June 01, 2012

Shadow and sunlight

Dark recesses of the canyon

In the narrow parts of the canyon, the river touched rock walls on both sides. The smooth dark rock reached into the water like the legs of a dragon. We were walking through a fantasy novel.

I thought briefly about flashfloods. On my raft trip through the Grand Canyon the boatmen taught us that when we hiked through a slot canyon, we should always have an escape route planned. I looked around — and there was simply no place to climb up, especially in awkward dry pants and boots. "If there is a flashflood," I announced to my husband dramatically, "we are going to die."

He shrugged.

I knew eventually we'd have to turn back, but I kept wanting to go farther. Each bend brought a new sight: a springfed waterfall, a huge boulder in the middle of the river, a curving side canyon, or a glimpse of sunlight shining down into the canyon.

Sunlight and shadow

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It both sounds and looks fantastic.

L said...

well, it sure would be an "adventurous" way to die! ;)

Charlie Hohn said...

These canyons are magnificent! And certain times of day and year you can be fairly sure there won't be a flash flood... you just have to know your stuff.

jo(e) said...

Yeah, we did check ahead of time to make sure the risk of a flash flood was pretty low. But still, I couldn't help but think about it ....

I agree that the canyons are magnificent. This was one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever taken.