Started off our week in Zion with run thru Keyhole.
We were afraid that the rain would keep us out of the canyon.
We got to the Zion NP BC desk at the visitors center around 7:00am
Monday morning July 21 only to find that they were not issuing any
permits until 9:00am because the big rain Sunday night and the
chance of rain that morning.
The BC ranger told us once the clouds burn off and once the narrows
flow drops below 140 cfs that he would issue our Monday Keyhole and
our Tuesday Mystery permits.
The North Virgin that morning was very murcky and carried a large
amount of small pieces of burned wood downstream.
By 9:45am the skies were clear and the Virgin
was down to 120 CFS and we had our permits.
It was hot by the time we got to the trailhead of Keyhole. As we
unloaded our vehicle and strapped on our packs for the 1/4 mile hike
up the road, a Park enforcement officer and his partner pulled up
behind us.
After showing them our permit and answering their questions
they bid us well and we were off.
The hike up the ridge to the drop in point is short so the heat
didn't have time to make things uncomfortable.
Keyhole was full of water with all the rain and there was
a pretty good flow thru the canyon. The water was
nice and cold and we took our time to enjoy the coolness. Keyhole
lives up to the hype. It is short and really sweet.
It was a perfect warmup canyon to start our week of Zion.