All but one of the following Red Wall Canyon photographs were taken from our November 2014 hike. Here we have parked just before mile marker 19 on Scotty's Castle Road and are looking up at the long fan:
Early going, the fan is a bit rough to walk on with wash crossings and lots of rocks:
We climbed up onto this long shelf or flat hillside above the wash which would make the hiking much easier:
For nearly half of the hike up, we had nice terrain just like this to walk on:
Eventually, the flat hillside came to an end and we were deposited back into the wash:
Looking back, we had nice views of West Side Trail stretching across toward the Niter Beds:
This is a picture of me from my March 2009 solo hike of Red Wall Canyon, taken as I got close to the canyon mouth:
Arriving at the canyon mouth on our November 2014 trip:
First view into Red Wall Canyon after turning the corner at the entrance:
The first thing we noticed was this polished red dry fall high up the left side canyon wall:
A giant boulder has rolled into the wash in the early canyon:
As you can see here, the walls of Red Wall Canyon are colorful and spectacular. That's why this hike is worth the effort even for a short visit to the lower 1st Narrows:
Fresh rockfall where a small section of red rock has broken off and fallen into the wash:
The morning shadows made this triangular peak in the distance really stand out:
Very few canyons have such impressive towering walls to them right from the start like Red Wall and nearby Fall and Titus:
Morning shadows once again creating incredibly beautiful pictures in lower Red Wall:
A close-up picture showing one small example of where Red Wall Canyon got its name:
Charlie hiking up and around the bend as we were now well past the turnoff for the bypass:
The high walls slowly begin the process of coming closer together:
There really are so many interesting features and formations to look at in the lower canyon:
A beautiful wall of red with a landslide of fallen rocks which have broken off over the years:
Looking along the same red wall but in the opposite direction up canyon:
The 1st Narrows start just ahead where the two high walls come very close together:
Small jagged peaks high above lower Red Wall Canyon:
The 1st Narrows are the true highlight of Red Wall Canyon. We have now entered the lower portion of those narrows:
Two pictures showing colorful rock walls in the lower 1st Narrows:
This really is a neat area to walk through as you are looking all around in amazement at the beauty on display:
Looking back down canyon from the top of a small dry fall that was easy to climb:
The fun ends here for most people. This is the 25-foot chockstone major dry fall which rudely interrupts a hike through the 1st Narrows:
A closer look at the 1st major dry fall. As you can see, it is one of the most beautiful dry falls in the park. At the same time, it is a very formidable obstacle:
An alternate portrait view of the chockstone dry fall. You can see one of the frayed ropes hanging down if you look closely. Getting to that rope and using it (not recommended anyway) requires an exposed climb:
Climbers have to go up this slippery rock with very few holds and then maneuver themselves around the giant boulder. No easy task, even for climbers. For regular hikers, forget about it:
One last picture of Steve with the dry fall before we turned around and headed back down canyon:
Our hike was not yet over, though. This picture shows the beginning of the Talus Jack Bypass. I had taken this picture earlier while hiking up canyon:
40 minutes later, we were now back at the bypass and reflected sun had brightened the route:
The first portion is easy and then gradually more and more boulders have to be climbed:
Looking back down after getting up the first portion of the bypass:
The route continues up through a continuous boulder field. Most of these boulders are fairly secure but caution is definitely in order because you never know when you might find a loose boulder:
In this picture, you can see that Charlie and I are hiking up opposite sides of the gully. This shows that there is not just one correct way up the lower part of the bypass. We did this mainly so that we could minimize the potential of one hiker dislodging boulders which would roll onto the other hiker:
I actually enjoyed taking the bypass for the most part. It was fun climbing up these boulder slopes even though it was somewhat challenging:
We reached the mid-point of the uphill portion of the bypass and got close to the critical junction. At this spot, you need to begin angling toward the right. If you head to the left, you will get cliffed out:
Looking down from the junction. We have really started gaining some height above the canyon floor:
As you can see here, we have turned to the right at the critical junction and I'm following Charlie who is up ahead:
From this spot, it's simply a matter of using common sense and heading to the low saddle on the right:
At the top of the bypass, looking back down the route we climbed up. We had gained about 500 feet in elevation:
Looking down the other side of the bypass. It is a much steeper slope. In order to get into the small gully, it is best to head to the right first (out of view) to allow for a more gradual descent. Again, common sense is in order:
The route down this side is much steeper and requires a slower pace with due caution:
Unfortunately, the sun was in the worst possible position for photographing our descent. If you look closely, you can see the Red Wall wash far below and the steep terrain we were heading down:
Another picture which is hard to see but you can make out more of the steep terrain in the bottom half:
Eventually, we reached a small rock shelf that overlooked the upper end portion of the 1st Narrows:
This is the view to the right from the rock shelf showing the final descent into the canyon:
The far right side of the shelf contains these large boulders:
We climbed down the shelf of boulders and then dropped down this chute in order to finish the bypass:
