TRIP REPORT PHOTOS
View from the parking area along Badwater Road of the minor canyon drainages leading to the hillside:
The minor canyon which I entered had shallow walls and stayed mostly narrow:
This was the only interesting spot in the narrow canyon. It is a tight overhanging curve:
Climbing above the left side of the canyon onto the ridge and looking back. I've already gained some decent elevation:
The minor canyon continued below me but I chose to stay above it on the ridgeline:
A very nice view looking up the main Sidewinder Canyon with Slot #2 forking off to the right:
The initial ascent takes considerable effort, involving a 1 1/2 mile climb up while gaining 1,000 feet in elevation:
Looking down at the minor very steep drainage which forks off to the southwest near the entrance of Slot #1. I spent some time scouting out this fork and it is basically inaccessible to hikers:
Looking over at the upper portion of Slot #1 from the ridge above it:
Slot #1 looked to have some incredible towering narrows which had never before been documented. From this spot, I didn't think it was likely that the narrows would go through without major dry falls:
This was the steep gully which I used to try to get into the midpoint of Slot #1:
Near the bottom of the gully, it became too treacherous. So I had to scramble to the south over into other gullies to finish the descent:
Suddenly I found myself plunged directly into the middle of Slot #1 surrounded by narrows:
The narrows were tall and tight with no footprints anywhere in the wash:
Because I was solo hiking, I realized that if somebody got stuck inside these narrows, they probably wouldn't be found for years. That's why I encourage caution when entering these rarely-seen beautiful narrows:
Patterns rising from the wash and uplifting along the canyon walls:
It's amazing that the best narrows of Slot #1 are above the major dry fall and have not been seen by hardly anyone:
There is a great sense of anticipation and wonder when exploring undocumented slot narrows in Death Valley. You never know what will be around the next bend:
Cracks and indentations in the conglomerate rock walls:
Rounding a bend where there was a large bulge in the wall:
Very nice diagonal and vertical angles stretching out of the canyon:
An unusual open area in the midst of the slot:
Looking up at a steep gully which flows down into the slot:
This is a top-to-bottom panoramic showing the entrance to the dark cavern portion of the slot. You can imagine how exciting it was to be one of the few people who have ever entered into these narrows:
A close-up look at the cavern entrance which was a very tight slot:
There was still a bit of sunlight filtering in near the start of the cavern slot:
Soon I had to take out a flashlight and use the beam to light my way:
Looking up at the immense dark cavern above me in the slot:
Picture-taking in the dark cavern became extremely difficult due to the lighting:
While walking down the cavern slot, this unmistakable natural bridge appeared in front of me, connecting the two sides of the canyon:
Two pictures looking up at the central portion of the bridge. There is a giant boulder directly behind the bridge which is not connected to it:
Two pictures of the bridge taken at slightly different angles showing the left side of the bridge and natural skylight high above the cavern:
The next two pictures focus on the middle and right sides of the bridge where it connects to the canyon wall:
Getting a self-portrait at newly discovered Cavern Bridge:
One final picture of the bridge taken from the backside. Cavern Bridge is a challenging subject to photograph:
The dark slot continued past Cavern Bridge with a few easy climb-downs:
The accessible slot ended at the top of this major dry fall. Hikers down below would be able to see the spot where I am now standing, but they would not be able to safely climb up to it without considerable risk:
Heading back up and out of the dark slot. Daylight can finally be seen just ahead:
Back at the dark cavern slot entrance, it was interesting to check out the surrounding area and ponder how the slot had formed centuries or perhaps millenniums ago:
So far, I had only seen the middle and lower narrows of Slot #1. It was time to head into the upper narrows which I had seen earlier from the ridgeline above:
Positively towering formations rising high above the canyon:
It was rare to see any farther ahead in the canyon than what can be seen here:
A close-up of the rocks and boulders forming the conglomerate rock walls:
Notice how the dirt and gravel along the canyon floor has a partially buried a boulder which fell in:
Intriguing strange-looking formations rising high above the canyon:
These two sides to the canyon and distant formation look nearly symmetrical:
A steady uphill climb through the towering narrows but no major obstacles so far:
The walls were constantly changing shape and texture, which kept things interesting:
A steep uphill bend to the left where the right side wall rises up high:
Nothing but canyon narrows and lines visible when looking back:
