If I Were Going...: Back Again, with Some New Stops; Antelope Canyon X

The many colors of Antelope Canyon X

On the spur of the moment, Scott decided he wanted to try to visit Antelope Canyon in northern Arizona. I looked online and couldn't find an appropriate tour, but the first place we drove by turned out to have a slot. I didn't realize that there were multiple tour operators, so I gave up after finding the first photographers' tour full. Oooops.

A photographers' tour was critical; regular tours are crowded and, according to what I have read, you don't really get a chance to get good photos. The photo tour has less people in the group (we had four plus our guide) and you are allowed to take camera bags and tripods, which are not allowed otherwise.

Photographing a beam with our guide, Eugene, helping by tossing sand

There were a few times during our tour that we intercepted another, much larger, tour and had to wait until all the selfies were complete and the group moved on. I can see how photography would be tough with one of these large groups, especially with everyone holding their cell phones – or, even worse, iPads – out at arm's length.

Because the slot canyons are twisty, I had plenty of time with no one in sight. You just have to call out before you round a corner so you don’t mess up another person’s shot.

Beauty around every corner

We toured with a group called Antelope Canyon X by Taadidiin Tours, a relatively new group that tours Canyon X and another, even less visited, area called Cardiac Canyon, both sub-canyons as are the more famous Upper and Lower Canyons. That one is called Cardiac because you enter via a short but steep side canyon almost entirely filled with a giant sand slide and, once in, you must do some "scrambling and contorting, as well as chimneying up to ledges."

Of course, we didn't go there.

We went to Canyon X, which is toured exclusively by Taadidiin. These are not the parts of Antelope Canyon you usually see photos of.

Unlike many of the tour groups, Taadidiin has made improvements, including creating a road right to the opening of Canyon X, thus reducing the amount of walking during the tour.

The weather was lovely the day we went, but I can see where this would be great mid-summer when temperatures top 100 degrees.

Our guide, Eugene, was Navajo and he explained that his company's name, Taadidiin, means "corn pollen," which is sacred in his culture and is used for blessings.

The outside of the slot is pretty, too

It is important to note that, even if you walk up or call direct, Taadidiin requires that you make the reservations online.

And, once booked, I had to let Caty and Becca know I was going because I promised I would do Antelope Canyon with them. And, I will – maybe even one of the other sub-canyons.

But, before I go too far, what is Antelope Canyon?

Light at the end of a tunnel

The canyon stretches SE from Lake Powell

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon that stretches from Glen Canyon in Utah into the Navajo Nation east of Page in northeastern Arizona.

The more well-known parts are Upper Antelope Canyon or "The Crack;" and Lower Antelope Canyon or "The Corkscrew," but they are just two of many, many side canyons.

All the canyons are accessible ONLY by guided tour and all the tours are conducted by or through agreement with the Navajo Nation. Every guide I saw was Navajo.

Antelope Canyon has been accessible by tour only since 1997, when the Navajo Tribe made it a Navajo Tribal Park.

The beginning of Antelope Canyon is under Lake Powell; you will remember that we toured it via boat while staying at the Lake Powell Resort.

Antelope Canyon in Glen Canyon

Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways erode away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges to form characteristic "flowing" shapes in the rock.

In a storm, this could be a waterfall

Antelope Canyon, which is known by the Navajo as “the place where water runs through rocks,” has walls that rise as high as 120 feet above its bed.

Flooding still occurs; a flood in 2006 lasted 36 hours and closed Lower Antelope Canyon for five months.

If rain is possible, tours maybe cancelled for the safety of the participants.

Rain does not even have to fall on or near the Antelope Canyon slots for flash floods to whip through. Rain falling dozens of miles away upstream can funnel in with little warning. The flat, short canyons, like Antelope X, could probably be escaped. The longer and deeper ones with ladders are more difficult.

