Resolving An In-Canyon Anchor Situation

Many times we get in the canyons and we stumble across an Anchor and we are like WTF is this and who in their right mind rigged this and actually rappelled on it.  Well, this one wasn't quite that bad, it in fact wasn't really terrible, but it was rigged a bit funky and we had to take a minute to look at it and see what was actually going on and how we could better maximize the safety margin and configuration that was there.  We are excited to be jumping into 2020 and for a new chapter and a new Decade. We hope that this year is going to be filled with a lot of great trips and content and that we can bring more and more tutorials and concepts to you to help you with your outdoor canyoneering expeditions.  

Here's To A Fantastic Year - A Look Back At 2019

While I'm not really great at keeping up with this Blog, the Video's on our YouTube channel keep coming. Go Check out the channel to keep up with us better.  
2019 was an amazing canyoneering season for us. We got out quite a bit and had a blast on most of the trips. We put together a quick recap of some of the canyons from this year. Try to name all of the canyons shown here if you can :)  Here's looking forward to an equally if not better 2020.

24 Hours of Moab Adventure - Part 1 "Fishing Ken's Lake"

Every now and then an idea comes to life that you still look back on and wonder "How the Hell did this happen to come about."  Our 24 Hours of Moab was just such a case. 

We were all stuffed in a car on our way to do the Black Hole on July 24th (Check out the "Bailing on a Canyon" post).  We were talking about our upcoming plans to head to do Pleiades Slot Canyon in Moab the first part of August. It was brought up that if we were going to do Pleiades in the morning, why can't we do a canyon the evening before, then I would drive to Moab the afternoon prior and after the canyon I could spend the night to do Pleiades the next morning instead of driving up that morning. Well, if I was going to drive up the evening before, why not drive up early afternoon and Jeff and I could get some fishing in prior to the canyon. Thus, 24 Hours of Moab was born.  

We completed 3 adventure activities in Moab Utah in a 24 hour period and still got a full night sleep.  Our Bass Fishing (for me) trip was great. Jeff was on his fly pole so his targets were trout.  That's the great thing about fishing Ken's Lake outside of Moab, it has something for different kinds of fisherman(persons). I managed to still catch a Rainbow Trout, a Blue Gill and some Large Mouth Bass. Jeff caught a couple of Blue Gill and lots of Rainbow Trout.  We had a great afternoon, only a few hours of fishing, but well worth the add on to our adventure trip.  I would definitely (and already have) be back to fish Ken's Lake again.  

Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 of our Adventure in Moab Utah. (Spoiler - part 3 is Pleiades Canyon).

How to Fix The Worst Webbing Anchor In A Slot Canyon - Part 2

Once we have worked on understanding our rub points on the webbing and knowing where we need to be more cautious, we can look at the ways to mitigate that rub for the last man down. In Part 1 we created a courtesy anchor rigging to overcome the edge transition and rubbing for others in the group, now we set up a little bit of redundancy in the webbing in order to give the last man down a marginal bit of safety should he/she rub the webbing across the rock any and potentially start to shred it up.

Canyoneering can be damaging on the ropes and anchors, but they don't have to be fatal or even semi close to fatal when the anchors are rigged properly, or even modified such as this to create a safer canyoneering environment for everyone, not just in your group, but in the groups that may follow behind you.  

In coming months we will be highlighting a few more anchor setups and how those can be fixed and resolved to create a wholly redundant safe system.

How to Fix The Worst Webbing Anchor In A Slot Canyon - Part 1

I've been Canyoneering for nearly two decades, and over the past couple years it seems that anchor rigging has been changing in the canyons. I contribute this to several factors to include new younger blood entering the canyoneering realm and that newer younger blood not being properly trained on how anchors should be set up.   If you haven't checked out our Live Stream we did on Anchor Dynamics, now would be a good time to go back and review this video: Anchor Dynamics Live Stream I have seen the single strand webbing hanging over and edge anchor popping up more and more in the past couple of years. This anchor has it's place to be used, but the nuances and dangers of the anchor must be understood and the understanding that the anchor is neither redundant or backed up.  If the single strand of webbing breaks, it breaks and the person hanging on the end of the webbing / On Rappel is going to fall. This occurred several years ago and one of the more public incidences in Constrychnine canyon. A group of about 30 were rappelling on the same anchor and the same piece of webbing 2/3 of the way through the canyon when about #16 got on rappel and hung over the edge and the webbing snapped dropping the rappeller about 60 ft. to the canyon floor. This could have been prevented with simple measures being taken and some forethought in the anchor and group management. This video is Part 1 Check out the next post for Part 2

Making Responsible Choices in the Outdoors

We get outdoors and we recreate, but sometimes it is only at the whim of Mother Nature. When she chooses to throw you a curve ball, well, you better be ready to duck, and DUCK we did!

If you spend any amount of time studying outdoor activities you understand that rain can hamper most of them. Canyoneering is no different and often times even deadly if you don't pay attention and are ready to jump out of the way. Flash flooding can be a serious threat in a slot canyon and with the Monsoon season that the area is known for you have to play your cards just right. You can choose canyons that have less Flash Flood potential than others or canyons that are shorter and easier to get in and out of before the afternoon monsoon storms kick up.  We did neither of that in our decision to choose the Black Hole.

Pioneer Day in Utah falls on July 24th. It is a state holiday commemorating the day that the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake valley in 1847 after their long trek from the east. Many people died during the trek and it was a huge undertaking. While this date is not the date that Utah obtained Statehood, nor is it the date that Utah was first inhabited, it has become a state holiday commemorating this occasion and it is a paid holiday for everyone to take work off. Yup, a paid holiday- sucka's.

With most of us having flexible work schedules already, Tammy had the holiday off and the Black Hole had been calling us all season and we had yet to find the right moment to get into it.  We thought this was going to be it. We were wrong.  After Jeff, Tammy and Lisa drove from Moab and picked me up in Blanding we headed out to the trail head where we met Matt who had left Richfield early in the morning. He had by far the longer drive of this one and so we scheduled a 9 am meet time to accommodate. After sorting our gear and packing what we needed and dropping car shuttles the hike was on. We began with the obligatory photo in front of the warning sign.  We then hiked into the canyon and found what was one of the most devastating sights we have encountered in a canyon in a long time - Water. Not just any water waiting for us to jump in, but flowing water from rain storms.  A harsh blow to what was anticipated to be a fun hike.

Yes, while we were prepared with Wet suits and dry bags, there is no way we can hike through this canyon safely and efficiently with flowing water in there. The chocolate brown soupy water would have made each step treacherous and questionable. I have been in this canyon on two other occasions in similar conditions. First time we hiked it for an hour before turning around due to unsafe conditions and every step being a gamble. Second occasion was on Search and Rescue after being called in to rescue a group who entered it under these conditions and found it overwhelming. They ledged up and was spent almost 24 hrs on the call. I hiked several of their party out from the mid point and it was rough and miserable going.   We made the call to bail on this canyon this day. 

Canyons will always be there to do another time, the only way that we will be able to go back and do them again is we are safe and sound to do so. We tucked out tails between our legs and took off back up the trail to head to another canyon and scrape together what we could for the day.

Always be safe out there and watch your back and your partners back. You have more responsibility to come out alive than just for your self.

Life Doesn't Always Play Out the Way We Expect

What I mean by the title is that the expectations one has of a canyon day, may not turn out to be the reality of what was / is going to happen.

I've tackled Adobe Swale on a couple of other occasions and been with groups much less competent than this group was on this particular April 2019 day.  I've been wanting to get my current group of Canyoneering partners into this canyon for a long time. We have a good solid team and we all work well together.  This was our annual weekend where we camp in the North Wash for several days and Dan and his family from Denver come out to join us. We should have had a premonition early on when Dan started his trip and had problems with his truck pulling his camp trailer and then shows up with one daughter only instead of the whole family. This was starting to turn out to be a terrible week already.  Jeff and Tammy and I had done Constrychnine canyon the day before this one and we were able to stay dry and warm enough despite the wind and cold front that was present.

Jeff, Tammy, Dan, Lizzy and I embarked on Adobe Swale this day with positive enthusiasm for a day I have been waiting for for a long time - Adobe Swale with my friends.  Due to the lack of getting wet the day prior and unbeknownst to any of us, Jeff opted out of bringing any neoprene. Tammy and Lizzy changed into wetsuits before leaving the car (Smartest ones there).  I wore a 1.5 mm bottom and a 2mm top. Dan brought a wetsuit and decided that he'd wait to put it on til after swimming through two of the potholes we encountered.

Right off Jeff and I began to get cold after we were dunked in the first two holes. We became even more cold standing around waiting for Dan to finally put his suit on. Tammy and Lizzy were looking for sun just to stay comfortable.  The wind was howling and this brought the air temps down and even though the sun was out and no clouds in the sky, the cold front wasn't letting the heat penetrate. The wind brought our core temps down as we muddled through the stress of trying to stay focused and get through the technical rigging and rappelling.

We hit the crux potholes in the canyon and ended up spending over an hour there while Dan and Tammy worked through the triple pothole problems and cleared the path for us to come down. I asked for the rope length to be set up so Jeff and I could rappel off the end and not get stuck in the water. I was told this was done - it wasn't. This day just turned into one big Charlie Foxtrot after another and it continued to compound the fact that Jeff and I were starting to feel the effects of the onset of Hypothermia. Yeah, it wasn't looking good, but we weren't about to give up and let the cold take us out.  We trudged on and through it all we made it out that day. We fought the cold and we fought the negativity and we fought the urge to push the S.O.S. button on our SPOT locator beacon and to get rescued out of there. Truth be told too, we got ourselves out of there faster than Search and Rescue could have even mobilized and made an attempt to get to us.

Take aways from this you ask? Always be prepared. But most importantly I feel.... Training. Without the proper training and knowledge and experience to be in the canyon in the first place, we probably would have just thrown our hands in the air and given up not being able to think and function clearly. Having the proper Canyoneering training and experience we were able to talk each other through the issues and the pain and cold and make appropriate decisions to get us and our team out. Next would be the team. If I'd been in there with a group of newbies who didn't have the experience and training either it could have gone a lot worse. A lot of directions that could have gone. They may have freaked out and given up. We had a good solid team that was able to stick with us and help us function and work through the hypothermia and cold pains that we all began feeling.

Before you go out on your next Canyoneering adventure, watch this. Understand that often times things can go wrong and it's not because of anything you did. Mother Nature can be a relentless Bitch sometimes and you and you alone are the only one that can fight her on your own terms.  I hope that this video helps prevent any injuries or rescues for someone else out there.

Beating the Heat, and the Freakin Biting Gnats!!!

As much as I love being in the Slot Canyons, there comes a point in ones Canyoneering life that the total nature of the desert becomes a bit too much. On this such a day, we had spent the day prior in Capital Reef National Park running some short slot canyons. The canyons were great, the hikes in were a bit more obnoxious and by the end of the day Jeff and I were hammered. Jeff more so and we decided to take a rest day on day 2 instead of hiking. Well, I love the canyons and I love Fishing just as much so we decided that day 2's canyon will be Glen Canyon, Lake Powell to be precise. Keeping some fishing poles in the car for just such an occasion we packed up camp in Capital Reef and loaded up the Hoe (Tahoe) and heading to Bullfrog Marina. Making a stop in Hanksville to top off tanks, drinking water, Fishing Licenses, Red Bulls, and Bait, we hit the lake in style.

#NotSponsored

The wind was pretty rough and we decided to run down to Stanton Creek / Red Canyon area where we had stopped and fished at before and where I've done some decent shore fishing at a couple years ago. We parked on the North Side of the cove and quickly discovered that the wind was hitting us directly in the face and it wasn't playing nice - Well, Ok, it was somewhat nice, but still brutal enough that we had a hard time casting the anchovies into the wind. We were targeting Stripers as we just wanted to make it as easy on us as we could.  Stripers are not a very hard fish to catch (and neither are Catfish). So we loaded up the hooks with Anchovie and lobbed them out just enough for the wind to throw it back in our faces.  It took a little bit to get it dialed in and we ended up putting 1/2 oz. weights on the lines just to get it to land in the water. One fantastic thing about the lake though, is No BUGS!!!  Ok, I did find a spider on my leg at one point, but no biting gnats out there. I've never seen an issue with annoying bugs at all out there. I figure the fish keep the larvae in check and the insects don't get to hatch in that water. Plus the wind on this day would have made the gnats non commital anyway.  It was fantastic.


Once Jeff figured out the right weight to get the bait out into the lake and the right spot to cast to, he started catching some fish. Catfish at first as is expected when bait fishing on the bottom, then a Striper.








We continued to battle the wind here for a couple hrs trying to get it dialed in. I didn't catch anything here. The wind continued to get me hung up in rocks and every time I'd set a hook, they get hung up and break off at either the hook or the weight. We probably lost about 10-15 hooks at this location (Warning anyone going swimming there in the future).   We packed it up and headed to the Marina where we could face the opposite direction, hoped to have a little reprieve from the wind and where I know there is more gravel than rocks at this location.  Problem was.... We had to start all over chumming the water for the Striper to get active. We only had a little less than 1/2 a bag of anchovies left after all our prior issues and they were getting warm and soft.  They didn't want to stay on the hooks now.  Jeff figured out the right spots to hook the anchovies on at to catch some bone and hold better. I lost a few in the process, but hey, chum!

After about an hour of sitting in this spot Jeff pulled in another Catfish:

The wind, well yeah, it wasn't any better here. Somehow it had figured out how to blow in the opposite direction here as it was in our previous location just so that it could blow back in our face again. However, without the rocks and such to get caught on we were feeling a bit more confident and it worked in my favor. After Jeff's catfish, I pulled in 2 Stripers and a Small Mouth that surprised the heck out of me. Jeff asked me earlier if a Small Mouth would eat an Anchovie, I told him no, but I guess if they are hungry, or annoyed enough they will.  The hook was almost bigger than the mouth on this guy.

All total for the Day:
Jeff: 3 Catfish                    1  Striper
Jared: 2 Striper                    1 Small Mouth













We beat the Gnats and our soreness and had a fun day out in a different type of canyon. Some would say that we gave up the canyons and opted for the easy way out, Some would say we just took a different approach to enjoying the canyons in another way.

Living in the South East desert of Utah affords us the opportunity to enjoy nature in so many different ways. From Hiking Slot Canyons, to Fishing Lake Powell or ATV riding through Elk Ridge and High Altitude mountains, there is lots to see and do and enjoy in this area. We aren't done with Slot canyons for the year, but man, the Gnats are out in force now and the lake is calling for now.  We might be on the water a bit more over the next couple months now.

The Totem Block Anchor Really Is The Smartest Way to Rig a Canyoneering Anchor

Often times teaching how to rig anchors becomes a bit confusing. There are many different ways that anchors can be rigged and even after taking classes and being taught how you should rig an anchor and what the safest method for rigging a canyoneerng anchor is, you forget, go back to your old habits and move on. Well, this is what I did for a while as well.  When I was first starting out canyoneering, the Totem didn't exist. When it came about I was set in my ways and had a hard time understanding why I should change what I was currently rigging.  Well, I finally sat down (really just stood there, but you get the point) and decided to practice using the Totem until it was ingrained in my head. It really does make the anchor rigging of a contingency anchor that much easier and safer.

