low_delta

After breakfast at the adequate restaurant, I went out to the nearby visitor's center for info, and then headed down Hole-in-the-Rock Road. See previous post for pictures of the first part of the day. I went down into Dry Forks Canyon, and found the entrance to Peek-A-Boo Canyon.

It looked tricky. Not only that, but there was an audience. I decided to walk on down to Spooky Gulch.

The entrance was pretty quiet, except for the wind, and the sand crunching in my teeth.

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I went in and found a passage that curved back and forth among alcoves. There were some backpacks sitting in some of the alcoves, and some people in others. There were a couple groups of people going in or coming out.

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At the end of this passage, the slot turned a corner and got very narrow. I went back and set my pack in an alcove, like the others. There were occasional wide spots where people could pass, but most of the slot was very narrow. The group in front of my had to turn back when they could no longer fit through. The brim of my hat was often touching the walls on both sides.

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And the walls were very rough.

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A particularly tricky spot. Looking back down, from my foot it curves and slopes down to a short drop-off.

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Just past the chockstone on top, there is light. That's where the path went. I think the opening was just big around enough for my chest. I couldn't get through with my camera around my neck, and I didn't want to risk dropping it down between the rocks below, so I turned back.

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I went back to Peek-A-Boo. There was a group going in, so I tagged along with them. Getting up that wall wasn't too bad. You can see the toe-holds carved into it.

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It's trickier once you get up there. Bob, in the lower right, is standing in thigh-deep water, helping a woman (I never got her name) up a slick slope. Her daughter, Lauren, is staying out of the way, and offering assistance when she can. The woman's son Pete pretty much pulled me up there. Most other people seemed to traverse that slope from the right side without having to go in the water, but none of us were able to manage it.

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After that, there were three or four more pools, some of which required wading, though again, not everyone seemed to have this problem.

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Looking back outward, over the pools.

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My new friends. I thought this pic turned out great, except that Pete is half in, half out.

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This was after a particularly narrow and tricky climb.

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Going back down, from the top (as far as I went). You see the slot zig right (into shadow), and then zag left. By that spot, the head of the person ahead of you has dropped out of sight into the slot. Probably about fifteen feet along.

After climbing back down, I wandered up the canyon a little bit, and found Dry Fork Slot. It was wide (up to ten feet, in places), with a smooth gravelly bottom, and straight, high walls.