The narrows continued to be completely enclosed with no escape routes for quite some time. Not the best place to be during a flash flood:
All through this area were the deep narrows which I had spotted from above. It's amazing these were passable:
The canyon walls rose up and towered hundreds of feet above the wash:
There were the occasional medium-sized boulders which were easy to climb over:
These next two pictures should give the full sense of what it is like to be completely enclosed in the upper portions of Slot #1:
Slot canyon chaos with areas of erosion, the appearance of being trapped-in, and strange angles and designs everywhere:
A beautiful curve along the canyon wall:
The climbing continued to be steep with no real challenges:
It's always nice when the narrows continue high up the canyon in nearly-straight lines:
Small alcoves up on the canyon wall created by erosion:
The narrows remained spectacular for a considerable length of time:
This was a minor dry fall which had to be climbed to continue. It may present a challenge to some hikers:
The last fully enclosed section of narrows:
After that, Slot #1 opens up fairly wide and you can see the terrain all around:
Eventually, Slot #1 splits into various forks in the upper portions. I decided to take the left fork as seen here. It started with a slightly challenging climb:
The next two pictures show how the left fork narrows got shallower and shallower:
I soon climbed up onto the ridgeline, glad to be safely above Slot #1:
The main Sidewinder-Mormon Ridge leads to the heads of Slots #2 and 3:
The sunlight was in a bad position, but this is looking down into the upper portions of Slot #2:
I'm thinking there could be another natural bridge in here, but I didn't have time to check out the upper portions of Slot #2 on this hike:
Looking back down the long Sidewinder-Mormon Ridge as it heads down toward the salt flats:
The portion of the ridge which can be hiked was coming to an end just ahead above Slot #3:
Looking down one of the forks of Slot #3. I decided to keep hiking along the ridge and not drop into this fork, but I would explore it later from the bottom:
This picture shows the heads of the various forks of Slot #3:
I chose a path and headed straight down into one of the forks of Slot #3. Shallow narrows awaited:
Once again, I was expecting the narrows to be interrupted by an impassable dry fall. But it never happened:
The narrows were quite tight within this fork:
Upon reaching the main canyon of Slot #3, I first headed farther up canyon:
The narrows were quite beautiful and inviting right away:
Two pictures of the narrows while heading through the upper portions of Slot #3:
Passing through a long, straight corridor-like area in the narrows:
There were some amazing formations and pinnacles on the right side canyon wall:
A colorful drainage flow on the left side canyon wall just past another fork:
This particular fork dead-ended when the narrows became too tight to proceed:
Looking back at the main ridge high above Slot #3:
With that, it was time to head steeply back down canyon to see what scenery awaited:
Up ahead, I wondered if I had spotted a natural bridge formation. But upon turning the bend, it was not:
The canyon wall on the right has a nice curve to it, rather than straight angles:
A very interesting texture to the walls with a contrast of dark and light tan colors:
The narrows were quite high throughout Slot #3:
Two pictures showcasing a shallow wash with quick canyon turns:
This was a fun and challenging obstacle to climb down:
It was getting fairly late in the day for a November hike, so I had to hurry through the rest of the narrows:
I love the patterns and colors on this canyon wall in Slot #3:
The slot seemed to tighten up quite a bit just ahead. This was going to be interesting:
At the same time, the slot began darkening as less light was getting into the canyon:
I was once again immersed in a world of towering slot narrows:
Looking high above the slot, you can see why very little light was reaching the ground:
It got so dark that my camera once again had trouble photographing the beauty on display:
This incredible beauty as seen in Slot #3 has been missed by most past hikers to the area. Although, some hikers have found their way into the upper portions of Slot #3:
A stunning contrast in the slot between light and dark:
My iPhone seemed to take better photographs in this low-light setting than my regular camera:
Looking up at the light high above the slot being partially blocked by a wedged boulder:
This massive boulder has dropped into the slot and gotten stuck:
Check out the size of the wedged boulder behind me:
Trying to get a picture of the entire boulder, which is the size of a small house:
As the footprints in the wash reveal, some other hikers are able to get past the major obstacle in Slot #3:
Quite beautiful scenery near the bottom of Slot #3:
Reaching the double giant boulder obstacle in Slot #3. It was easier to climb up it from the backside:
Standing up on top of the giant boulders for a view of the canyon:
Upon making it past the obstacle, I continued down and out of Slot #3, joined Sidewinder Canyon, and hiked back to the vehicle:
