TRIP REPORT PHOTOS
Our hike started out at the end of Red Wall Canyon's 3rd Narrows. On the lower right, you can see exit rock and at the upper left, you can see crossover rock:
Exit rock was identified to tell us where to exit Red Wall Canyon and begin hiking up to the ridge on the right side:
After attaining the first small ridge, we began walking along it and overlooking Upper Red Wall Canyon:
This was the incredible view we had looking into Upper Red Wall:
Mount Palmer was once again the dominant feature in the landscape. In this view you can see the Palmer summit (center) and the most challenging spot on that hike (left steep incline):
Walking along the ridge and angling toward crossover rock, seen here in the distance:
Looking back down the ridgeline and Red Wall Canyon. You can see here where the 3rd Narrows end and we headed up to the ridge:
As we got closer to crossover rock, we dropped into a small wash:
We then turned off and climbed a steep gully which took us just to the left of crossover rock:
At the top of the gully, we were now at the same elevation as crossover rock:
From here, we could see back down into the depths of Red Wall Canyon and all the way across to the Cottonwoods:
We had to climb a very small additional section and then we had our first view into Upper Little Arches Canyon:
A view looking toward Tucki Moutain with Mesquite Flat and the Panamints also visible:
We decided to take this ridgeline down into Upper Little Arches Canyon. Note the gully on the right side, which I partially used as well:
This view shows the actual head of Little Arches Canyon:
Just below the head of the canyon, we spotted a section of narrows with an unclimbable dry fall:
At this spot on the ridge down, I cut over to the right and took the gully the rest of the way:
Finally back in Little Arches Canyon after a 9-month wait to see the rest of the upper canyon:
Charlie checked out the end portion of the upper canyon and then we both started hiking down the wash:
Right away, we encountered a medium difficulty dry fall:
This view looking back shows you what we had to climb down:
The canyon descended rapidly but we could never see very far ahead:
This view shows the steep terrain on the hillside above the left side of the canyon. As you can see, a bypass just wouldn't work in this area:
There were several short portions of slot narrows in the far reaches of the upper canyon:
Very impressive high narrows in Upper Little Arches Canyon:
Beautiful conglomerate rock walls with a tall rock pinnacle on the right side:
Most of the time, there was not much space between the canyon walls:
Passing through a shallow area of steep hillsides on both sides of the canyon:
Stunning scenery up ahead as Charlie enters another slot:
The canyon walls became quite amazing as they grew in height all around:
Zooming in for a closer look at the canyon walls high above:
From this point on, the canyon narrows were continuously impressive:
The dry fall from a small side canyon gully pours over the canyon wall here:
The canyon continued to have a very steep descent through this area:
Late afternoon sunshine finds its way onto the canyon walls:
A very beautiful stretch of narrows to walk through. Note the contrast of at least three main colors:
We were completely enclosed in these narrows for an extended length of time:
Charlie can be seen in this picture and that should give you a good idea as to the height of these narrows:
A small narrow passage that water flow has carved through the rock of the canyon:
Stunning visuals as we continued hiking through the upper narrows of Upper Little Arches Canyon. Keep in mind that these narrows are not accessible without using multiple bypasses of extreme difficulty:
Another beautiful turn in the narrows with a mixture of light and shadows:
The sky above the high walls added to the beauty:
Take a close look at the texture of the walls on the left side:
This is one huge overhanging wall in the narrows:
We next arrived at the top of the major dry fall. This is the only major obstacle in the upper canyon (although there are several other medium difficulty dry falls which could give some hikers problems):
From the top of the dry fall, we could see into what looked like the best section of narrows yet:
Same view of the narrows but from a spot a little bit lower down:
This was the final climb down of the right side dry fall (what would be the left side if hiked from below). It just didn't feel safe to us because the fall was made of loose conglomerate rock that broke away easily:
We backtracked a ways and finally found a way to get up onto the southeastern hillside. It wasn't easy, though. We are now hiking near the canyon rim:
We crossed this gully and went down to see if it dropped back into the canyon. The gully did, but it was by way of a massive drop-off. So we kept hiking above the canyon:
We finally got onto the main ridge above the canyon and began following that. As you can see, there is no place visible anywhere in the distance which would allow us to get back into the canyon:
Zooming in on an incredible bend in the canyon below:
At least the walking was quite easy for a while along the top:
The views down into the canyon narrows below continued to impress us:
When we looked back and saw these very tight and deep narrows that we had missed, we were in awe but also disappointed:
We were worried that we wouldn't get to see the slot narrows pictured here since daylight was running out and we didn't know what major obstacles were down below us anyway:
At basically the same exact spot where my hike from 9 months ago stopped, we found a way to drop from the rim back down into the canyon:
Because I really didn't want to take a third hike to get all the way back up to this spot, we decided to head up canyon:
Little did I know that this next portion of the hike would turn out to be the trip highlight:
An incredible start to this portion of the unseen canyon as the walls began growing and narrowing down at the same time:
Charlie can once again be seen up ahead looking very small in comparison to the high walls:
Another gorgeous dry fall which spills into the main canyon:
If I had known what I was missing when daylight was fading 9 months ago, I probably wouldn't have turned around. This place was already amazing:
A massive boulder has rolled into the center of the canyon and created a double dry fall:
A closer look at both sides. This was an easy obstacle to get past:
Immense vertical height on both sides at a turn in the canyon:
The narrows were continuously changing with one beautiful spot after another:
Truly majestic narrows as we looked up at the canyon rim:
Even the slightly wider spots were still amazing to behold:
The wider spot didn't last long as the canyon once again narrowed:
The narrows from this spot to the double major dry fall which ends this section of canyon truly are some of the best in the park:
Hiking through the narrows with very limited visibility ahead:
A small section of easy climbing within the narrows:
This spot gave us the feeling of being completely enclosed with such high vertical walls all around:
There would be nowhere to go should a major obstacle present itself:
This area may very well have been a major dry fall at one time which was filled in by a huge rockslide. It's hard to see that in this picture but it sure felt like it while climbing this part:
Above the rockslide area, we entered some true slot narrows:
Looking up the canyon wall at some interesting colors and designs:
Overhanging walls of great beauty in the slot:
We were now hiking into the area which looked so incredible when seen from above:
With views like this, you can see why we were completely overwhelmed by the beauty:
The next two pictures showcase the tremendous height of the walls:
A perfectly formed passage with smooth gravel to walk on:
The few spots in the slot which opened up slightly gave us an even greater appreciation for the scale on display:
Notice how the passage at the bottom right heads straight into a slot between towering walls:
We continued to appreciate and treasure every step we could take with the knowledge that any major obstacle would end our hike:
But the narrows just kept going and going:
The canyon walls were extremely beautiful through this section:
We were very impressed by the form, shapes, and colors of the walls:
And the walls gained an epic height high above the slot:
The walls were made of a mixture of solid rock and conglomerate rock:
Pay particular attention to the variety of colors seen on the walls in the next two pictures:
We finally reached the double major dry fall which had stopped us earlier. We had done it! We had seen the entire upper canyon:
View of the major vertical dry fall on the right side. There would be no way for a hiker to climb this one:
And this is the major dry fall on the left side. It is about 18 feet high and while climbing it might be tempting, the rock holds will break loose and could cause someone serious injury:
Heading back down canyon after successfully completing our goal of seeing Upper Little Arches Canyon in its entirety. Up ahead, we could still enjoy some alternate views of the beautiful slot narrows:
I love this spot with the curved wall on the left side framing another section of wall with red stripes:
These narrows were so impressive that I had trouble choosing sample photos to use to showcase the canyon:
If only we had more time to enjoy this extremely special place of colorful narrows:
Our attention was once again drawn to the colors on the walls:
A picture of Steve taken in Upper Little Arches Canyon:
One more look through the towering slot narrows:
Approaching the rockslide area which we had climbed up earlier:
Looking down the rockslide, you can see how the rocks and dirt have filled in a very steep part which might have been a major dry fall at one time:
