Canyoneering Zion's Backcountry

[Iceaxe]

Canyoneering Zion's Backcountry
Des Moines Register
November 22, 2009

By MARLEN KEMMET
Special to the Register

After dozens of forays into national parks across the West and especially in Southern Utah, I've noticed there seems to exist a rule of thirds: For every mile you get off the beaten path, you lose a third of the people. Three miles in, and there are usually just a few adventurous folks up to the challenge.

Initially, my trips into Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Arches, Snow Canyon, Grand Gulch and Canyonlands national parks were on the well-traveled paths of thousands (if not tens of thousands) before me. With the advent of the Internet and my distaste for crowds, the hinterlands became my refuge.

The Web allows me to fully research backcountry trails, download topographical maps, and correspond via e-mail with others with similar tastes. I'm not able to hike these areas on a regular basis, but I can make up for the lack of experience by learning beforehand about the skills and equipment needed for such endeavors.

I've visited Zion National Park in Southern Utah numerous times. My initial trips followed the well-worn paths to Weeping Falls, Cascading Falls, Angels Landing, and through knee-deep waters up the Narrows. My last hike up the Narrows, and the first for my wife, left me with a bittersweet taste of a truly spectacular hike shared with a loved one, but imposed upon by dozens and dozens of tourists.

Zion's backcountry was calling, and I heeded her beckoning.

This past year, I've spent dozens of hours online researching trails and canyons less traveled in Zion. Luckily, several canyoneering aficionados were sharing their experiences in detail online. To make for truly, away-from-the-crowd experiences, my hiking partner and I choose two permit-only canyoneering routes; the Subway and Orderville Canyon. Both 10-mile-plus canyoneering hikes required us to apply three-months in advance to a lottery system for a limited number of daily slots to access these slot canyons. Luckily we snared permits for both trips, not so luckily, we landed them on back-to-back days. But, we were also able to team up with a pair of young canyoneering students from BYU who didn't mind partnering with a couple of Midwest flatlanders.

Day one took the four of us through the Left Fork of North Creek, which involved route finding, plunging into chilly pools, and short rappels. The narrow "Subway" section of this canyon from which this trek gets its moniker, forces hikers through a unique keyhole-shaped tunnel sculpted by the Left Fork of North Creek. The canyon width varies from 40 feet wide to around two feet. Watermarks on the slot-canyon walls showed the water runs more than 15 feet above our heads during flash floods.

The backcountry service rangers at Zion stress that you must know weather conditions, especially upstream, before entering the slot canyons. Flash floods are deadly. Canyon walls range anywhere from 100 feet to 500 feet in height, with no side canyons through which to escape. And as our experienced canyoneer partners shared with us, "If you roll an ankle, bum a knee, or break a leg, you wrap it and walk out. Help is a day away, and there are none of those fancy helicopter rescues seen on TV."

When in the slot canyons in Zion you run into numerous obstacles, usually rock and other debris jammed between the narrow canyon walls. Beneath each obstacle is a pool, ranging from a foot or two to seven feet deep. There is but one way to clear each obstacle, use ropes for hand-holds for short drops and rappel down the bigger ones. Then, you drop into the chilly waters for a short "swim" to higher ground - usually just a few dozen feet down canyon. Luckily for us, the water temperature was in the 50s making the plunges cold, but not unbearable. In these narrow canyons, you seldom see the sun, and the plunges are so frequent you seldom dry off.

The Subway took us 7 hours to traverse and the scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. Since a few flash floods scour these canyons each year, they are seemingly devoid of life and stunningly quiet. Even birds don't seem to make their way to the depths of these narrow slots.

The only really physically difficult section of the Subway is the last mile, a 500-foot climb from the canyon base back to the plateau top.

Day two took us to the equally impressive and little-visited Orderville Gulch on the Northeast Corner of Zion. The road to the put-in is a washboard road at best, not meant for the family sedan. You can start this canyon with either a 125-foot dryfall rappel or a walk-around.

Having not rappeled more than 15 feet the previous day, we chose the walk-around. But, after that, each obstacle would require the use of a rope for hand holds or short rappels. Eight miles later, Orderville enters the famous Zion Narrows where we began encountering the first tourists of the day.

Gear for these two slot canyons was minimal: water shorts, a T-shirt, and "sticky" shoes, dry bag, and a rope. We found that apparel with quick-dry properties was essential in these canyons where drying quickly can become essential to staying warm. Ibuprofen, or Rocky Mountain Candy as our canyoneering buddies called it, is another likely necessity.

Zion offers much more than backcountry adventures. The park touts numerous family-friendly hikes and stunning vistas. To limit traffic within the park, Zion runs bus shuttles into the park valley about every 10 minutes starting and ending at the visitor center. Springdale, near the park entrance is the dining and lodging centerpoint for most visitors. We stayed at the more rustic and remote Zion Ponderosa on the east side of the park.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091122/LIFE/911220302/-1/SPORTS12/Canyoneering-Zion-s-backcountry

[MarlenK]

Wow, was suprised to see an article I wrote several years ago appear here. I just joined bogley.com a few weeks back. I hope some found the article, origially published in the Des Register, of interest. These were two fantanstic hikes. Marlen

[Scott Card]

There were two fantanstic hikes. Marlen

And you have only scratched the surface.

[Iceaxe]

Welcome to Bogley.

[accadacca]

Great to have you and excellent article.

[tanya]

Welcome to the group Marlen!




If this group did not tear apart a canyoneering article it must have been good! Stick around and you will see what I mean.