"I am losing the precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains and learn the news." - John Muir
As we all know, life can "get in the way" of true happiness. I invite you to follow my posts as I try to reconnect with nature as often as life allows. Then,
if so inspired, pick up a paddle or pack and join me on an adventure that makes everything else fade away. - scott@scottcoryell.me
This trip to the Elk River on July 28th-29th started out as a bit of a gamble as I had not been able to contact the outfitter prior to our departure. Their message said to "come on down" but driving three hours without having a reservation left me a little nervous. The funny thing is it was the easiest shuttle I have arranged yet. We drove in to Cowskin Canoes and within 10 minutes were headed up river to the Mt. Shira Access.
Mt. Shira is the access point I had taken out at on my solo day trip the year before.
We unloaded the car and watched our car drive off. I loaded the boat while Colin practiced casting his fishing pole. We paddled downstream through all of the day floaters. There weren't nearly as many as last year, but maybe we just got out ahead of them. Our first real stop was at the houses along the river in Noel. We stopped to swim in front of the Cabin that belongs to some old friends of ours...though we have not talked to them in years. Some of their neighbors were out and I had a nice talk while Colin played. After 45 minutes or so we headed back down river to our big obstacle. The Dam.
As we passed under the DANGER sign I hoped that it would be and easy portage. No such luck! I knew the water was low because of the drought, but there was virtually no water below the dam, just a bunch of pools. I saw a small stream on the opposite side, but it wasn't even floatable. We walked down the road through the River Ranch campsite until we found a part of the river that had enough water in it to continue. It was about 1/8 of a mile down from the dam. It took two trips carrying gear and one with the boat. Colin was very helpful and took the water bottles the first trip and his paddle and fishing pole the second. After 3/4 miles of walking we had the boat re-loaded, but were exhausted.
As we continued the water got really low and I had to walk the boat for quite a while. The cool, but dangerous, part was that most of the riverbed was not gravel, but bedrock. Unfortunately this was extremely slick and I fell right on my back once! Made me wish I had some of these to try out (J/K)!
Our next challenge...after all, floating rivers is just a series of challenges...involved livestock. We came upon a low and narrow section of the river that was blocked by about 30 head of cattle. There was no part of the river that was open, and I was not about to portage around a bunch of cows! I knew that cows were both dumb and that they were afraid of people. I had Colin walk behind me and I let the boat float in front. Most of the cows moved...until we cam to the calves. There were 3 calves that didn't see why the should have to move from the perfectly cool waters of the river. As the boat approached with me 10 ft behind their mother decided to let me know she was not pleased. I tried to reassure her but they were not budging. I pulled the boat back and walked out in front of it, instructing Colin to stay by my side. As I started to approach they finally moved and we were able to pass. Once we got to the other side she calmed down. We soon came upon the owners of the cows and they suggested a place about a mile down river called Cedar Bluff for camping.
After paddling for a bit more we came upon the bluff. There were three people swimming there and we introduced ourselves. Colin swam and played fetch with their dogs as I setup camp. After while they headed home and I began to cook our Mac and Cheese for dinner (Yum!) Colin helped me gather some firewood and we had a small campfire. He said he wanted a hot dog and I asked him if he was still hungry. He said no. I asked if he just wanted it because it was cool? He said he did so after whittling the end off a good stick I roasted a hot dog for him. We let the embers die down and he headed off to the ten to play his DS. I doused the embers and finished preparing camp for night time.
As the sun set we laid in the tent and played. He played DS for a while and then we watched part of Star Wars. I was practically asleep before him! It didn't feel too bad outside with a nice breeze but it was hot in the tent, even without the rain fly. He dozed off shortly after turning off his movie, but I tossed and turned for a while. I finally dozed off but kept waking up most of the night. At 2:00 a.m. I heard a large pack of coyotes not more than 1/4 mile away. Though a bit unnerving, I soon could tell they were headed away from us. At 3:00 a.m. I heard them again, this time well down stream. By 4:00 a.m. it finally cooled off enough that I needed to cover up and I slept soundly until about 6:00. I managed to go back to sleep once more, but by 8:00 it was already too hot in the tent...and time to get up anyway.
I started packing up and Colin opened his eyes and told me he was still resting. I finished packing as much as I could and began the oatmeal while he swam. After breakfast I joined him for a quick swim to cool down and then loaded the boat.
