Mountaineer
08-20-2012, 07:30 PM
Last week was my first time doing canyons in Zions. We had planned this trip for several months, as it was the only opportunity that my wife could get away from school and work. It exceeded our expectations. 7 days, and 7 canyons. We could have pushed in more, but the long days started to catch up to us...:stud:Rather than a bunch of individual trip reports, I wanted to send out some quick observations.
Overall
Lots of people. Very cool to see crowds wearing 5.10 canyoneer shoes and the neoprene 5mm socks. We were part of "the group"! :cool2: However, I was sad to see how commercialized everything was. I later discovered that most of it was for the Narrows or Subway. Glad people are enjoying it, but the solitude and unique challenges canyoneering presents itself are the biggest parts of the experience. IMO. Continually running into people is a little disheartening. Glad that the North Wash, Roost, Cedar Mesa are still remote to most.
We always got up by 5 am, and caught the first 6 am shuttle. Cool on the approach, and the return avoided the monsoons. We packed ~1 gal of water each, and always returned with plenty. It killed our backs, thus we challenged how much to bring each day. However, we didn't want to risk not having enough water. And at the end of each day, we were back at the backcountry desk getting the next permit.
Everything is well bolted and established. We got this overwhelming feeling of going down "the yellow brick" road each day. Granted, per Tom's advice we started with the easier canyons to get the lay of the land.
Lots of rope grooves in the rocks, and it appears that a lot of it is due to inexperience. I realize some of it can't be avoided. During the week, we only ran into 3 groups in the back country. One at Keyhole (which the group let us pass), one at Mystery, and one at Spry. We stayed right with the Mystery and Spry groups all the way through. The Mystery group was obviously experienced and knew what they were doing. The Spry group had us a little worried. Pulling a 10mm climbing rope (> 200') after each short drop tore up the sandstone with vigor. Snarls in the rope and strange methods were pervasive, so I tried to help and make suggestions without being obnoxious. Hey, I'm still learning also...A fine line.
Which begs an argument on what type of training is needed before private groups go into these canyons. The permit system can be a pain, and asks the right questions, but I wonder how many of these groups truthfully answer them? After this week, it seems proper training could help more with protecting the environment, and safety of the group and other groups passing through.
Behunin
Fantastic. We had lots of questions from everyone hiking up to Angel's landing, wondering if they forgot something as they stared at our heavy packs. Some challenges, and rope work. The last couple of raps get you focused! Watch out for the stinging nettle. This was our #3 favorite for the week.
57958
Pine Creek
Very fun canyon. Loved this one! Full of water. We started down under the bridge, and ~2 minutes after leaving the car had our full wetsuits on. We ran into Rick Rasmussen on the road back from the Ogden Fire Department who said he has done this canyon a number of times, and has never seen it so full of water. Very clear, and no smell. The bouldering walk out is a bit of a pain. Dylan, park ranger, picked us up and took us back through the tunnel. This was #5 on our list, ranked in order of favorites for Zions so far...
57959
Keyhole
Short, and a lot of fun. We ran into tourists going up the canyon, in street clothes through all the swimmers. I was impressed on how far they made it. This is #6.
57960
Englestead/Orderville/Narrows
Very long day. Got the 6:30 Zions Adventure Shuttle, and Daniel had us soon on our way. We ended up using a 300' rope, left it, then came back for it at the end of the day. 6 am to 9 pm before we had the rope and were back at camp. The first and subsequent raps on this one are a ton of fun. We were worried about it, after hearing all the near misses from people. But it turned out to be a lot easier than we expected. Both canyons were phenomenal! Once we got toward the end of Orderville and into the Narrows, we ran into heavy crowds. This part of the trip was our least favorite. However, this is #2 on our list of favorites.
57961
Spry
Our favorite. It even matched the name of our packs! Ha ha. The raps, downclimbs, approach, free hanging 90' rap, the waterfalls in the pool at the return... Speaking of the pool. We hiked up at the end and found a secluded pool on our own with waterfalls coming into it. Wow, what a discovery. Stripped down for the swim, got in, and then 3 college girls came walking through? How did they find it? They said it was the first hit on Google. Ah...I guess all these places are well known. :bath:Took about a dozen cars to get a ride back. Loved this canyon!
