The Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow: This is the slot that starts between elevations 5165 and 5168 and runs southwest (King Mesa map). The first section of the canyon starts at the saddle. The real slot begins at a small (two foot) natural bridge. There is moderate climbing, tight narrows, and a pothole or two to swim. The slot opens and there is easy access to the rim. No ropes needed. Climbing to 5.4. Time 1.0 hour.

The second section of slot starts with a 75′ rappel from a tree on the left (LDC) rim. The rap ends just below a large (10′) natural bridge. We left the rope hanging and retrieved it later. Below, there were long stretches of tight narrows, moderate climbing (to 5.6) and some exposure. There were a couple of short swims and wades. Except for the first rap, ropes were not needed. There was exposure up to 40′. Time 2.0 hours.

The last section of narrows is the single hardest and most dangerous slot I have done or have heard about. [It certainly seemed hard at the time, though in ensuing years, we found harder.] After an initial, short section of wonderfully convoluted canyon, things heated up. The canyon is not deep—about 150′ on average. For ten hard, long, dangerous hours we were never near the canyon floor. Most of the time we chimneyed and stemmed from 40 to 60 feet up, and at times we were close to 100 feet off the deck. There were few resting points. Out biggest problem was in hauling four ropes through, not knowing what we would actually be needed. For most of this ten hours, a fall would have been at best injurious, at worst deadly. This was certainly as committing as any rock climb I have done in the last 25 years. At one point we had to chimney down a moss–slickened wall for 75′, traverse 20′, then climb up the downcanyon end of the slippery wall for 75′. We called this area the Green Room. It was certainly one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen [in a slot canyon].

After ten hours the slot widened into a canyon. A short rappel (20′) provided access. We left a sling tied to a small bridge here, the only pro we left. Only rock climbers will ever see it. [Below this short rap was an Ancestral Puebloan structure in a very unlikely location at the bottom of the canyon. At this point we thought the canyon was done. See note below.]

At this point we thought the canyon was done. After a short stroll downcanyon, we found this was not true. Again the canyon narrowed and there were several mandatory swims across very large potholes, one of which contained a natural bridge. At the rim of Sleepy Hollow we looked for a way out via a steep slab to the right, but with wet boots we were unable to ascend the slab. We rapped into Sleepy Hollow (110′) over a twin–tiered fall. The rope was anchored to a small arch. Total time for this section was 13 hours. We returned the next day and yanked the anchor sling from the last rappel. We were then able to climb the steep slab with dry boots (5.9, 150′). Though we looked carefully, we were unable to find an obvious Anasazi route into the canyon, though one rubble heap against a wall may have been higher a thousand years ago.

The Long Branch should only be attempted by those who have done Brimstone integral as a warm–up. Brimstone, though, is pale in comparison. Once you start into the canyon, it would be exceptionally difficult to climb back up, especially after the Green Room. In climbing terms, I would rate this canyon 4, 5.9, X. The X means there is no protection possible and that a fall in many places would be fatal. Rescues in this slot, if someone should actually hit bottom, would be impossible. Both my companion on this trip, Rob Roseen, and I have extensive canyoneering and rock climbing experience. We both agree the Long Branch was ‘way hard’. Gear needed: two 165′ ropes and 20′ of sling.


S.
1992

[Writing in 2024: Wow have things changed in canyoneering since the early 1990s when we did this. There were NO cell phones, no GPS, no specialized canyoneering gear, and little possibility of a rescue back in those days. Nowadays canyons like this (what we called Mae Westers) are now pretty routine; not so back then. And, Tom Jones and others hadn’t developed the canyon rating system; we were just using rock climbing terms. And, as a side note, we were never trying to do things in a day, which is now de rigueur. We’d backpack in a lot of gear and spend a week or more just doing canyon after canyon. I remember John Corbin doing this canyon in a half a day. Yikes! ]



Tales of Long Branch & PINTAC:
  The Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow (1992) • Steve Allen
  PINTAC in 1996 Letter • Steve Allen
  PINTAC in 1997 Letter • Steve Allen
  PINTAC • Nat Smale
  Long Branch • Nat Smale
  A Hardest Day & a Favorite Canyon • Jason Kaplan

© 1990–2024 Steve Allen