Last week, I took a few Boy Scouts to Zion and we had a blast. We had already done a few canyons (Birch, Mistery, Keyhole, Orderville, Pine Creek, Subway) there last year and could not wait to go back.
For adventurous teenagers, I must say that canyoneering, with proper adult supervision and training, is just the best experience ever. They get to practice all the things they learned through Scouting: Hiking, navigation, climbing, rappelling, swimming, all in one day. They were not disappointed.
On Sunday, 4 of us went through Subway via the Russell Gulch rappels, while 6 of us did Das Boot which was a great way to start Subway. Wetsuits were much appreciated. We had some problem finding the right approach following the beta from Bo. We did find the correct drainage indicated in the topo but we quickly run into a cliff that looked to be at least 150 ft. We backed out and carefully down-climbed on slab to the left of the drainage until we reached the bottom. Later on we encountered a 40 ft overhanging rappel (still in that drainage) with a small tree for an anchor. As this was not in the topo, there was a little bit of adrenaline going on. We went down the rappel and within a few hundred yards we were in DAS BOOT. Great canyon, small rappels, fun swims. I looked at the beta from Tom and it appears his map suggest going to the left of the drainage. I'll have to try that next time. Found out the hard way that my camera was not waterproofed.
We had some problems hooking up with the guys that went down Russell Gulch but eventually finished Subway together. Water was warm and wetsuits optional.
Monday: Keyhole for 12 of us in the am. Water smelled like poo in some of the pools. Afternoon some did Pine Creek, while others did some touristy day hikes.
Tuesday: 6 of us went down Birch Hollow, the perfect canyon to get everybody thrilled about rappelling: beautiful fluted rappel with easy set up and well placed anchors. No sketchy/exposed start (like Pine Creek). There was no water flow which was a bit disappointed. Not too long, not too short. Exited through upper Orderville. This year we parked a car at the bottom of the Jeep trail which made a world of a difference (it was about 95F).
Wednesday: Orderville from the top: Long car shuttle, but the canyon is just long, easy and fun, especially when the water is warm. 10 of us went through it.
Thursday: 5 of us did Echo canyon, which was the best of the week I think: Small rappels with nice swims. We one one floating disconnect. This canyon is just beautiful and take 5 hrs or so with the approach.
Friday: We wanted to do Fatman Misery, but after the last few days we felt a bit flat and the weather forecast was saying 107 in the valley. We feared the exit back to Checkboard Mesa under the afternoon sun and decided against it. Since none of us was familiar with Kolob Canyon we drove there and hiked up to the double Arch of Taylor Creek. Nice hike, mostly in the shade. In the afternoon we hiked up to Kanarra Creek which was surprisingly full of people. Pretty canyon with a couple of fun waterfall to climb.
Saturday: On the drive back to San Diego, 6 of us did Yankee Doodle. We thought the first rappel was 170ft per the beta we had. It was "only" 100 ft. We opted for the overhanging rappel as the bottom of the canyon was "occupied" by a large group of 11.
Downclimbs were fun but we opted to rappel a couple for safety reason (it was a Boy Scout trip after all and safety is always a priority).
Great trip. Already planning next year's trip. In the meantime we will enjoy the pictures and videos of our trip.