57962
Middle Echo
#4, well worth it! Full of water, and we got a bit chilled in a couple of the dark sections. Not very challenging, but unique, deep, and dark. Ready to try lower echo skipping the last rap if we can perhaps throw sections of rope down every few hundred feet from the trail?:lol8:
57963
Mystery
#7, and the rap on slippery moss into the Narrows with an audience is not to be missed. And the rap into the spring was a treat. However, the long approach combined with "death gully" and the hot sandy hike up and over in the middle were distractions. The narrow section of canyon raps were fun. Even though this made it last on our list (sorry Tom, just an opinion), it was a blast and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
57964
Friday night we even caught the premier of Batman at the Zions theater. Good times. Already counting down the days for the next trip.:2thumbs:
Overall
Lots of people. Very cool to see crowds wearing 5.10 canyoneer shoes and the neoprene 5mm socks. We were part of "the group"! :cool2: However, I was sad to see how commercialized everything was. I later discovered that most of it was for the Narrows or Subway. Glad people are enjoying it, but the solitude and unique challenges canyoneering presents itself are the biggest parts of the experience. IMO. Continually running into people is a little disheartening. Glad that the North Wash, Roost, Cedar Mesa are still remote to most.
We always got up by 5 am, and caught the first 6 am shuttle. Cool on the approach, and the return avoided the monsoons. We packed ~1 gal of water each, and always returned with plenty. It killed our backs, thus we challenged how much to bring each day. However, we didn't want to risk not having enough water. And at the end of each day, we were back at the backcountry desk getting the next permit.
Everything is well bolted and established. We got this overwhelming feeling of going down "the yellow brick" road each day. Granted, per Tom's advice we started with the easier canyons to get the lay of the land.
Lots of rope grooves in the rocks, and it appears that a lot of it is due to inexperience. I realize some of it can't be avoided. During the week, we only ran into 3 groups in the back country. One at Keyhole (which the group let us pass), one at Mystery, and one at Spry. We stayed right with the Mystery and Spry groups all the way through. The Mystery group was obviously experienced and knew what they were doing. The Spry group had us a little worried. Pulling a 10mm climbing rope (> 200') after each short drop tore up the sandstone with vigor. Snarls in the rope and strange methods were pervasive, so I tried to help and make suggestions without being obnoxious. Hey, I'm still learning also...A fine line.
Which begs an argument on what type of training is needed before private groups go into these canyons. The permit system can be a pain, and asks the right questions, but I wonder how many of these groups truthfully answer them? After this week, it seems proper training could help more with protecting the environment, and safety of the group and other groups passing through.
Behunin
Fantastic. We had lots of questions from everyone hiking up to Angel's landing, wondering if they forgot something as they stared at our heavy packs. Some challenges, and rope work. The last couple of raps get you focused! Watch out for the stinging nettle. This was our #3 favorite for the week.
57958
Pine Creek
Very fun canyon. Loved this one! Full of water. We started down under the bridge, and ~2 minutes after leaving the car had our full wetsuits on. We ran into Rick Rasmussen on the road back from the Ogden Fire Department who said he has done this canyon a number of times, and has never seen it so full of water. Very clear, and no smell. The bouldering walk out is a bit of a pain. Dylan, park ranger, picked us up and took us back through the tunnel. This was #5 on our list, ranked in order of favorites for Zions so far...
57959
Keyhole
Short, and a lot of fun. We ran into tourists going up the canyon, in street clothes through all the swimmers. I was impressed on how far they made it. This is #6.
57960
Englestead/Orderville/Narrows
Very long day. Got the 6:30 Zions Adventure Shuttle, and Daniel had us soon on our way. We ended up using a 300' rope, left it, then came back for it at the end of the day. 6 am to 9 pm before we had the rope and were back at camp. The first and subsequent raps on this one are a ton of fun. We were worried about it, after hearing all the near misses from people. But it turned out to be a lot easier than we expected. Both canyons were phenomenal! Once we got toward the end of Orderville and into the Narrows, we ran into heavy crowds. This part of the trip was our least favorite. However, this is #2 on our list of favorites.
57961
Spry
Our favorite. It even matched the name of our packs! Ha ha. The raps, downclimbs, approach, free hanging 90' rap, the waterfalls in the pool at the return... Speaking of the pool. We hiked up at the end and found a secluded pool on our own with waterfalls coming into it. Wow, what a discovery. Stripped down for the swim, got in, and then 3 college girls came walking through? How did they find it? They said it was the first hit on Google. Ah...I guess all these places are well known. :bath:Took about a dozen cars to get a ride back. Loved this canyon!
57962
Middle Echo
#4, well worth it! Full of water, and we got a bit chilled in a couple of the dark sections. Not very challenging, but unique, deep, and dark. Ready to try lower echo skipping the last rap if we can perhaps throw sections of rope down every few hundred feet from the trail?:lol8:
57963
Mystery
#7, and the rap on slippery moss into the Narrows with an audience is not to be missed. And the rap into the spring was a treat. However, the long approach combined with "death gully" and the hot sandy hike up and over in the middle were distractions. The narrow section of canyon raps were fun. Even though this made it last on our list (sorry Tom, just an opinion), it was a blast and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
57964
Friday night we even caught the premier of Batman at the Zions theater. Good times. Already counting down the days for the next trip.:2thumbs: