OAK001
Location: 37.1227416992188, -110.958465576172
Framed by Navajo Mtn.'s vaulted profile to S, begin 1.3-mile aquatic meander through slender corridors of arms-length, 300-foot sheer Navajo Sandstone walls
OAK002
Location: 37.1138343811035, -110.963165283203
Beach where kayak scrapes bedrock to begin hiking 4.6-mile round-trip, which starts with a splash through a shallow streambed chamber lined with eye-level, weeping cracks oozing orange fungus
OAK003
Location: 37.1117858886719, -110.963348388672
Enter a sleek narrow draped in muted-brown slab tapestries and littered with basketball-size river-rock boulders
OAK004
Location: 37.1096000671387, -110.962547302246
Passage widens to sun-bleached domes draped in yellow desert-marigolds, but soon enters a narrow hallway of stone painted in auburn with splashes of vermilion and gold
OAK005
Location: 37.1090316772461, -110.96166229248
Observe gentle dips of erosion sculpting a new slot right in front of your eyes. Scan for stellar scrambling opportunities dotting the side crevices
OAK006
Location: 37.1073379516602, -110.959594726562
Sandy terraces provide routes into dry waterfalls; ahead on R, a small arch juts perpendicular from wall
OAK007
Location: 37.1042861938477, -110.958847045898
Canyon widens, tall slickrock domes dominate foreground
OAK008
Location: 37.1028327941894, -110.957633972168
Arrive at 600-foot amphitheater towering above a sandy bend; make a remote camp under this giant, erosion-sculpted wall; the next morning, trek upcanyon and gawk as daybreak illuminates the terracotta striations
OAK009
Location: 37.1016159057617, -110.956352233887
Slickrock slopes in every direction, offering multiple scrambles to the rim; use caution on these crumbling
OAK010
Location: 37.0983009338379, -110.952331542969
Drop your pack and scurry up flashflood-carved dry falls only to find endless slickrock unfolding every which way
OAK011
Location: 37.0974502563477, -110.950119018555
Stroll through a shady grove of blood-red claret cup cactus, green-limbed Mormon Tea and violet-leafed cave primrose
OAK012
Location: 37.0954666137695, -110.948265075684
Good turnaround spot in an open section of canyon
Towering walls
Location: 37.1093597412109, -110.962448120117
Enter a five-hundred-foot hallway streaked with tapestries of desert varnish. ©Andrew Matranga
Water-carved canyon walls
Location: 37.1090660095215, -110.961952209473
See the forces of nature creating a new overhang. ©Andrew Matranga
Travelling over a boulder field beneath expansive slickrock
Location: 37.1037292480469, -110.958953857422
©Andrew Matranga
Rocky streambed
Location: 37.1128959655762, -110.962493896484
©Andrew Matranga
Oak Canyon Video Clip
Location: 37.1260681152344, -110.918014526367
A montage of shots from Oak Canyon, including an alcove and one of many scrambling opportunities. ©Rich Rudow and Andrew Matranga
Slickrock domes and desert wildflowers
Location: 37.1098785400391, -110.962944030762
As the canyon winds, stands of wildflowers line the streambed. ©Andrew Matranga
The narrows of the waterway
Location: 37.1162986755371, -110.96573638916
©Dale Diulus
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