Hades Knoll Canyon 3BV, Grand Canyon National Park

Hades Knoll is a promontory 30 miles east of Toroweap in a remote and unforgiving section of the northern Grand Canyon — home to the longest narrow slot canyon in the Grand Canyon. A 10-mile approach just to reach the canyon head. The hiking from the trailhead is prairie-like sage and juniper until reaching the esplanade, where terrain shifts to desert with prickly pear cactus at every corner. Bring at least 4 liters of water — I almost ran out.

After about 6 hours of hiking we made it to the canyon head and welcomed the shade and cooler air. The upper section had vegetation and minor downclimbs — canyon walls narrowed then opened into large canyon gorge passage. Two mandatory raps up to 40ft. Walls varnished with corrosion residue and blind karst windows in the faults. Conglomerate stone matrixing within the redwall at the bottom of the first drop.

We got 11 hours to the confluence after leaving the trailhead at 7:15am. Camp was on slab rock with kitchen and sleeping areas. Justin got stung multiple times by a bark scorpion at camp — he was in serious pain, dry heaving, and had blurry vision. We headed out the next day for his safety rather than continuing to the river. Hades Knoll is the longest narrow slot canyon in the Grand Canyon and worth every step — just be prepared with water, early start, and no bare feet at night.