Topo Guide Antelope Canyon Slots Album Home
I'm a wee bit burned out on Spain, and I still have two days left to add to the journal and one big photo album. None-the-less, this weekend I decided to run up to the Page area to check out Lee's Ferry and the slot canyons, etc. Not knowing exactly what I might run into or how many days I would stay on the road, I feared I might end up "camping out" in the family sedan. I'm still accumulating a proper stash of camping gear, so this gave me the excuse and opportunity to buy a much needed water pump to toss into my pack pack. I returned from the trip with it still in it's box, "roughing it" still means a cheap motel when available, which enabled me to keep my stores of water and Pepsi well stocked.
Although exploring the slot canyons near Page was one of my major goals, I just barely managed to squeeze it in - late in the afternoon of the last day I was to stay in the area. From the trailhead, I ended up riding out to the slot with some young people from Belgium who were visiting a friend from Denver. It was interesting listening to the three couples switch back and forth from their native language to English for the benefit of the friend's American companion.
In the first slot, we pretty much stayed together as a group but after we finished enjoying it's magic and had returned to the entrance, I decided to walk back up the road a short distance to a smaller slot which I had spotted on the way in to the main attraction. The second slot was not as big and it has three levels which were caused by boulders that had wedged into the slot. One boulder was small, resulting in an easy climb up to the second level but the last boulder was bigger and the resulting blockage required a scramble up to the third level, about head high. This slot was not as interesting as the first, so I had turned back and was examining some of the layers exposed in the walls of the slot when the guys from Belgium came sauntering through. Shortly thereafter, the girls followed along trying to catch up with the guys.
Even though they had passed me and rounded several corners, I could hear the girl's dismay when they encountered the big blockage - I was sure the guys had scrambled up the rock and left the girls behind, so I decided to see what I could do to assist the damsels who were clearly distressed. Just as I rounded the last corner, and to the delight of the girls I roared, "what's wrong here, aren't there any gentlemen in the crowd?". One of the girls opined there weren't any gentlemen in Belgium - the guys just stood there at the edge of the third level, giving me a very pained look. I made a hand stirrup and the guy from Denver reached down - together we boosted the girls up to the next level.
You'll note that one of the girls was dressed in a rather short dress - no, it was very short - hardly appropriate for exploring and scrambling over rocks in the wild west. Fear not; I believe we successfully boosted the young lady to the third level without sustaining any damage to her dignity or modesty.
Trekker
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