Flood waters in 2013; Photo: from video by David Rankin

On August 12, 1997, eleven tourists, including seven from France, one from the United Kingdom, one from Sweden and two from the United States, were killed in Lower Antelope Canyon by a flash flood. Very little rain fell at the site that day, but an earlier thunderstorm had dumped a large amount of water into the canyon basin, seven miles upstream. The lone survivor of the flood was tour guide Francisco "Pancho" Quintana, who had prior swift-water training. At the time, the Canyon's ladder system consisted of amateur-built wood ladders that were swept away by the flood. Today, ladder systems have been bolted in place, and deployable nets are installed at the top of the canyon. At the fee booth, a NOAA Weather Radio from the National Weather Service and an alarm horn are stationed.

Is that Casper?

Antelope Canyon sits on Navajo grazing land in an area that the tribe members tended to avoid because of snakes and uneven ground.

It wasn't formally discovered until 1931, when a young Navajo girl who was herding sheep in the area wandered into the canyon.

The English name comes from the Pronghorn that used to frequent the area.

Of course, for many years, Pronghorn were incorrectly referred to as “Antelope.”

Canyon X was great for us because it is level in most places; we just had a tiny bit of climbing at the beginning of the tour. In contrast, Lower Antelope Canyon is a "difficult" hike, even following the installation of five flights of stairs of varying step widths. It is long, narrow in spots and even footing is not always available. Plus, sifting sand, makes the stairs slippery. Our visit was easy breezy, even if the walk out of the canyon was on a steep, sandy grade.

Eugene was a great tour guide – calm, helpful in pointing out good shots and exceedingly patient. Basically, we had all the time in the world on our three-hour tour to get the shots we wanted. The tour started at 10 a.m. MST. This is important because the tours follow the time zone of Page, not of the Navajo Nation. Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time, but the Navajo Nation and nearby Utah do. Many places, including the Lake Powell Resort, solve the confusion by having double clocks in their lobbies.

One of the most fascinating things about these slot canyons is that, while beautiful to the naked eye, they are much more colorful when photographed. Then, the oranges, reds and purples really pop, changing as the light shifts – which it does all day long.

Brilliant colors change all day

I suspect you could sit in one place and take photos for several hours and get a wide variety of results. Eugene explained that there are multiple minerals in the rock and the grooves created by erosion reflect the light differently depending on the angle of the light. It is an interesting phenomenon.

You can see the grooves carved into the soft rock

Then, you can, of course, tweak the photos further when you process your pictures. The biggest challenge is when you have the shadowed parts of the slot bumped up against brilliant sunshine. That does require a little adjustment (at least for someone like me who isn't terribly adept at manual camera settings).

These photos are only lightly "tweaked"

The phenomenon of these popping colors does not occur in ALL slot canyons. When I went to Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks in New Mexico, for example, the dull tan slot remained dull tan in my photos.

Contrast: Kashe Katuwe Tent Rocks slot canyon

So, it’s the specific rocks here that make a difference.

Stains from run-off create interesting designs

Me with all my gear

It is dark in parts of the canyon and a tripod is necessary.

There were even a few places where my camera (an older model) just wouldn’t auto focus because there wasn't enough light. Once there was even a tiny shaft of light, it was fine.

A wide-angle lens is important. The slot canyons are narrow and twisting, but they still have a lot to try to cram in one photo and the photos are much better if they capture the grand sweep and flow of the slots.

As you would expect, in that narrow space, you end up taking a lot more vertical photos than normal. Still, I tried to get horizontal shots because, sometimes, that's what you need. For, say, a calendar page, a note card or a screen saver

I used my 28-300 mm on my full-frame camera; I should have used my 2.8 20 mm for just a little more sweep and better low-light performance. Next time!

But, still I got soooooo many fabulous photos.

Dramatic sweep and flow

And, speaking of light, during the summer (April to August), there is a brief moment every day when a beam of sunlight permeates Canyon X.

Light amps up the drama

When we were there it was at 12:41 p.m. It changes daily and the tour schedule for photographers is based upon it. When the light started to creep in, Eugene tossed handfuls of the fine sand that forms the floor of the Canyon into the beam, illuminating it for photographs.

Billed as the "money shot," this is pretty, but not my favorite

It’s similar to what happens with a fog machine and lasers.

The sand creates interesting effects

There are many warnings about sand getting into cameras. This really wasn’t a problem for us; Eugene was very careful when he tossed the sand and he had a hand-held blower to dust off our cameras after the beam dissipated.