Why use a contingency anchor you ask? Why not just drop double strand all the time and keep the rigging simple?  Well, one word - SAFETY!  By pre-rigging your rappel for safety in mind, you set yourself up for a winning combination if you ever find you or your group in a bind.

What can go wrong on a rappel and why would I need a contingency anchor?
Contingency means just that. It's a setup in preparation of something possibly going bad. Will it go bad? It may not. But wouldn't it be better for you to be ready to fix it if it does?  Have I had to use the contingeny anchor in an emergency situation?  Yes I have!!  Do I have to do it often? No I don't. In the years that I have been Canyoneering and guiding I have only had to deploy (lower) someone on a contingency anchor less than a handful of times, but I was sure glad that I had rigged for it instead of having to scramble to figure something out.

Ok, sorry for the long tangent, back to the question, what can go wrong?
Rappel length can be too short - if you can't see the bottom you may not know if the rope reaches all the way. What's that? You say just deploy all the rope in the bag and then re-adjust once someone is down. Can be done - if the canyon is dry. It does take some extra time. If the canyon is wet and you are rappelling into a pool of water or the canyon is flowing, you don't want a mess of rope in the pool below you as you are trying to swim and disconnect from the rappel and getting your feet tangled in a spaghetti mess of rope.
Items get stuck on the Rappel Device - This is one of the most common. Hair, T-shirts, Pack straps get sucked into the rappel device if the rappeller is not paying attention and can jam them up. Also if an Auto block type device is being used as a back up for a first man down, it could get jammed up if things don't go well and then they either have to self rescue or the contingency anchor gets deployed to lower them down.
Knot in the rope - Either a knot ends up in the rope, or it is intentionally put there to either tie out a bad section or tie two ropes together. A contingency can be used as a safety margin to lower someone when a knot appears, but can be pre-planned if a knot is placed in the rope and a lower can be used in order to help someone avoid having to pass a knot.

These are three of the most common reasons you may encounter in order to need a Contingency anchor. It's not a harm to put one in and not need it, but can be detrimental to not put one in and then need it.

This video is something I created for students who get home and forget how to tie the simple Totem Block Contingency anchor for Canyoneering and rappelling in general. What other uses can you think of for needing a contingency anchor?  What are some situations you have found yourself in where you wish you had had one, or glad you did have one?  Let me know.

If you are interested in picking up a Totem Click the link here to be directed to our store:
https://www.mkt.com/NorthWashOutfitters/item/the-totem?t=modal-tw

What Canyoneering Gear Should I First Invest In?

I often get asked this simple yet so complex question. What should be my first gear purschases when getting into Canyoneering?

Sometimes "Newbs" can get a bit overwhelmed by the different types of gear and the amount of gear out there, which is to be a bit understated, because the world of Canyoneering is still so new that there isn't a lot of gear for the sport like there is for other sports. If you get into climbing or camping or backpacking there are many more manufactures and gear sources for these, Canyoneering is still up and coming in the gear sector and companies are forming to fill the niche, but it's still gonna be a while. This is good, because you only have to look in a few places to find the proper gear, but there still is some confusing things to consider.

In this video I talk a little about the most essential gear that you should start with. These items are what you absolutely need in order to travel through a Technical Slot Canyon. Everything else on top of this is more for comfort and ease of travel. Sometime Newbs will buy the non-essential gear first because it's less confusing.

So, to break down what you really need:
Rope - a Static Canyoneering Rope (Canyoneering ropes are made specifically to repel water and have a tighter weave to resist abrasion from the canyon environment)  Don't try canyoneering with your climbing rope - it SUCKS! If you do, don't EVER use your climbing rope for climbing again.
Harness - Climbing harnesses work just fine - Don't EVER use your climbing harness for climbing again if used for Canyoneering. There are Canyoneering specific harnesses that have a little different tie in point and some seat protection built in. You can also buy add on seat protectors to put onto some types of climbing harnesses.
Carabiner(s) - A Screw Gate locking carabiner. Don't use Autolocking carabiners. Sand jams the mechanisms and make them unsafe.
Rappel Device - Any rappel / Belay device will work, but there are canyoneering specific devices that work better on the canyoneering ropes and single strand rappels.
Quick Links - Also called Rapide's (French) these will be left behind on the anchors and you will need enough for each rappel in the canyon.
1" Tubular Webbing - This to will be left behind on the anchors that are build and or replaced from worn out stuff in the canyon. Use dull colors that won't attract too much attention (Black, Tan, Rust). You will need enough webbing to replace all the anchors in the canyon. Some canyoneer's carry up to 50' at a time with them.
Helmet - Any climbing helmet will work.

