•	Features
•	Hotline

< Sept/Oct 2005
	Hotline
Got Slot? Wet winter restores classic Southwest narrows

Nature usually makes the Southwest a favorite of retirees and golf-course developers—and a source of frustration for paddlers. The region’s majestic slot canyons promise unparalleled paddling and, most years, just enough water to moisten a two-cent stamp.

Last winter the familiar weather pattern went topsy-turvy: In February Arizona’s Valley of the Sun recorded more than twice as much rain as Seattle, and throughout the spring long-parched desert boaters refreshed faded memories of classic slot canyons, some of which hadn’t run in a decade.

Utah’s Escalante River averages just 15 cfs in May; this year the slickrock classic surged to 500. Those who tackled the 71-mile waterway benefited from an unusual confluence: rains kept the river high, while the drought had lowered Lake Powell, allowing paddlers to continue to the lake. “It was great, but you had to beware of calving mud walls left over from years of sediment,” says Colorado’s Alan Keefe, whose party paddled out to a waiting houseboat after eight days on the river.

Others caught Chinle Creek, best known as the desert wash passing through Canyon De Chelly. In a wetter epoch, this creek nourished a thriving agricultural society; before this spring it hadn’t been boated in 10 years. The creek crested at 200 cfs—enough to offer 45 miles of blooming desert boating.

Slot-seekers also scored rare rides through Arizona’s East Clear and Utah’s Muddy creeks, whose sun-blocking Chute is so narrow that a Dancer turned sideways would pin between the walls. Another reawakened classic was Utah’s San Rafael River, which reached 2,000 cfs and gave rise to a Class III-V sheer-walled gorge called the Black Box. The Little Colorado also ran this spring, drawing slot seekers from accross the West. But because it ends in Grand Canyon National Park, the run requires either a rare canyon permit or an epic hike out from the confluence. “I’d never do that hike again,” says Durango’s Jared Johnson, who made the long slog with boat in tow. —Tyler Williams