TRIP REPORT PHOTOS
Parking on the Harry Wade Road after driving through a massive sandstorm which almost got my Jeep stuck:
View looking towards the two major canyons I was targeting in the eastern Owlsheads:
As you can see, the mouth of the canyons cannot be seen from far away, so good maps or a GPS are needed:
As I approached the southern canyon, a hillside of rocks became noticeable:
Although I was not yet in the canyon, something caught my attention:
It was this large decomposed granite boulder which had a wind cave on the bottom:
Taking a closer look at the natural forces which have sculpted this boulder:
A picture of myself for a size comparison under the boulder:
The canyon takes shape and curves to the left:
Spotting another rock sculpted by the wind up on the small ridge:
Standing at the wide mouth of the canyon and looking back:
Look around at the various rocks in this picture and notice how the wind has sculpted small caves into them:
Heading up the early part of the canyon which had several side canyon junctions:
The interesting small caves through this area reminded me of the wind caves of Anza-Borrego:
Looking back down the early part of the canyon:
This was about as wide as the canyon would get:
More caves up on the canyon wall. The caves were the defining feature of this canyon:
Typical smooth ground for hiking in the Owlsheads:
Climbing a boulder jam section and looking back:
The canyon narrowed down considerably and stayed that way the rest of the hike:
Spotting a rock nettle plant in bloom, which was surprising for this area:
It was definitely thrilling to be heading up an undocumented canyon knowing that I had already made some interesting discoveries:
Heading in the direction of a large round hillside:
Finally gaining a bit of elevation, now about 1,000 feet higher than where I had parked:
Unusual cliff formations which are slowly collapsing down and becoming sand and dirt:
There were some nice stretches of narrows spread out in the canyon:
The shallow narrows slowly became larger as the walls grew in height:
There were very few obstacles in the wash in Wind Caves Canyon:
Just the occasional boulders which would roll down from the slopes above:
The weeks before and after my hike were in the 100's, but I caught a break in the weather which was around 70F with a nice breeze:
Soon I reached the head of the canyon, which was only 1 1/2 miles from the mouth:
Near the head, I found a group of rocks with strange shapes and designs:
The head opens up into the wide open basin that stretches all the way across to Quartz Canyon:
A panoramic of the wide open area looking towards Quartz Canyon which is 1/2 mile away (click to enlarge):
Another panoramic from up higher which shows how large the open area really is (click to enlarge):
After enjoying the view, I hiked up the crossover route to try to reach the other canyon:
Two pictures of cactus that I found along the way:
At the top of the crossover and looking down the other side:
It wasn't long before I made it down into the other canyon, which would later be named Owlshead Slot Canyon:
I first began heading up the canyon, knowing that there was about 1 mile of exploring that could be done before reaching cliffs at the end of the canyon:
I stopped at this spot where I could see far ahead into the upper canyon:
Heading back down canyon now after the short side trip:
I could already see that this canyon was going to be more interesting than Wind Caves Canyon. Notice the curved high wall ahead:
This canyon is probably the narrowest of all the eastern draining canyons in the range:
While I had seen evidence of mountain lions in the upper canyon, I found evidence of Bighorn sheep and burros in the lower canyon:
But it was mostly the spectacular canyon scenery that amazed me through here:
Looking up at the ever changing hillsides covered with boulders and solid rock:
A narrow path winding between fallen boulders:
An overhanging wall stretching over the canyon floor:
Stunning scenery to walk through in the Owlsheads:
Coming out into a circular area between walls in the midst of the canyon:
Things quickly narrowed down once again with great beauty on display:
At this point, I am really enjoying the exploration and sense of adventure being out here where few hikers have ever been:
The next two pictures show the narrows through the middle canyon:
Approaching another high wall that looked interesting:
A picture of Steve in Owlshead Slot Canyon. This was actually my first major solo hike in over two years in the park:
A nicely shaped rock resting at the foot of the hillside:
Look closely at the intricate design and variety of shapes which can be seen here. This is a great example of the beauty of the Owlsheads:
As always, there are some massive boulders that create a sense of awe:
The main canyon remained fantastic from beginning to end:
More of the unusual hillsides which I had seen earlier:
And more rock nettle growing in this canyon as well:
If you look straight ahead, you can see how the canyon transitions to a long dirt ridgeline. This is usually an indication that the canyon is coming to an end soon:
But not just yet. I looked off to my left and saw what appeared to be a slot canyon:
Sure enough, this was a slot canyon, the longest one that I have ever found in the Owlsheads:
Steve peeking out from behind the rocks to give some perspective as to the size of the slot:
Continuing to hike through the slot and starting to realize that this might be the elusive Owlshead Slot Canyon which I had heard whispers about years ago:
Owlshead Slot comes to a dramatic end at this dry fall. Before leaving, I measured Owlshead Slot and it was about 100 feet long:
Another view of the dry fall. The strange part about finding Owlshead Slot was how I had just been daydreaming about finding it a few minutes before I actually did:
Looking back down the slot towards the exit. The lighting was not ideal at this time of day:
Next, I bypassed to the left of the slot near the entrance. Check out this view of how the slot cuts a path through the decomposing granite:
From above the slot, I was able to get this picture looking down into it by stretching out my camera and not getting too close to the edge:
This view is taken from above the dry fall at the end of Owlshead Slot looking back down the entire length of it:
One more angle which shows how Owlshead Slot connects with the main canyon:
Circling around Owlshead Slot to bypass back down and taking a panoramic of the main canyon (click to enlarge):
One final view of Owlshead Slot before leaving it behind and hiking out:
Passing by dirt hillsides and low ridges on both sides of the canyon:
Balloons are always the biggest sign of human presence in all of the Owlshead canyons:
Wrapping up my final two major canyons in the eastern Owlsheads:
