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We know you all have a certain expectation of what crazy thing are we going to do next, or where we are going next, so this year Anthony plan our vacation to a WARMER destination than our last years week in the back country of Montana, where we wore all of our clothes the entire week to keep warm. After all we don't want to let you down.
So we headed to Utah - Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Bordered by Las Vegas 3 hours one way and Salt Lake City 3 hours the other way. Warmer? We awoke yesterday morning to 38 degree temps - and me without the first boggin, gloves, earmuffs or parka!
However, after putting on what I did have and managing to get something to eat we found that it was going to quickly warm up.
Anthony had booked us a Canyoneering trip for our first day. Repelling. Ok ... I can hang from a rope - sounds easy. You are attached to something that will keep you from falling and that is a good thing - UNTIL you are attached to that LITTLE SKINNY rope, held by a guy I KNOW
I weighed more than, (NO guessing at what that weight might be), and you have to LOOK down at where you are going to be dangling! Get the picture .... ?
So, we met Dave ... his real name is Dan - but he looked like a Dave to me so I proceeded to call him Dave the entire day and he was so gracious as to always answer when I called upon him. He was our guide from Red Desert Adventure. AWESOME - I Highly recommend them, and Dave/Dan in particular.
We had to drive out of the park to get to where we were headed - Water Canyon.
Once there we got our gear and backpacks out of the car and started walking. UP and UP and UP ... in sand ... so the proverbial two steps forward, one step back. Our shoes quickly filled with sand and at one point we did have to stop to empty them so we did not get blisters on our toes. We walked and hiked up for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Anthony figures only 10 minutes of that time was on flat ground. We took breaks when
needed and found that no humidity is a GOOD thing - especially when the temps get into the 90's.
Finally we got to the top - every picture is a great picture. No view is bad and we took lots of them. The rocks are reddish orange and just amazing. But what goes up must come down.
Dave/Dan instructed us on what we were suppose to do, how the ropes work, what his part was and what our part was. We donned the ever so lovely gear (great for any potential diet add as a motivator to kick the sugar and fat habit), then swallowed our stomach as Anthony, the wonderful husband that he is, volunteered to go first.
Within just a couple of steps over the edge he leaned back too far and went sideways - my heart leaped in my chest! His feet soon came to be where his head was suppose to be, but Dave/Dan was quick to help him right himself and from then on he did an excellent job of hopping over the edge and down the side of the cliffs. My turn - seriously I don't think I have ever been
so nervous - oh wait! I haven't told you about day two!
But over the edge I went - continuing to tell myself that Dave/Dan had me on a security emergency rope and even if I passed out, he could gingerly lower me to the ground below as he explained that he had to do one time to a young girl who basically lost all control and wouldn't move.
The first couple of drops were 30 - 60 feet I suppose ... the third one - now that we were pros 😊 - a mere 175 feet .... equivalent to a 17 story building! We had to tie both our ropes together to get down .... now - the way the repelling gear works is this cool attachment on your harness that provides sort of a braking system for the rope if you hold it just right. If you let go, well, Dave/Dan had some work to do.
From the pictures that I have accompanied this blog, there is one where you can see a LITTLE dot near the top of one really tall cliff. That is me .... Anthony went down first - to be there
to catch me I suppose? Or to get it over with one. Oh and I forgot to tell you ... there was water at the bottom that you landed in and it was NOT warm. Waist deep and cold cold. Not as cold as the river in Montana we had to cross last year, but very close.
Then all along the way as we worked our way back down, we had to go straddling over water filled slots canyons with hands and feets spread wide, shimmying through some tight squeezes, and at one point I even had to crawl on my belly to get up one bolder.
Now, you all know me, I am not the tallest straw in the box - these straddles were a stretch for me - Literally. One in particular realllllllllly got to me. But the alternative was to swim in freezing water, that was definitely over my head, carrying my back back - and that was NOT an option. So, being fairly flexible, I straddled the crevace by placing my feet in the water up to my knees on opposite sides of the the rock wall and with both Anthony and Dave/Dan's encouragement,
one step at a time shifted inches at a time across to the side where the water was visably shallow and I jumped in.
Anthony didn't have any trouble it seemed with these areas at all. He has enough arm and shoulder strength to help hold himself up, or wedge himself against both sides to get past the deeper areas.
The final repel was a 100 ft drop into a cavernous slot canyon. Before we could even go over the edge we had to straddle a separation in the rock to get to the side where we would descend! THEN once down a bit, squeeze through a crack in the cliff, THEN when you get past a certain point there is no stone wall to brace against - just 40 feet of air below you and a pool of water that Dave/Dan said he did not know how deep it was .... thanks Dave/Dan - that makes me feel better!
I know why they have that one last .... I would have really been in a pickle if this was the first, second, or even the third one! Once down, I had to figure out how to
get over the water. My legs would not have reached even if they were completely extended like an Olympian, so I finally just prayed and jumped ... up to my waist .... whew! No swimming.
Anthony came down, like he had been doing this for ages, and I guess he figured I got through the water, so didn't blink twice before wading right in.
Gear off, then hiked back to the truck. We had left that morning from our hotel at 6am'ish and when we got into the car it was 4:11. 10 hours of walking, climbing, repelling, soaking in God's creation, and only a few little scratches - but wow the memories! Be sure to scroll down ... more pictures below!
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Clyde Randolph
non-member comment
some way to spent a week
looks beautiful, stay safe. love pa