Kitten Canyon (Northwest Fork)

This canyon, just north of Aztec, NM, is short with many beautiful rock features, including small spires, windows, and hoodoos. The canyon gets its nickname "The Litter Box" from scooping the corse granular sand to fill the sand traps. The sandstone is delicate and minimal impact techniques are required to maintain this canyon. The first descent with two expert canyoneers took 1.5 hours. The second descent, with a family of 5, took 4hrs.

The mouth of the canyon is accessed via access roads for natural gas wells. Entering coordinates into Google Maps will not bring you to the mouth of the canyon. From Aztec, NM: Turn onto Ruin Road, which turns into Country Road 2900. Just over 6 miles from Aztec, turn left onto Country Road 2635. Enter coordinates into gps device and look on maps to navigate to the canyon start. After turning onto CR 2635, it should take 25 - 30 minutes to reach the canyon in a vehicle with moderate clearance. The road crosses sandy washes and can be rutted. These roads are not drivable when wet. Thick clay mud makes travel difficult, even for well equipped vehicles.

The canyon begins with an 8ft down climb, then opens up into a sandy wash. All rappels are in close succession. R1: 33ft from sandtrap RDC R2: 30 ft from sand trap R3: 15 ft from sand trap After the last rappel, put technical gear away and make your way down canyon. The canyon briefly narrows before the end.