A short paddle down the river led us to another beautify bluff and a great swimming hole with large fish jumping nearby. Colin droped some of his granola bar into the water and soon the minnows were fighting over it. It was a good experience for him to connect with the wildlife a bit. The rest of the river was fairly shallow and wide surrounded by low farmland. We came upon two people fishing who had put in at the 3 mile float. Other than a family playing with their dogs along the banks they were the only people we saw on the river all day. We stopped for one more swim and he enjoyed playing with the dragonflies. They kept landing on his hand and he got a real kick out of it. We even saw a beaver out gathering sticks, but he scurried off before we could get too good of a look at him. It is these kinds of experiences that I hope will stay with him!
We cam upon Cowskin Access and there was a large group of people swimming. I asked one guy if he would watch our boat while we walked up to get our car. He suggested that I would probably get stuck and offered to haul our boat up in the back of his truck! We greatly accepted his offer and were soon at our car and on the way home. We stopped for gas in Neosho and then at McDonalds in Carthage so Colin could get a happy meal and the toy I promised him. The rest of the drive home was him sleeping and me trying not to. We got home, unpacked the car, and wen straight to the pool!
It was a good trip! Lots of work at times, but well worth the effort. In the end it was a very relaxing and rejuvenating trip.
It was over a year ago that I first contemplated going on this trip. My friend Andy had been talking about his annual canyoneering trip and it sounded like lots of fun. Unfortunately, or fortunately as it turned out, the trip was the week I was getting back from Yellowstone. In retrospect, I am very glad I waited a year to go on this trip. Since then I have taken up climbing and have learned the rope skills necessary to be comfortable doing this sort of thing. That, along with a few Saturday trips to cliff drive to practice rappelling and ascending and I was ready. The trip pushed me physically at times, but nothing like some of the backpacking trips I took in scouts as a kid. It did, however, push me mentally. I did things on this trip that I wouldn't have thought I could do a year ago. Though I was nervous I never felt scared. I had a confidence in my abilities and knew that I had no other choice to continue as there was no way out but down. Behunin specifically helped me to grow. At times I was questioning what I was doing, but I'd go back tomorrow and do it again if I could...maybe next year.
DAY - 1 & 2
We left Kansas City on Friday June 1st, 2012 after work. A (relatively) short and uneventful drive through Western Kansas took us to Colby for the night. Saturday was a very enjoyable drive through the Rockies and into Utah. We took a detour and followed the river to Arches National Park for a nice hike to Delicate Arch before spending the night in Green River.
Sunday, after an excellent breakfast, we began our drive to Zion. The drive was gorgeous! Especially going through the San Rafael Swell and the drive down 89 along the river. We arrived in the park from the East and headed through the tunnel and down to the visitor's center. We checked in at the backcountry desk and got our permits for the next two days before filling up our water bottles with water. Soon after, Andy's friend Brian and his son Keelin showed up and we were off to Pine Creek. Pine Creek is the quintessential canyon for beginners, which is exactly what I needed! The first rappels are short and were good for getting some practice. It was hot but once in the canyon out of the sun it became pleasant. The water, however, was a different story. Except for the first few pools the water is not in the sun. I would not recommend doing this canyon without a wetsuit, even on a blistering day, as the water is very cold.
We quickly ran into another group and had to wait for them to move on before we could keep going, but by the time we got down the Cathedral rappel they had gotten well ahead of us and we could move unimpeded. The most unpleasant part of the canyon was the fact that a goat had fallen in and his presence could be smelled, though thankfully not seen. We caught up to the group again on the second to last rappel. They were rappelling on a Petzl Nomad climbing rope, which was very bouncy. This is a great climbing rope, in fact I had just bought one, however, when canyoneering you typically want to use a static rope that does not stretch. Knowing this, and knowing what the last rappel was like, Andy volunteered to go ahead and set up the last rappel if they would let us "play through" on their rope. They caught up quickly and soon we were one group finishing the canyon together.
The hike out was brutal. We spent over an hour scrambling down the boulders in the watercourse. We finally reached the switchback of the road at 8:45...15 minutes before sunset! It had been a long day but we had made new friends and had a wonderful time! By the time we made it back to Springdale most of the restaurants were closing. We tried Oscars but were turned away. We ended up having a nice meal at Wildcat Willies.
