Zebra Slot

Today we head up Harris Wash in search of Zebra Slot and Tunnel Slot canyons. I guess Egypt 3 took its toll on me, because it was 11:00 by the time I was at the trailhead. The trail starts right on the Hole In The Rock Road, you just need to know which cattle guard to park at.

There was only one car parked there when I arrived, nice. The chances of running into them would be pretty slim out in this vast wilderness.

The hike out to Zebra slot is longer than most of the others I visited, but easy hiking. The wind was a different story! It was pretty much howling the whole way. I figured it was the front end of the weather that was supposedly moving my way.

After about 2.5 miles, I reached Harris Wash proper. A large wide open wash and dry as bone. It is hard to believe that in periods of heavy rain, these big washes can become raging torrents, but the obvious signs are everywhere.

Head down the wash to the right to reach Tunnel Slot and up the wash to the left to head for Zebra Slot. I chose Zebra first as it was supposed to be very beautiful. After entering Harris Wash and heading up-wash, you look for a smaller wash coming in from right and follow it back looking for what would appear to be a slot canyon exiting the rocks on the left. Pretty vague I know, but it was all I had to go on.

Upon entering Harris Wash and heading up-wash, I was hiking directly into the strong wind. Lots of sand was blowing straight at me, forcing me to keep my head down using my wide brimmed Tilley Hat to gaurd from sand in the eyes.

Fighting against this wind I almost missed the smaller wash coming in from the right. It is pretty insignificant and would be easy to miss under any conditions. I was not seeing any footprints, but realized that in this wind they would be covered with new sand in a short amount of time. Only one way to find out if I was on the right track…keep on going and see where it leads.

After about a fifteen minutes in this smaller wash I began to see what looked like a couple of people off in the distance up ahead of me. It was difficult to keep my head up for long, and could be just a mirage as the sand and distance was bending the light. But as I continued on and briefly looked up here and there, I realized that it was indeed two people walking towards me.

When we finally reached each other, we spent a bit of time conversing. Each of us a bit surprised to have run into anybody out here. They were Jim and Sue Caruthers, a very nice older couple from Lakewood, CO with a cute old dog that just laid flat on the ground to rest. Turns out the dog was 13 years old. Amazing! They were no spring chickens either. The gentleman, if I recall was 82 and his wife was near the same! I commented that I meant no disrespect, but that they were very encouraging to me to know that I could still be hiking out here for another 30 years or more if I were to keep active!

They told me that they just came from Zebra but did not go all the way back in due to the confinement and water. They said it was waist deep and cold even through the waders that they had brought. They had turned around at spot where it had got so narrow that they feared to get their feet stuck in the “V” at the bottom of the submerged slot and noted the spot had a log wedged that made it difficult to pass.

Alrighty then…here we go again! We went our own ways with them commenting that I would likely catch up with them over at Tunnel Slot.

About a half hour later I located the crack in the rock that led to Zebra, complete with water right at entrance. The water quickly rose to about waist level and was every bit as cold as the Caruthers had said it would be. A couple of large tumbleweeds floated in the water that needed to pushed to the side in order to pass. I came to the spot that they had described as their turning point. It was difficult, but with a long stretch, I was able to reach the wedged log and climb up out of the water.

This is where things in Zebra really got beautiful. Incredible sculpting and Zebra patterns on the walls. At the end of the slot, there were these alternating columns on the side walls that forced you to snake back and forth to pass. Gorgeous color and patterns!

Reaching the end of the slot, I turned and made my way back out through cold water. And when I emerged out of the water at the entrance, the wind was still howling. Wet from the waist down, I quickly became very chilled in the wind. I kept moving at a quick pace to try and generate body heat.

About the time I made it back to the intersection with Harris Wash, I was mostly dry, but still very chilled. As I continued down the wash it wasn’t long before the Caruthers came popping out from the bushes next to the rock wall on the side of the wash. Good thing too, as I would have surely missed that turn! Sue asked if I had made it to the end of Zebra, and made a comment about how it couldn’t have been too deep for someone of my height. I replied…”ooooh it was deep enough to submerge my testicles in that icy cold water!”, which I believe caught here off guard. They mentioned that Tunnel Slot was very short and the water level was even deeper than Zebra, then proceeded on their way.

From the entrance to Tunnel Slot, another aptly named slot, you could see the light of the exit on the other side. The water was indeed deeper than Zebra, and at halfway through still chilled with the water reaching my abdomen, I turned around.

Now at the point of shivering, I found a spot in the sun out of the wind and warmed up a bit before fighting the wind on the hike back out to the car.

Hiking out, I caught up to the Caruthers once again and had pleasant conversation all the way back to the trailhead. We exchanged our contact information and went our separate ways. On this trip I have met some very interesting people!

Back at camp, out on the Egypt Road, it was 9:00 PM before the wind finally died down. I am going to say goodbye to the Hole In The Rock area and make my way to an undetermined location down the Burr Trail tomorrow…