1-Aug-06 Still more Zion

Still more Zion

Saturday July 29
Today went canyoneering for the first time ever
This feels like the best day of my life

Spry Canyon

Met with Rob, Tom's teammate for the upcoming race in Baja
who took us early this morning on a most phenomenal trip
I had no idea what to expect
Tom told me that we were going to rappell into a canyon and then hike out
what a rappell and what a hike

We entered a wide canyon and hiked up and across some dry slippery slickrock
up over a crest and then dropped down into a slot canyon
a deep narrow cleft in the mountain
carved by years of water rushing through in the short heavy monsoon season rains

Incredible beauty around every turn
Rob told us that there were 13 rappels on this route
WOW
Some of them would be over 100 feet

The first rappel was a steep slope,
with a pool half way down
and another pool at the bottom
I thought to myself,
this is pretty easy
and took the first trip down
It had been a couple years since climbing
and then only on the wall at Arlington

The next series however,
Narrow cracks,
Anchors attached to logs which had jammed in those narrow cracks
Deep unavoidable pools at the bottoms
one of which we had to swim with our packs and harnesses on
And drops down past overhangs where all you had was the rope and your trust in it.
no wall to place your feet on
dangling 75+ feet in the air
What a scary, exciting feeling

At the bottom of one rappel
Tom went first and managed to miss entirely the pool at the bottom
I came down next and went in up to my thighs
Linda was third and asked us how deep it was
we both related our experiences
and she attempted to swing over closer to the exit
stepped down and fell backwards
onto we thought her butt in shallow water
because she was in up to her shoulders
We laughed hard
until she said she couldn't touch the bottom
She was Standing up!
at this point our laughter was almost disabling
as she clambered out onto the sand
Rob finished coming down
and was scouting the next drop
while Tom started pulling the rope down
part way into the task
Rob stopped him and said we might need the rope attached to the upper anchor
to continue down
one end of the rope was already out of reach
in the attempt to retrieve it Tom fell into the same hole
only his was total submersion
in some pretty stagnant water
Linda had the last laugh

I never thought I would have such an amazing opportunity
The entire hike took around 7 hours
I'd do it again in a heartbeat