Monday brought the biggest adventure of the trip! The night before I was not sure if I would be participating on Monday as my ankle had been hurting from Pine Creek, and I was not looking forward to the approach hike with 2000 feet of elevation gain. I figured I would start out, and turn back if necessary. Both the park and Springdale have an excellent free bus service so I could easily return to the hotel.
Rather than shuttling cars as we had the day before, we rode the park bus from the visitor's center to The Grotto stop. A short hike across the river led us to the Angel's Landing Trail and up we went. The switchbacks were nothing spectacular, but once we got to the top and entered Refrigerator Canyon the view of the main valley was breathtaking! A pleasant hike up the canyon in the shade led us to Walter's Wiggles and we were soon at the turn off for Angel's Landing.
While most people were heading up to Angel's Landing we continued on up the West Rim Trail. We continued upward until topping out on some slickrock. We had a brief descent to a nice bridge where we had lunch in the shade and then it was back uphill to the top of the canyon. The "drop in" is a steep patch of slickrock that you rely on the stick rubber of your shoes to get down. After hiking for 30-45 minutes you come upon the first anchor.
The first anchor is sketchy. Not the anchor itself, but getting to it. It is 30ft out on a ledge that is anywhere from 4" to 18" wide. You step over a bush and go under a tree. All this while unprotected. Sure, you could belay someone, but if they fall they are just going to pendulum anyway...not much point. This was the first big mental challenge of the day. Thankfully I passed! Once on the anchor you have a breathtaking view of the real "drop in." Four rappels drop you 510 feet into the canyon. They are spectacular and well worth the effort to get to!
Once in the bottom there is a bit amount of hiking through a dry creek bed until you reach a relatively short and very nice 90ft drop. More hiking leads to a fluted rappel of of a rotting log into a pool of very cold and skanky water! On more winding rap and some hiking and you are near the end.
The end of this canyon is not for the faint of heart! It didn't help that I had been hearing stories about how bad it was getting to the anchor! As you slide down a boulder the exit of the canyon comes into view. As you climb up to the right of a large boulder you realize that you are about 300ft above the boulder field below and 500ft above the river. Andy had climbed down to the anchor and Brian was handing him the ropes...and blocking my view. The wind was gusting as I sat there waiting. What I imagined in my head was far worse that what it actually was. Turned out to be an easy 5.6 down climb to the ledge. That being said, it wouldn't hurt to belay down to this anchor. The rappel itself was no big deal once on the anchor.
The next rappel is immediately following the last after a short down climb into a hole. This was the single most dramatic rappel of the entire trip. The first 65 ft or so of the rappel are against the rock. The last 100 ft are "free", or hanging in the air. This alone is intimidating for someone new to canyoneering, but with the wind blowing it made it all the more "fun." As nervous as I was the view was incredible and I wouldn't have missed it!
Once at the bottom a short hike brings you to the Emerald Pools. Unfortunately they were doing trail work and the shortest trail back to the busses (at Zion Lodge) was closed. We had to hike back to The Grotto and by the time we crossed the river it was dark. It was 11 hours after we had started and we were all exhausted. We were a bit worried that we had missed the last bust because it was several miles back to the visitor's center. Fortunately there were still a couple busses running and we were able to make it back. Knowing most of the restaurants were closed we headed to the Bit and Spur as we knew it was open late. Turns out the food is excellent! Their enchiladas are amazing!!
Tuesday was Mystery Canyon. Now I was extremely tired, but we had "won" this permit in the lottery and it is very hard to come by...I would hate to miss it. I had read the description and the only concern I had was getting a belay out to the anchor on the mystery springs rappel. Andy had agreed (though turns out there is webbing in place) and we were off.
Took a car up to the East side and hiked along the East RimTrail to the drop-in. Now this truely was a "drop-in!" The beginning of Mystery Canyon is called Death Gully, and for good reason. You start out walking on a "trail" sideways on a scree slope and quickly find yourself clambering down an erosion trail holding tree branches and roots to keep from sliding to the bottom. After what seems liek an eternity of this you reach a point where it is only mildly steep and you begin to encounter "obstacles." The obstacles consist of some downclimbs, short rappels, and walk-arounds. After bypassing these you finally reach the section where the canyon becomes "narrowes" and the real rappels begin. These rappels are narrow, fluted, and beautiful! There are sandy areas at the bottom of several raps that provides a nice shady spot for resting and a cool break from the sun.
