Going from canyon to canyon in Cedar Mesa

[Iceaxe]

On a normal 100-degree day, 11 people walking across the desert with wetsuits and helmets might seem a little strange. We might seem crazy, but it's not that easy to explain.


While many people live paycheck to paycheck, there are some who live canyon to canyon. The life of a canyoneer is often enhanced by a permanent state of borderline hypothermia, heat exhaustion and dehydration. To the canyoneer, what looks like therapy in the making, is easily defined as fun! For the few who are adventuresome enough, a world seldom seen, touched or experienced awaits.


With this on our minds we traded in the little white jackets that button in the back for wetsuits and headed to Cedar Mesa.


Cedar Mesa is a fantastic area located along Highway 95 between Hanksville and Blanding. There is something for everyone in Cedar Mesa from easy day hikes to Anasazi ruins to technical slot canyons.


Our group was hoping to experience a little of everything, but the main objective of this trip was three technical canyons named Fry, Cheesebox and the Black Hole. Just for good measure, we also planned on hiking to the Anasazi ruins called the Citadel.


After renting extra equipment for some of our group, we piled the gear in the car and made the four-hour drive to a location called the Soldiers Grave, named after two U.S. Cavalry soldiers who were buried there; they were ambushed by some Paiute Indians in the late 1800s. Our base camp would soon be just off a dirt road one mile past the grave.


Day 1: The Black Hole


The morning began with a quick breakfast, gear check and a short drive. Hoping to save a two-mile walk, we left a shuttle vehicle at the exit, which is conveniently located 200 yards before the turnoff for Hite Marina. A warning sign at the trailhead telling stories of impending doom and no hope for rescue had some of the first timers, who outnumbered the experienced canyoneers almost two to one, a little antsy. After some reassurances that the danger had passed, we began the descent.


After we reached the canyon floor, the first hour was a casual stroll through narrows that gave us no indication that we would soon be soaking wet. Several members of the party silently questioned the need for wetsuits. The first water obstacle was a 50-yard swim in luke warm water that did nothing to justify the need for wetsuits. We didn't need to change into the wetsuits and just paddled along as if we were in the community swimming pool.


After another 15 minutes of hiking, a crack 2 feet wide appeared in the ground, and we could see water 20 feet down. A few people changed into their wetsuits and after splashdown, decided whether or not a wetsuit would be needed.


I went first and my verdict was, "Come on down. The water is cold." With that, the remainder of the group changed into wetsuits, dropped into the slot and began the swim.


For the next two hours we were in and out of water - each successive swim more impressive than the last. The environment seemed to add and build as more obstacles were added during the swim.


The first swims consisted of wavy walls, darkened conditions and cold water. Later, swims consisted of overhanging objects, long jump-ins and tighter narrows. The crux swim was something to remember.


With a 6-foot drop into cold water, the swim appeared to be nothing different. It was a little darker, colder and longer. When the top foot-and-a-half of water became filled with branches, logs and debris, we started having flashbacks to the first "Star Wars" movie.


The environment was eerily similar to the trash compactor scene with constricting walls and garbage. We thought it was only a matter of time before the eye of a mysterious creature would pop out and monitor our progress, but the eye never appeared and C3PO didn't have to bail us out.


Shortly after the trash-compactor and a few less impressive swims, we began to climb out of the canyon, up sandstone slopes and sometimes, scrambling over logs that bridged gaps in the canyon. The excitement and jokes of the "Star Wars" swim lasted all the way through the 45-minute journey back to the shuttle car.


Day 2: The Citadel


Some of the most worthwhile attractions in the Cedar Mesa area are the large amounts of Anasazi ruins that are easily accessible. After about an hour of driving, we found ourselves at the self-help toll station, which requires $2 per person for the day. Four miles past the toll station, we encountered a rough, dirt road that took us to the trailhead.


The trail was easy to follow. Occasionally we found parcels of slick rock that hid the trail, but eventually the island that housed the ruins popped into view. With the exception of a 30-foot-wide walkway, the ruins are isolated by 100-plus-foot drops all the way around.


