Help a beginner debrief Egypt 3 turnaround
Hi folks, new to this forum. I'm also new to slot canyoneering, but generally experienced in wilderness travel, including off trail desert travel. Looking for some insight after a recent trip down Egypt 3 in Escalante.
Went down with another new to canyoneering buddy a couple days ago.
We did fine getting in to the canyon and into the first sections and were having a great time. Passed the first wide exit (side canyon coming in from left, looking down canyon), passed the second not as wide exit (on left), and then were in the narrows that have the small pebbles/bits of rock embedded in the sandstone.
At some point in that narrows I just couldn't squeeze through any further. I'm 5-8, 194 lbs, so not skinny but not huge by any means. It felt like my chest was getting compressed, and I was worried that if I forced my way in deeper, I might have a hard time getting out.
So, we bailed, went back up canyon to the wider exit and hiked out.
I was pleased that our first foray ended safely, and we loved what we saw. Of course, I wanted to get to the end of the non-technical section though. We had spoken to two people in the last two days who were my size or bigger who said they had made it through. And two slightly slimmer guys ahead of us made it through. So, if I had had more confidence, could I have forced my way through? Or should I have tried to go up and over the squeeze? (I didn't see a great way to do this at the time).
Hoping that someone with specific experience in Egypt 3 might share how they get through that spot. General guidance on whether it's possible to wedge yourself in to where you can't wedge back out might be useful too, although I suspect it's context specific.
Note that I'm not talking about the technical section at end (rappel off natural bridges, or so I'm told by the guidebook and a couple other folks we ran into).
Many thanks!