After the first section of narrows things open back up into the sun and a bit of hiking takes you to the "lake." Though usually dry, the lake was formed by a giant rock/sand slide sometime in the 1970's. This creates an obstacle of a 70ft tall "mountain" blocking the canyon that must be hiked over in order to continue. Past the "mountain" a singel rap, some down climbing, and some hiking, all in full sun, lead to the Mystery Springs Rappel.
The Mystery Springs Rappel is a 110 ft drop down a nearly vertical wall. The rap anchor is well out on a ledge, but is protected off another bolt with a length of webbing for clipping a tether into. This is one of the more beautiful spots in the Canyon and a great place to stop for a snack in the shade before continuing on. Though I had done longer raps the previous day this was the first "long" one of the day. The ledge made me a bit nervous, but having the tether really helped to alleviate my fear. The rap itself was very enjoyable.
Once down Mysetery Springs there is a fair amount of hiking through a beautiful, damp section of the canyon. We encountered only one obstacle that can be either downclimbed or rappeled. We chose to rap because of the running water and were soon on our way to the best rap of the trip!
The rap into The Narrows from Mystery Canyon is one of the most gorgeous and enjoyable raps in the park. The narrows is usually full of tourists out for a challenging day hike, therefore, an audience is to be expected. As we popped our head over the edge we were soon noticed and a group gathered to watch us come down. The rap follows a waterfall down a nearly vertical face for 120 ft into the Virgin River. Because of the waterfall and the moss growing on the rock.this rap is very slippery. With all the onlookers there is even more pressure not to slip!
Once at the bottom you find yourself surrounded by the beauty of The Narrows. Now, all the canyones I was in during the trip were incredibly beautiful, but I have to say none compare to the (relativley) easily accessible Narrows. Now I do have a thing for rivers...especially rocky mountain ones, so that might make me a bit bais. However, the color of the high walls, the flowing river, and the green trees along the sandy banks all contribute to the stunning beauty of this place. The hike out was very enjoyable and did not seem at all like work.
We caught the shuttle back to the visitor's center where we got Brian's car and went to retreive Andy's from the East side. We again opted for The Bit and Spur for our dinner before returning to the hotel for a well deserved rest.
DAY - 6
Wednesday was to be Englestead, but we were beat! I feel bad for Andy because he had really been looking forward to this one. It has a rappel of nearly 300 ft at the start. I was not sure I was up for that and neither was Brian and Keelin. So, we took a rest day. We gave back our permit for both Englestead and Spry and got a new permit for Orderville. I spent the morning in the park checking out The Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock before joining Brian and Keelin for a float down the Virgin River. The Water was low but it was still fun. Andy spent the day hiking up to the Northgate Peaks. We met up for dinner with Tom Jones at the Whiptail Grill. Tome is the local authority on Canyoneering and quite literally wrote the guidbook. If you are at all interested in canyoneering you should check out his site www.canyoneeringusa.com. Tome had some good stories and we all enjoyed a nice meal before getting some much needed rest.
Thursday we drove back up to the East side and hiked down the 4WD road to the start of Orderville Canyon. Orderville is "the easiest technical canyon in Zion, or the hardest off-trail hike." This day was all about enjoying the scenery and water in the "Orderville Water Park." Most of the day consisted of hiking down a dry creek bed, alternating between shade and sun. This canyon only has two rappels, and the longest is only 15ft.
Around halfway through we encountered a massive logjam with water on the other side. From that point on we were hiking in a wet creek bed, though the stream was small. The second rappel is called "The Guillotine" because of the large angled boulder ominously suspended overhead. After this rap the water starts getting deeper and the canyon narrower. There are several down climbs, usually through waterfalls into deep, cold pools of water. We came to on drop into a particularly skanky pool of water with a large log jamb on the other side. There were a couple other groups that were climbing up a side trail and rapping. I opted for this route while the rest of the group decided to take the more direct route. I was going to rap with the second group but they were talking about setting up a hand lien to get down to the anchor and I knew it was going to take a while. I decided to down climb to the anchor (a bit sketchy) and was able to "play through" just before the first group pulled their rope.