Reaching the walkway required some tricky scrambling and down-climbing that would keep you aware of your own mortality. Once on the walkway, leading to the ruins, we could see the remnants of stone walls that were once established to keep unwanted visitors from the housing area. A bit more tricky scrambling and up-climbing put us right next to the ruins themselves.


The ruins are in great shape with a couple crumbling walls at the end of the complex. The rest were solid, and in some places, you can even see prints from the hands that pushed the mud between the stones. The ruins provided a perfect opportunity to eat lunch, take a few photos, and speculate about the mysterious fate of the Anasazi people.


While at the ruins we decided to head to Blanding. We wanted to check the weather report, restock water and grab some fast food. Arrival back at camp turned Day 2 into ancient history as we hit the sack in anticipation of Day 3.


Day 3: Cheesebox Canyon


We had watched the weather forecast right up until it was time for us to leave for Cedar Mesa. In Blanding we checked the weather again and were assured that we would have hot temperatures, blue skies and no rain. We began the drive to the canyon and left one vehicle by the exit to shuttle us back to the trailhead.


We had to walk carefully to avoid stepping on the Cryptobiotic soil -- the living soil crust vital to desert environments. At the canyon we began a long, steep down-climb to the bottom.


In the first hour we did two unimpressive rappels; these could have easily been avoided with a little down-climbing. After the second rappel, the canyon started to constrict and became deeper. When we encountered the first major slot, we were forced to put the wetsuits on. These slots held water nearly as cold as that in the Black Hole.


When we were almost a quarter way through the canyon storm clouds started to amass behind us. Even though the canyon did not have a high flash-flood danger, the looming clouds made us skeptical. Those of us with experience forced the beginners to a faster pace. Time was of the essence and about one mile down the canyon there was an easy escape route to get out of the canyon.


The canyon just started to amaze us and half the party had just descended into another slot when we heard thunder behind us. We still had a long way to go to the exit and with a large party and several beginners, we wouldn't make the first exit option for a while. The experienced canyoneers began looking for an exit that would work. That exit presented itself as we approached another rappel.


The exit would be staged from a ledge only 8 feet wide at the top of another slot. Three of the experienced rock climbers and canyoneers free-climbed about a hundred feet of steep slickrock to the first tier. Once on top they rigged a hoist system to evacuate the less-experienced people from the canyon.


Getting to the top of the first tier would help us get out of the way of any flash floods but not entirely out of danger. We would have to free-climb and hoist one more time. If the rain started, the rock would become slick and the makeshift exit contained some narrow passages with a long drop to one side.


The rain never came. We could have stayed in the canyon and finished it, but safety is a major concern when canyoneering and those who were there agreed that the makeshift exit was the right move. Cheesebox was starting to look great and some day we will go back and finish it.


Day 4: Fry Canyon


This was our last day in Cedar Mesa. We had broken camp, packed everything up, and headed to a small canyon right off the freeway. Down the highway from the Soldiers' Grave was the entrance to the canyon. We parked our vehicles right next to a bridge that goes directly over the slot we would descend. We hiked up-canyon to a rancher's fence and then down-climbed into the canyon.


Even though the first part of the canyon was short, the beautifully sculpted narrows packed quite a punch. As we hiked under the highway, we wondered how many cars passed overhead never knowing the treasures hidden by the pavement. The small slot gave way to a wash that we followed for more than a mile before it disappeared into a crack in the ground.


There were two anchors set up in different locations giving us a choice of places to rappel. We chose the closest one that dropped us about 60 feet below. To finish the other 20 feet, we opted for a double-stage rappel.


I was the first one down and as interesting as the rappel was, the last three feet proved to be the most exciting, as I noticed a snake coiled at the end of the rope in a narrow space only 2 feet across.


At the end of the rappel the boys stayed behind to put the gear away. As we exited the final slot and swimming pool, we caught up to the girls who had managed to start a mud fight.


While hiking to the exit, we noticed some Anasazi ruins high on the cliff. Climbing to the ruins from the bottom was not possible, but rappelling from the top to the ruins is something we may consider in the future.


Kelli Wilson, an 18-year-old from Frisco, Texas, who was experiencing her first outdoor adventure as a graduation present, said this at the end of the trip: "It was tough, physically demanding but well worth it."

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