Looking back up the final descent of the bypass. At the top middle you can see the solid rock shelf which overlooks the narrows. At the top left you can see the shelf of boulders with the chute we climbed down directly below it:
This zoomed in view shows a clearer view of what the solid rock shelf and shelf of boulders looks like. The boulders appear to be secure for the moment but caution is necessary when climbing down this area. If one boulder broke loose, they could all come down like giant bowling balls:
Now that we were back in the main canyon, we headed back down into the upper 1st Narrows to see what we had missed:
As this picture of Charlie reveals, the 1st Narrows have extremely high walls:
Looking out the upper portion of the walls high above the canyon floor:
The section of Red Wall Canyon in between the 1st major dry fall and the end of the 1st Narrows contains some of my favorite narrows in the park:
Charlie shown once again for scale to highlight the massive walls and tight narrows all the way up:
Very pretty curves on both sides of the canyon walls:
The landscape view of this same spot reveals a polished chute which curves up the canyon wall:
The narrows almost have a chaotic look to them with so many designs and interesting things to look at:
More of the red streaks and patterns on the canyon wall appeared in the middle of the 1st Narrows:
A close-up showcasing some of the red patterns which impressed us:
The walls continued to be very close together as we kept progressing down the narrows:
View looking down the final portion of the upper 1st Narrows:
Here we have arrived at the top of the 1st dry fall. Looking at the time stamps on my pictures, we were standing below here 1 hour and 20 minutes ago:
We couldn't stop admiring the beautiful walls high above us in the 1st Narrows. Imagine how much more visitation Red Wall Canyon would get if the 1st major dry fall didn't exist:
We soon had hiked back up and out of the 1st Narrows and the first thing we saw was this wall of natural squiggly lines:
There are so many irregular curves and twists to the lines on this wall and the nearby rocks:
There is a short open area in between the 1st and 2nd Narrows:
Rather than polished walls, the hillsides now contained small jagged peaks and formations:
Now entering the 2nd Narrows of Red Wall Canyon:
This shot reminds me a little bit of the same grand scenery which is found in both Fall and Titus:
There were quite a few pretty bends in the 2nd Narrows:
The famous slickenside of Red Wall Canyon is found within the 2nd Narrows:
A picture of Steve standing at the base of the slickenside:
A full view of the slickenside which dominates the right side canyon wall:
It looks even more impressive when you stand close to it and look up:
Here is an extreme angle looking straight up while standing directly underneath it. This gives yet another perspective:
After a short break at the slickenside, we continued up into the 2nd Narrows as the walls got tighter:
The many bends always reveal something surprising and beautiful around each corner:
The 2nd Narrows may not have the smooth polished walls of the 1st Narrows, but there is a unique beauty here:
You can imagine what it would be like for water to flow down the canyon during rainstorms or a flash flood and sweep directly underneath this low overhang:
Portions of the 2nd Narrows had considerable height to the walls:
This is one of the tightest passages to walk through in the 2nd Narrows:
Another picture showcasing the epic scale on display here:
Approaching the 2nd major dry fall of Red Wall Canyon:
The 2nd major dry fall is extremely beautiful with the colors and curved shape of the chute:
This dry fall was not too difficult to climb. It was more of a fun experience rather than a challenge, at least for us:
Looking back down from the top of the 2nd major dry fall:
The 2nd Narrows continue above the dry fall with some more nice sections of canyon:
Notice this long gravel shelf which sits quite high above the wash:
The walls of the narrows were so interesting that they were constantly demanding our attention and photographs:
The canyon wall hangs way out over the wash at this spot:
This long flat slab of rock was connected to the canyon wall:
There were veins of various rock types mixed in with the solid canyon wall:
The quick turns in the canyon seemed to never stop coming in the 2nd Narrows:
Panoramic of a dramatic bend in the 2nd Narrows of Red Wall Canyon:
A flock of Pinyon Jays flying overhead above Red Wall Canyon. Who says canyon hiking in the desert is a lonely endeavor?:
A beautiful polished chute in the middle of the wash:
My pictures through this area have hopefully shown that the 2nd Narrows are quite impressive and a must-see if you can find your way above the 1st major dry fall:
The 2nd Narrows came to an end and we entered into an open area with lots of sky:
This incredible formation stands at the gateway into the 3rd Narrows:
First view into the 3rd Narrows reveals shallower canyon walls:
Note the deep cave within the right side canyon wall:
The 3rd Narrows begin tightening up quite a bit:
Two impressive bends in the narrows can be seen here with very little space to walk through:
All three sets of narrows that we visited were quite different from each other and unique. All were impressive:
The walls do gain considerable height in some areas:
A rock arch can be spotted along the canyon rim:
Admiring the blue sky and white clouds high above Red Wall Canyon:
An incredible view of 7,958 foot Mount Palmer comes into view:
Upper Red Wall Canyon provides perhaps the best view anywhere of Mount Palmer's face. The summit is directly in the top center of the picture:
One final look at the light red canyon walls before exiting the 3rd Narrows:
Red Wall Canyon becomes very wide open after the 3rd Narrows:
The 4th Narrows cut a path into a deep gorge about one mile from this spot. But this is where our hike through Red Wall Canyon finished, about 6 miles from the parking area with over 3,000 feet of elevation gained (plus an extra 500 for the bypass):
One final view of Upper Red Wall Canyon and the Palmer ridgeline. If you want to know what we did next, check out our report for Upper Little Arches Canyon:
