Submission from Kathy Sharp:
We met Friday afternoon to begin our drive up to Utah. I was real disappointed that the two AG people who were going to go on the trip both backed out shortly before the trip, but we ended up with a real good group anyway.
We had tried to emphasize that this was not going to be a simple hiking trip. We would be swimming through very cold, deep water in a very narrow slot, and climbing in and out of the water and the canyon, including some technical climbing (rated about 5.3).
The Black Hole was my first slot canyon hike, the one that got me addicted to slots in 1987. We did everything wrong on our first trip. We didn't know to double Michael Kelsey's hiking times. We just brought plastic bags to keep our stuff dry during the swims. The route looked real simple, so we didn't bring maps. None of us had real rock-climbing experience. I wore tennis shoes that did not stick to the rock at all. We managed to save the cameras from the water, but that was all. The plastic bags we used were so full of stuff that they stretched, and it was impossible to keep them away from the sandstone, so all of them got holes rubbed into them. We put the cameras in an inflatable cooler; they were all we had that emerged dry from the Black Hole.
For this year's trip, we tried to give the newbies a lot of warning about what to expect for the Black Hole adventure.
Friday night we camped across the road from the Vermillion Cliffs Lodge, and Saturday morning we drove to the little Water Holes Canyon, which crosses 89 about 6 miles south of Page. I had called before the trip to find out about getting a permit. On one trip in May of 1997, there were no signs or anything at the road pull-off. Two weeks later, there was a sign saying a permit was required, but the permit place was closed! This year we were told that if no guide was there, we should go to Antelope Canyon to get a permit. We heard a rumor that the price was $15 or $25, but it turned out to be $8 per person for us. Now that I've seen how neat the west side of the canyon is, I'm going to have to do that every time now. (Before this trip, I had only done the east side.) The new fees probably help pay for the ladders in the west side. Our trip ended when we reached the top of an 80-foot dry waterfall.
After Water Holes, we continued the long drive to our campsite near the Black Hole. The Black Hole is in Lower White Canyon in Utah. We followed the road past Fry Canyon, along White Canyon, and on till we saw a road that crossed to the other side of the canyon (227?). After determining that the water in the bottom of the canyon would not be a problem, we followed that road until we found a nice campsite on the other side of the canyon big enough for our group. (Remember to stay off the cryptogamic soil! We saw tire tracks and footprints through it.)
We got up at 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning because we knew we might have a very long day ahead of us. We were a little worried about the weather, though. Were those clouds on the horizon going to grow and be a problem? Deadly flash floods can happen in a slot canyon if it rains anywhere that drains into the canyon. While we were driving to the trailhead, I managed to get a cell (for my cell phone), so Rogil stopped and I called for the local weather. There was NO rain in the forecast for Sunday. Yippee!
The Black Hole was great. I have such a bad memory that much of the canyon was like brand new. There was definitely more and colder water; I'm glad I bought a wetsuit. We were cold even with our wetsuits. But the Black Hole is fantastic-- so incredibly long and narrow and twisty and all in freezing cold deep water. Why are trips like these so much fun? I can't explain it.
At the end of the Black Hole was where we were probably all our coldest. When I emerged from the ice water, our hikers ahead of me told me to lean against the only sunny patch of rock available for warming up. (The canyon is shaded in the deep, narrow parts.) I had brought a "glop kit" (see the web page) to help keep my feet warm if they got unbearably cold, but they didn't. However, my uncovered hands were so cold that it felt like I was hitting a funny bone when I used them to hold onto rocks.
The rest of the route was easier hiking until we had to hike up the left side of the canyon to get around impassable narrow slots, and then eventually there is a tiny little opening on the left side of the canyon at ground level; this is the exit, and it, too, requires a bit of technical climbing.
I believe we started the hike about 7:30 a.m., reached the Black Hole about 10:30 a.m., reached the exit canyon between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m., and the last of us reached the shuttle vehicles at 2:45 p.m. Considering that on two past trips, the trip unintentionally took two days, we did real well! Rogil has done the "hike" in six hours. Tom and I had easily completed in a day a longer version of the hike on a past trip, too.
We had brought a rope and had with us a teenager (Aki is in real good shape) and two non-climbers (Stacey and Rita), but we never used the rope. Tom, Jef, and Rick provided a lot of help and spotting, though. Afterwards, Jef suggested that we all take a week for slots next year, and if we're anywhere near the Black Hole... well, you know about gravity near black holes.
Sunday night we had dinner at the Fry Canyon Lodge and then went our separate ways. On Monday Rogil, Sam, and I went to Natural Bridges National Monument, quickly viewed the bridges, and then went to hike the South Fork of Mule Canyon. Rogil felt migraine hints coming on, so she decided to take a nap at a nice cool spot early in the hike. Sam and I went on to find a total of five different Indian ruins in the canyon walls. Neato! I took lots of photos. That night we had dinner at the Holiday Inn in Kayenta and then luckily found an open campsite at the Navajo National Monument campground (free! donations welcome). Note that the monument is on Navajo time (daylight savings).
Tuesday morning we took the guided hike (about 4 hours, limited to 25 people) to Betatakin ruin, a huge cliff dwelling. The alcove it's in is impressive enough, let alone the ancient structures still standing, complete with two stories and wooden poles in places. I had forgotten to reload my camera drybag with film, but I got some photos.
Tuesday afternoon we drove back to Phoenix, stopping near Tuba City to see the Dinosaur Tracks. (Sam hadn't ever seen them.)
This was a great trip!
Stacey wrote that she, Rita, Jef, and Rick visited the Valley of the Gods on the way home and that she would definitely do this trip (the Black Hole) again.
Rod said he and Aki (Aki is Rod's daughter) had a "really grand time. The hike was an exceptional experience." Afterwards they went to Moab and camped at the Needles overlook at Canyonlands. They visited Navajo National Monument on their way home, too.