This will get you started into the canyoneering world. Other items will follow as you get more involved and decide that the sport is for you and you want to stick with it. If you have a good experienced group that you are starting to go out with, you might be able to get away with not buying a rope immediately if others in the group have ropes that will be used and you are tagging along with.  My next purchase after these items would be a good Canyoneering Specific Back pack and Shoes.  But more on that later, or hit me up with questions in the comments if you'd like to explore more items.

Pool Arch Canyoneering Route in Moab Utah

Whether you call it Rock of Ages or Pool Arch Canyon, this Canyoneering route is a fun one. With some spectacular views and rappels it's a fantastic hike to knock off a day with.  Generally it's gonna have some water in the canyon, not as much on hotter days, or days where there has been no rain fall for a while.  Rock of Ages canyon is a spectacular route to mess around in.

This route is located in the South West quadrant of Moab and is accessed from the trail head just off of Kane Creek right a long side the Colorado River. There is lots of camping and parking in the area, but be careful, most of it is on Private Property and there are fee stations (Posts and boxes) asking for parking fees. It is on the honor system I believe and not really patrolled as far as we noticed. There is a huge parking pull out where we stopped and a sign post for a $10 parking fee. The canyon is worth it, and there really isn't much of anywhere else to park in that area without adding additional hiking time and distances. The canyon makes a loop and you end up hiking back down the canyon afterward ending back at this parking spot.

Once parked and ready to go, you hike up Pritchett Canyon along the dirt road for about 10-15 min. Be careful to pay attention to traffic. This is a popular Jeep/UTV road and trail up into Pritchett Canyon and you may encounter vehicles on this road that you will need to move off the road way for. Most people that we encountered were courteous and aware of hikers. We did have bandanna's and "Buffs" with us that we put over our nose and mouth to cut down on the dust we were breathing in when they passed by us.

After the short hike up the road you will see a narrow looking drainage coming in from your left. This is your exit location from the road and the beginning of the climb up to the rim where you will encounter Pool Arch. Be aware on the hike up that there is another arch you will hike underneath on your right hand side. Sometimes it's not easy to see until after you have passed by it and stop to look back. This route once on top is becoming more and more worn and it shouldn't be too hard to stay on the path and staying in the right direction towards Pool Arch.  This hike up through the canyon does come with some exposed climbs and scrambles. It's a high class 4 in a couple of locations so you need to be sure of your footing and grappling skills. A handline might be needed for some, be sure to put your helmet on for safety.

Once at Pool Arch the fun begins. You can bypass the initial rappel into the Arch Chamber if you want with a hike down on the side of the arch,  but why would you pass up this spectacular rappel. Lisa had done this canyon a number of times and this was her first time doing this rappel (refer to video as we discuss this).

Be prepared on the third / final rappel. It catches a lot of people a little off guard if your not expecting it. There is some exposure to it and some major penalty points. You have to lean out from the edge of the great abyss in order to rig it. We simply tied a hard line to the hand line anchor on top and used this as a safety point for the rigger to be tied into. Also consider using a safety tether off of your harness to connect to the main anchor while rigging it or helping others to rig in. With the tie in, we didn't feel this was necessary, however if Jeff had slipped or been knocked over the edge, it would have taken him a bit of work to get back up over the lip with out having the safety tether attached.  We really should have done it and you should too.

After dropping the third and final rappel, you can follow the social trail out of this little split off and you end up back on the Pritchett Canyon road. It's about a 30 min walk from here back down the same road you started on and to your car.

This canyoneering route really isn't a Slot Canyon as Moab doesn't have many of those. Like most of the other routes in the area it's a route through and between sandstone fins giving the impression of a slot canyon. It's still a gorgeous route and a fun trip and one that should be on your bucket list if looking for a canyoneering route in Moab to do.

If you are interested in seeing the whole un-edited video that we shot on this trip, you can check out our Patreon Page for further information on gaining access to that full video:
https://www.patreon.com/NorthWashOutdoors

Lost and Found Slot Canyon in Arches National Park

When one thinks of Slot Canyons, Moab Utah is really not the place to look towards to find them, especially not in Arches National Park. You visit this park to see the Arches that Mother Nature has sculpted and worn away and marvel at the beauty left behind from wind erosion, not water erosion of canyons.  I'm going to let you in on a little secret that no Guide Company in Moab will divulge: "There really are no Slot Canyons in Moab." Really, even though most guide companies in Moab offer Canyoneering trips now, with the impression of going through slot canyons, these trips consist mainly of hiking through routes developed for the adventure seekers visiting the area. They aren't true slot canyons in the sense of North Wash, The Swell, The Roost, or Zion National Park. But I digress, if your just looking for an adventure, there are plenty to be had in the Moab area.  

Now, on the other hand, Lost and Found Canyon (a.k.a. Undercover Canyon) is one of only a few actual true slot canyons in the Moab region, and actually lies with in Arches National Park boundaries. However, it won't be found on any tourist info for the park as it takes some skills to find it and get through it.

To access this canyon you have to go in through the back door of the park and come off of I-70 North of Moab and towards the Colorado State Line and then wind your way through a maze of back roads to come back to the park boundary.  Once there, you then have to hike on an un designated route to reach the canyon rim. Don't worry, getting back to your car doesn't get any easier, this was the easy part. It's not a canyon for the average tourist to the park, but it's actually one that is well worth the trip. 

