A Little Closer To Heaven » Amazing Destinations: Shop Creek Slot Canyon. You will be impressed.

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    #2 best hiking region in the world is the …

    South West USA

    Capitol Reef, Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Glen Canyon, White Sands National Monument, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. This part of the world is awesome.

    We hike the SW USA every year and have yet to be disappointed.

    Fascinating, diverse and mind-boggling. The best WOW geological zone we’ve seen anywhere.

    More correct would be to call this region the Four Corners.

    The high desert plateau intersection of the four U.S. states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

    The Grand Canyon of the Colorado Plateau is not the deepest nor largest, but it’s by far the most stunningly beautiful on Earth.

    Most of the best slot canyons and natural stone arches in the world are here. A desert, your views are unobstructed. The light is perfect for photography.

    The best weather is Oct-Nov, Mar-May. Summers are too hot for most hikers.

    Most of the hikes in the Four Corners are short due to lack of water and the real risk of getting lost. People die in this wilderness every year.

    Our favourite hike in the Four Corners region is Paria Canyon on the border of Arizona and Utah. You enjoy many days beneath huge walls in a slot canyon.

    more from our Paria photo set

    if you hike Paria you’ll certainly add on a nearby day hike called The Wave.

    more Wave photos

    More information on on dozens more great adventures on our new SW USA information page.

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    top Western American BLM hikes

    American Hiking Society posted a list of under appreciated hikes. Under appreciated because they are not in “Parks”, but are regulated by the Bureau of Land Management.

    logo_ahs.gifMany BLM lands are unique and wild, offering exceptional views, few people, and a rare opportunity to experience the “wild west” in the same way the pioneers did hundreds of years ago. But, because many of these fantastic landscapes aren’t very well known, it’s hard to find information about exceptional hikes on BLM lands. To encourage people to enjoy and steward trails on BLM lands, American Hiking Society launched a search in summer 2007 for the “Best BLM Hikes” in the west.

    Winning hikes feature midnight sun, knee-deep wildflowers, petroglyphs and the opportunity to experience traditional western lifestyles. Best yet, most of these hikes are part of a new system of BLM lands known as the National Landscape Conservation System – 26 million acres of the best places to experience the history and wild beauty of the west.

    Learn more about American Hiking’s work to protect and promote the Conservation System.

    … some of the hidden treasures of the west.

    Hike: Virgin Peak Hike (Nevada)

    Hike: Continental Divide Trail

    Hike: Cow Creek Wilderness Hike (Montana)

    Hike: Little Blitzen Gorge Hike (Oregon)

    Hike: Fisher Towers Hike (Utah)

    Hike: Lost Coast Trail (California)

    Hike: Kingston Range Wilderness Hike (California)

    Hike: Lovell Canyon, AKA “Anniversary Narrows” (Nevada)

    Hike: Calico Tank Hike (Nevada)

    Hike: White Rock Loop Hike (Nevada)

    Hike: Pinnell Mountain National Recreation Trail (Alaska)

    Hike: Paria Canyon (Arizona, Utah)

    Hike: Mill Creek Canyon Trail (Utah)

    Hike: Main Wash Hike (Nevada)

    American Hiking Society

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    Only those in bold are specifically included on our list of the best hikes in North America. I’ve got some research to do on the others.

    (via Two-Heel Drive)

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    Coyote Gulch

    Bonus BLM hike courtesy of the Gambolin Man:

    Hike: Harris Wash / Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch / Escalante River (Utah)

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    National Geographic Greatest Trips – Paria Canyon

    by Rick McCharles, editor

    I was a minor contributor to a gorgeous new National Geographic coffee table book.

    500 of the World's Greatest Trips

    Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips

    One chapter describes Adventures on Foot. I helped write the Paria Canyon hike description.

    paria.jpg

    My own 2006 trip report was used as a reference.

    Though any experienced hiker will dismiss some of the trips chosen by National Geographic, their list of trekking adventures, overall, is surprisingly good.

    Paria Canyon tops our own list of the best hikes in the Southwest USA. I’m very happy it was included.

    Check my my Paria photos (flickr). Or checkout our hike Paria Canyon information page.