First Slot Canyon: Kanarra Falls

I got my feet wet with my first slot canyon adventure, both literally and physically! This Kanarra Falls hike may have convinced me that slot canyons are my new favorite thing to explore. They only allow 150 hikers per day so you have to get permits prior to arriving and schedule this trip in advance. Kanarraville is a little less than two hours away and the hike only takes about 2-3 hours to complete so we planned to do this after work one day before sunset (about 7pm MT). 

The old access road leads you to the creek for about a mile, then you begin walking through the water and the canyon before you discover the first waterfall. The only way forward is to climb a makeshift log ladder. This was the most stable ladder of the three in the river.

Throughout the canyon, we would come to openings where the slot canyon would break. The red rocks alongside the yellow, red, and green leaves gave a whole new perspective on fall. As a New Englander, I appreciate the beauty that changing seasons brings but the canyon brought my appreciation to a whole new level and solidified the fact that fall is my favorite season. 

 

As we continued through the canyon, our feet grew numb and we took advantage of any rock that rose above the surface of the water to try and get some feeling back. We approached another log "ladder" to get over the second waterfall. It was slimy, slippery, and barely had any remanence of limbs which were supposed to be foot holdings. We made it past that hurdle and continued onward to find a family taking advantage of the natural water slide carved into the rock by the constant rush of water downstream. We were already numb and opted for warmth over that adventure after watching their kids shivering. 

Afterwards, we reached a 3rd ladder that was an actual aluminum ladder but were told not to attempt it by the staff due to all the injuries from us adrenaline junkies. There's very little hike left past that part and the waterfall ran straight over the steps so we couldn't avoid getting soaked. After seeing how drenched two fellow hikers were, we turned around and called it a day. 

This may have been my first slot canyon, but it definitely won't be my last. Later in the week we head to Buckskin Gulch, the longest slot canyon in the world! Life off leash is pretty spectacular.