Great rappels and nice little slot sections. The canyon section if moving efficiently will only take you a couple of hrs. The hiking out is the longest part of the day giving the most concern with the exit climb up out of the canyon. A lot of people have had issues mentally with the "Climbers Exit", some have actually fallen and taken some serious injuries from it. On this trip, it was Tammy's 4th time through the canyon and I've seen her tackle slopes and sections of canyons that are worse than this climbers exit with out batting an eye. However, because of the nature of this climbers exit and past trauma on this section of the canyon, Tammy has struggled with it each time she has done the canyon. I had to make a bet with her, one that I knew she would want to win and because she is stubborn I knew she would not want to admit defeat to. Check out the video and see how Tammy conquers this fear and what it cost me.

If you want to watch the entire un-edited trip through this canyon check out our Patreon Page for information on how you can sign up and have access to this:
https://www.patreon.com/NorthWashOutdoors

ATV Trip Out To Visit Tower Ruin

My dad is so afraid of heights its almost laughable - sometimes. Now I know that sounds horrific to say and not very nice, but I'm not sure how I ended up OK at heights where he is terrified. We never did anything as kids growing up at heights, because he wouldn't allow it. I learned at a young age to be able to make repairs to the swamp cooler on the roof because he wouldn't get up there to do it. One time I couldn't figure something out on the cooler so he climbed the ladder in an attempt to help me and as soon as his foot hit the roof he went spread eagle flat faced down trembling and wouldn't move. We had to drag him back wards towards the ladder and guide him off roof. (I think we then had to hire someone to make that repair later).

Why am I telling you this story, well, there is no way I'm going to ever get me dad to rappel into a slot canyon and join in on one of those adventures. I did grow up loving the outdoors because of him. We spent a lot of time on the mountain camping and fishing and even attempted hunting a couple of times (that a story for another time.)

My dad has really gotten a lot of enjoyment these past few years from riding his ATV. After all the kids moved out and he had money to burn now, he bought himself and ATV and he and mom have been riding trails all over Utah. Living in San Juan County there are lots of places to ride and we have talked about him coming down and riding some trails int he area. Finally we were able to make that happen. This video is a short compilation of the ride we took out to Tower Ruin. It's not a rough ride and can be actually accomplished with a decent clearance on a vehicle, but the concept of being able to jump on your ATV / UTV and leave from your home and go visit some of these locations is fantastic. Check out the video of my dad's first ride in San Juan County and go check out his You Tube channel: Utah ATV Adventures. He is starting out new sharing his riding experiences and the trails he has visited. 

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAZrtme-LYihiBg_gXg4C8g 

Adventure Vlog Episode 1

Well, it becomes more and more apparent that we are terrible with keeping up writing blog posts.  I am always in fear that my posts will be somewhat redundant and boring more times than not.  We love to be in the outdoors and explore and share that with others, but when it comes to writing about it, well........  We certainly fall short.

So, in comes a new technique, hopefully one that will be a little easier to keep going.  Ever since I was a kid I have always been fascinated with television and movie production and for a while really wanted to go into the film business as an editor or something where I got to create the film from the technology side.  Taking radio broadcasting and video productions classes in High School was a lot of fun and totally the best classes I was taking.  Fast forward to adult life and things change, but passions don't always go away.  I have always like the outdoors and have always like film production.  When I started Canyoneering and exploring, I quickly realized that I might be able to combine these two passions.  Shortly I invested a few hundred dollars in a Digital Video Camera, one that would take a mini DV tape that it recorded on.  I used this for a few years and made some videos to put on our website for fun.  This was before YouTube came out.  There were several of us doing this, and I had a blast.  Things transformed and I got out of the habit for a bit when HD became available.  I didn't want to invest in the new equipment to start working HD.  Then GoPro comes a long and improves their technology so much that it was once again easy to use and edit.  I invested again in several hundred dollars for a camera and accessories as well as a new computer and software to start editing.  This was fun for a while and we started a YouTube channel to house all of our videos and moved some of our old ones online.  I soon had a blast again combining the two passions.

After a few years, it started getting redundant and I wasn't' creating anything new.  I felt like I was just gonna start posting the same things over and over.  Now I have a Terabyte hard drive sitting with tons of video footage on it.

Enter the new era I have discovered.  Vlogging.  Now, I don't like to sit down to a computer and write a blog, but I love sitting down and editing video as well as shooting it.  For me this is the kind of story telling that makes the most fun to me.  I have re-amped up our YouTube presence, but have moved a lot of our old videos to a new location.  YouTube took my old channel and made it a bit of a pain to tie into our YouTube presence.  I am not a fan of moving things again and starting over, but hope that the change will move us forward.

Our new videos are going to be a bit more story telling, Vlogging style and I am hoping to show us off with a little more interaction.  To start this off, we took a trip out for the REI campaign on Black Friday for #OptOutside.  We drove only with in 45 min of home and were able to take three different hikes/walks from the car to see some amazing scenery and sites.  I hope you will like this new format (I will still occasionally put up just "Music Video" highlight reels as well).  Please follow our YouTube Channel, comment, like, post, engage with us so we know what you think.  We hope you have a great winter season, we look so forward to spring already and the weather warming up again.  Here's to new adventures and experiences.  Get outdoors and enjoy.

