Top of the canyon was a little brushy...

But then it narrowed up, and we had our first climbing problem. We went high, over the top.

While I would like to leave this report vague out of respect for those who prefer to go with as little beta as possible, allow me to relate one detailed glimpse: I encountered some tight slot sections and one that had me stumped for a while. It dropped and slotted at the same time with the slot at my feet starting at a sharp "V" and slowly widening downcanyon. My first attempt revealed that my pelvis is not as narrow as I thought it was. I retreated from the pelvic wedge and tried to worm my way out farther before dropping - still a wedgie. I didn't like the looks of stemming across, but it now seemed the best choice. Being alone added to my tentativeness. Taking the stem slowly, bit by bit it yielded. At an exit I was joined by Kieth's young son and we continued down. After a drop into a swimmer pool of organic soup, he took the next exit out leaving me alone again. It was nice to know I had support up on the rim, but it still felt odd and unnerving to be in a new canyon by myself. The canyon continued to entertain until I reached, what I call, Mario Slot. On the previous trip I had walked up-canyon from our rap-in location to see what it looked like. Around a single bend I was confronted with a 30 foot wall with a thin, crooked cut down it's face and underneath a bombay into a pool. Peering into the dim crack I wondered if it was passable. Now here I was at the top of this threatening obstacle... I was about to write a detailed description of my experience here, but I've decided against it. I don't want to spoil the fun for those who prefer to go in sans beta. Suffice it to say that my solo descent of this section is in the top 5 of my canyoneering experiences. I joined the rest of the team and we continued down and out the previously explored lower canyon. The final trip, just two weekends ago, was the final exploration of this canyon: the north fork. Tom Jones joined us making the group 4 - a bit skimpy for exploring an unknown canyon, but when has such trivial matters deterred real adventurers! Yes, a bit unwise, but the presence of the Emperor shored up our resolve. The first day was a run through the south fork - everyone seemed to enjoy it.

And more short sections of narrows, dark narrows.

And dark...

A few short swims were sprinkled in, just to keep things interesting.

Here's Brian after a brief splash through a puddle.