Fat Man's Misery May 26

[spinesnaper]

So we traveled out from Los Angeles with an ambitious list of potential canyons we wanted to do in Zion National Park over the Memorial Day Weekend. I secured my favorite bivouac site: The Desert Pearl. It has great close park access for the flash trips to the Back Country Desk. I already knew that Kolob was out of the question due to high water flow. I have posted the trip report for Imlay, which we did on May 25. The natural question was what are we going to have strength for the next day? I expected to be thoroughly trashed from Imlay and I was not disappointed. Still after a pot of Peets Sumatra coffee and a motrin, I was feeling like a whole new canyoneer. Of course my partner Jasper was good to go.

It was already 9 AM, far too late for anything truly ambitious like Boundary out the MIA. We definitely did not want to do anything that required a shuttle. I remembered Shane describing starting down for Fat Man’s Misery late to have the cool part of the day for the hike out. Still we would be pushing it. The internet descriptions of travel time were not exactly encouraging with times that seemed to range from 10 to 14 hours (which included a navigational misadventure, but then who among us have not been guilty of that?). Headlights that we have. A bigger problem is that all the Springdale restaurants close by 11 PM. We are going to have to move. Stay calm and carry on, we decided to go for it. We arrived at the turn out for Checker Board Mesa at 11 AM and were trail bound 15 minutes later. Mind you, we had this canyon on the radar for the weekend so had Luke’s (Blu Gnome) waypoints in the GPS, the 7.5 minute maps, and Tom’s route description. Unfortunately, I did not put the box with the helmets into the car but we decided to go anyway. Please do not let the lack of helmets encourage you to go bare. We believe in them and if you look at all my other trip reports, the proof is in the pictures.

Thus began the slog. This thing must be 5 miles out from the road. Crossing behind Checkerboard Mesa, the trail is obvious but soon one begins to see hundreds of use trails. We followed Tom Jones description, which lead us quickly to the start of the technical canyon. No wet suit. There were a couple of wades which were nice in the warm day. It was all too short. I did manage to misjudge a down climb and strained one of my quads. Not to happy about that but I decided I did not need the tordol. I took a Motrin. All too soon we were at the grotto at the bottom of Parunuweap Canyon. It is beautiful there.

Tom suggests that it is the slog back up that is the misery. I completely agree. This is the same 2000 feet gain that I had the day before. Only this time one is not climbing sidewalk. No it is nasty sand. We started up at about 4PM. I was a little concerned because of my tender quad which reminded me it was unhappy if I weighted the leg the wrong way. The good news was that the climb out was so physiologically demanding that I am not sure that I could have walked any faster than my injured leg permitted. Shane was right. The cool breeze of the late afternoon was wonderful. It is amazing country. Even more amazing was when I pulled up to the highest pass along the side of the checkerboard mesa and knew how close I was to the finish. The ice chest contained Orangina on ice. Those hit the spot. Car to car in 8 hours. We made it for dinner in Springdale. I was happy to have done Fat Man's-a Zion classic. We decided to head back to LA the next day having done two great canyons: Imay Sneak and Fat Man’s. Good stuff.

Ken

[Slot Machine]

8 hours on your first try!?! Day after Imlay? No fair!!

Strong work Ken! Great report!

[WorkBad]

Thanks for the TR and pics, some wonderful shots for sure. Getting a later start probably meant you missed the crowds too. I was in Fat Man's the day before you (25th) and boy oh boy were there a lot of people, probably 50-60. That exit sounds brutal if done in the heat of the day. We took Shane's advice and exited up French to a secondary campsite and completed Rock the next morning.

Also good job on Imlay!

[spinesnaper]

8 hours on your first try!?! Day after Imlay? No fair!!

Strong work Ken! Great report!

I am sorry to say that I am not so badass--I am still mending from last weekend.

Interesting about the crowds. However, we also did not actually see anyone leaving the area either (which may not mean much).

Can't wait to go back to Zion.

Ken

[2065toyota]

Thanks for the TR and pics, some wonderful shots for sure. Getting a later start probably meant you missed the crowds too. I was in Fat Man's the day before you (25th) and boy oh boy were there a lot of people, probably 50-60. That exit sounds brutal if done in the heat of the day. We took Shane's advice and exited up French to a secondary campsite and completed Rock the next morning.

Also good job on Imlay!

Is French still full of Poison Ivy?

[WorkBad]

Is French still full of Poison Ivy?

Yes, but! With clever maneuvering one can get through without exposure. I brought a large 300lb guy through and he made it fine.

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