A bit more hiking led us back to The Narrows. This hike out was just as beautiful as hiking out from Mystery, there was just more of it! Orderville is an excellent canyon for someone looking for an adventure without much previous experience. I think Orderville followed by Pine Creek with an experienced guide would be a great introduction to canyoneering for anyone.
After a shuttle ride back to the visitor's center we once again went after Andy's car. We were tired after a 12.3 mile day, but not nearly as tired as some of the previous days. We had a nice dinner at Oscars before turning in.
DAY - 8
Friday was another "rest day" which seemed odd given we were going home the next day. However, Andy and I did not do much resting as he wanted to hike back up to the Northgate Peaks. We spent the day exploring the West side and bagged a (small) summit. Got some great video and pictures from up there and got a good feel for where The Subway and other West side canyons were. Brian and Keelin spent the day relaxing and shopping before meeting us for one final hike up the Canyon Overlook Trail before one final meal a the Bit and Spur.
DAY - 9 & 10
Saturday we met for one last breakfast at the Mean Bean before hitting the road. Andy and I stopped at the West Entrance of Zion for a brief overlook before heading on to Golden, CO for the night. Sunday we made the rest of the uneventful drive home. As always, it is bittersweet coming home. Great to see the family but hard to go back to the daily grind after such an adventure!
This trip was not only a fun adventure, but it helped me push my limits and grow as a person. Over the previous year I had become a climber and had begun to learn some basic rope skills. In preparing for this trip I learned how to rappel, tie off on rappel, and ascend a rope. I realize that I really jumped into the deep end with this trip, especially Behunin! Though it is listed as a moderate technical canyon the sheer lengths of some of the raps and the conditions getting to some of the anchors made it a real learning experience. I came home more excited than ever to continue to push my limits and search out even greater adventure. So, until the next trip I will continue to improve my sport climbing skills and rope work skills (I'll definitely start rapping down from the anchors instead of being lowered). I also think I will purchase a basic trad rack and begin to practice on some easy routes in Arkansas. Rather than focusing on pushing the difficulty of the routes I am doing I am looking towards multi-pitch climbing as my next step. I think it will be a better rout to getting out into the wilderness and enjoying the benefits that come with it. Grand Teton here I come!
Friday after Colin's T-Ball game Andy and Drew picked me up and we headed down to HCR. Jeff, Debbie, and their friend Sam we asleep when we got there so we went right to bed to get rested for Saturday climbing.
Saturday morning we headed up to The North Forty after breakfast at The Ozark Cafe. Bob and I focused on leading / cleaning easy to moderate routes for Drew as he was just starting out. This was fine by me as it gave me a chance to climb some of the more obscure routes that we never seem to get to because they are not "3-4 stars." I attempted to lead my first 5.9, Local Hebrew, but had to work through it. The highlight of the day for me was climbing a trad route, Flashbacks, with Bob. I cleaned the gear and would have then lead it but we needed to go find the group. After a good day of climbing and a good dinner we all headed back up the hill to climb Cotton Candy with our headlamps. Some preparation for 24HHH which Andy and Jeff were planning on doing this year!
Summer Rain (5.6) | Local Hebrew (5.9-) - A, L, 1 | Emma's Got a Mullet (5.6) | Cows in the Mist (5.7) - L | Flashbacks (5.7) - 2 | Caught in the Closet Again (5.7) | Brand New (5.8) | Too Short for the Short Bus (5.9) | Cotton Candy (5.6) - 3
Sunday we started on the very first route on the West Side, Hickadelic Jazzgrass. It was a fun route with a couple tricky moves. Next, we went over to Gimp and Wheezer, the rout Andy and Bob had climbed on my first trip. It was no longer above my abilities and I got my first 5.10a outdoors! Next we headed over to the East side so Drew could do some stuff on the Cliffs of Insanity. He was too worn out so we headed to The Roman Wall and Andy, Jeff, and Sam climbed Commodus. I opted to lead the easier Aphrodite. We didn't get out of there until late and with a dinner stop in Springfield we got home late. It was a good weekend of climbing though and I can't wait until fall!
Hickadelic Jazzgrass (5.8) | Gimp and Wheezer (5.10a) | Little Sprout (5.6) | Aphrodite (5.7+) - L
[A = Attempted | L = Lead | # = Note]
Notes:
1. Four takes.
2. My first trad route. Followed and cleaned.
3. At night, after dinner.
View entire gallery
