I face a semi-circle of cliffs again. They drop from several hundred feet above me and end in a soupy pool of sweet water and clinging moss. Cottonwood Wash. So I follow my boot prints back to the main canyon and try another lead.
Smaller canyons lead off to the north and south, but the main passage slinks on west.
At a turn in the canyon the walls suddenly narrow until I can touch each side with my arms outstretched. With another turn, I can touch the sides with my elbows. Ahead there is a diamond-shaped chokestone lodged in the rock above. I have to climb up one boulder, then on my side squeeze beneath the chokestone. I emerge covered with ancient dust.