Off the Beaten Path: Canyoneering the Slots

By Tyler Williams

Playing the slots, Arizona-style (Tyler Williams)

Arizona seems to have been made for canyoneering. From the watery gorges of the Mogollon Rim to the narrow chasms of the Colorado Plateau, Arizona has a canyon for every preference. Don't miss the slot canyons of northern Arizona. In this land of slickrock, violent flash-flood torrents have sliced into the sandstone bedrock, creating canyons so narrow that even the light of midday barely illuminates their depths. When a beam of sun does find a way in, the results can be a stunning display of reflected orange light on sensuously sculpted walls. Don't linger in these rooms of carved rock when thunderstorms are near. Flash floods pay little attention to the screams of a trapped canyoneer.

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