You can follow and sub our YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/northwashoutfittersofficial?sub_confirmation=1

Desert Solitude

This year the weather has been something of a mystery for the State of Utah this year.  Where we are supposed to be getting snow, it's nothing but sunshine.  Now for me, a guy who likes the sunshine over being frozen, this generally isn't an issue, but I also like to drink water and play on water during the summer, so the lack of snow pack in the South Eastern portion of Utah is a little unsettling.  Well, I can't do anything about it other than fret, so what do I do with unseasonable warm temps.... Plan a Canyon trip.  

With Temps in the beginning of February hovering into the 60's, it was perfect to get out and visit a canyon and even work up a little bit of a sweat doing so.  I have been wanting to get back into the main fork of Hog Canyon for quite some time now.  It has been many years since I have been through there, and dragging an unsuspecting 3rd party through it would give me a sense of awesomeness knowing they were going to question my sanity.

Brett and I packed up early leaving town just about 8:30 ish.  We arrived at the trail head and parked just before 10:30 ish.  It's a real treat living so close to so many great canyon opportunities and being out in the Desert when it's not scorching allows you to enjoy the time out a little more.  We were pleased with low traffic on the road and pure solitude, although we did follow other foot tracks into and through the canyon, they had probably had the same idea as us the weekend prior.

Brett and I packed as light as we could to move as quickly and efficiently as two people were able to.  Packed a lunch, some water, trimmed down our tech gear and emergency essentials to the bare est needs, grabbed a 100' 8mm Canyon Pro, some webbing and hit the trail running.  Well, at a fast walk.  We were both itching to get into the canyon.  The first trip of the year is always a special time to rejuvenate and explore and get our bodies back into the groove.  Well, by the end of this day, or groove needed some work still, but we were out heading to a canyon and it was glorious.

The desert did not disappoint.  As we approached the canyon the anticipation of being out was overwhelming.  We stopped several times to let the air sink in and fill our lungs with a relaxing vibe.  That relaxation didn't last long as the hard work soon began.  Hog 1, or Boss Hog as it is known, is not your friendly neighborhood canyon, it's a work horse.  With only two required rappels, the rest of the canyon is physical and up to you to man up and do it.  Brett soon realized he wasn't in for a walk in the park and started to question my sanity as was expected.  We heaved and hoed our way through the narrow corridors and found ourselves quickly to the first drop.  This was a questionable drop vs. down climb.  Brett opted to be on rope to check it out, afterwards I down climbed with a spot.  The next drop was immediate, and while the initial portion didn't require rope off the anchor, the second portion was about 10' straight walled.  We decided that this was the turn around spot, the final kiss it goodbye moment to do or die (is that too dramatic?)

After dropping this point and moving on we had our work cut out for us.
This canyon was unforgiving and would be a bad place to be in poor weather, but man, the beauty of this place was spectacular.  The dark corridors and chambers we found or way in to was a magical place that I guarantee most normal sane people will never see outside of a mere photograph.

We pushed and prodded and continued on.  The final rappel came soon
enough.  Setting up an SRT Contingency was necessary as we could not see the bottom of the drop.  I threw out what I believed was at least 50' of rope and Brett jumped on.  As he rappelled he exclaimed that this was one of the most beautiful rappels he had done to date.  The sculpted fluting of the walls was special.  Brett hit the floor and we pulled up rope to proper length (I had dropped about 20' too much down).  After finishing the rappel we trudged on.  Knowing that most of the narrow stuff was done we wound our way in and out and through varying corridors.  At one point we found several patches of snow still in the canyon and commenced a snowball fight, something that doesn't happen too often.

I knew we still had one more narrow slide to get through after the convergence of the canyon with Hog 4 (Merry Piglet).  The canyon was a true pleasure.  Brett was super stoked to have completed by far his most narrowest challenge to date and seen one of the best rappels yet.  The weather was fantastic and the bugs were even already out.  We traversed back up the ridge a bit where we settled down to eat some lunch and rest before the but kicking hike back out and to our vehicles.  The entire trip car to car took us about 4 hr 30 min including the 30 min lunch break.  The desert did not disappoint and we will certainly be looking forward to our next trip out.

What are some of your first experiences and feelings each season when you get out for the first time?  How do they compare with adventures at the end of a season?  Share your comments.

Website Home Page: http://www.NorthWashOutfitters.com

"It Depends"

In Canyoneering there are arguments that will just never die.  I guess this is the same in any other sport probably.  I mean how long are we going to be talking about Tom Brady's deflated Balls?  Well, I guess that's not an argument, if they were they were.  But, lets leave that for the campfire discussion.

Canyoneers get set in their ways and as a training school we like to help them get set in those ways early on.  We seek the opportunities to help train future explorers to be safe and rig their rope systems responsibly.  After a few years they hopefully gain enough experience and understanding to start making some decisions on the subject matter on their own.  One of the most hotly debated concepts is the subject of Single Strand Rope Rappel or Double Strand Rope Rappel - Often times abbreviated as SRT vs. DRT (Single/Double Rope Technique).

Photo from Climbing Magazine: Unbelayvable Article
The Art Project

This topic came up last week on a Canyoneering forum discussion and I used it as a Q&A topic for our Facebook page this week.  Just last evening while surfing Twitter I came across an article posted by Climbing Magazine poking fun at an anchor rigging set up that a climber stumbled across:

http://www.climbing.com/news/unbelayvable-the-art-project-anchor/  What was common in all these discussions about rope technique in canyoneering is the usual "It Depends."

For new Canyoneers we teach a single rope technique set up in what is called a contingency anchor format.  Climbers look at us and with one eye brow raised they go - Huh?  Why?  Why not just set it up Double Strand and be done with it.  No fuss, no muss.  Well, that's all well and good for a climber who understands putting a rope through a point and rappelling down to the next point, but in Canyoneering "It Depends."

Learning to lower a stuck rappeller on an SRT
contingency Anchor

Teaching a "Newb" to single rope a contingency anchor offers them the opportunity to better self rescue or buddy rescue if the need arises.  Without going into a long discourse on the how the setup works, it allows one to better ascend the rope, or have a partner lower them down from on top, or quickly convert to a haul and raise them up.  In a double rope scenario, all this can be accomplished as well, but through much longer processes and equipment usage.  

In Canyoneering, not all of our rappels are straight down.  Some wind around a corridor in the canyon, some squeeze through/over/or under pinch points, some land in pools of water where you may be swimming, or just wading, may not know til you get there.  Some are through waterfalls pounding on your head and back pack and forcing you to the ground.  "It all Depends."

Aaron dropping over an 80' rappel SRT on
contingency setup

Setting up a double rope rappel can complicate some of these situations with rope retrieval, or with plain old safety.  Halving a rope and dropping it into a pool of water could complicate the disconnect from the rappel if you are swimming at the same time.  40'-50' of rope being kicked underneath you while treading water can cause entanglement or complicate trying to disconnect as well as dropping your rappel device completely.  Single strand can alleviate some of these issues.

There are many many arguments for each side of the coin DRT vs. SRT or is it SRT vs. DRT???  "It Depends."  Once a Canyoneer gets some training under their belt, and some understanding of canyon dynamics, I hope you go out practice and understand the fundamentals more and you will be able to then decide on each and every drop, is it going to be an SRT or a DRT drop?

Oh, and that anchor in Climbing Magazine - it is called a Joker setup.  The pic shows two different setups used to rappel 2-4 people simultaneously.  If it were me, I would have equalized the setup off the two bolts instead of using each one independently, but Hey, they are a guide company, they must know what they are doing right?

Join us for Canyoneering chatter on Twitter: @North_Wash use #CanyonChat

The Dawn of the Ages

What did you do to ring in the New Year?  While most of us carry on with our wild parties, our fireworks and late night / early morning shennanigans, two individuals laid in their sleeping bags suspended high above the valley floor in Yosemite's National Park.  

On December 27th the pair of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson embarked on a climb that captivated the world and held many of us hostage to our social media for 19 days.  If you have been living in a cave, you might not have heard about this, but for anyone watching any mainstream news source, you will have heard about these two.  They were climbing the Dawn Wall of the famed El Capitan peak in Yosemite National Park in California.  What's so great about that you ask?  Well, I asked the same thing when I started hearing about it.  People make climbs every day, why don't we hear about these all the time.  I think part of the reason this one is so talked about now, is that they were on social media during the entire 19 day event, (well except for Tommy who dropped his phone a week before the final push).

I didn't start paying attention to this event until it was almost over.  What was so great about this one vs. any other climb.  For me, a canyoneer (failed climber) I wasn't too much into the climbing stuff anymore.  As I started paying attention, I started studying the history of the Dawn Wall and realizing what was taking place.  This was a climb that had only ever been done using aid gear.  The holds and grabs were so small that no one had ever accomplished it cleanly without aid gear (bolts, cams, pitons attached with aiders).  These two, if accomplished, would be the first ever to get up the route cleanly and freely without the use of gear to stand on.  

The next thing I found out was that Tommy had been pursuing this goal since 2007.  That right there hit me, it smacked me in the face like a 2x4.  I actually became emotional when I realized what completing this climb meant to Tommy.  He probably really didn't care about all the fanfare that was following it, or about the amounts of attention he was getting and going to get.  He had his eyes on a prize, his eye on a goal and had a dream to accomplish.  This is what this meant to me after studying it.  As the world sat in our warm homes and chairs watching this event unfold, we were witnessing a man fulfill a dream and goal.  This climb is probably the toughest physically anyone could do, but mentally, Tommy was in charge.  He planned and prepped and studied and practiced this route in micro visits for years.  Having done every bit of the wall before hand in small chunks, he knew it was doable, if only time would give it to him.

The Dawn Wall ascent, while a physical triumph, will go down in history as one man beating his demons and accomplishing his goals.  We learn that perseverance can triumph.  We learn that having a team strong enough as you and keeping the pressure on is important.  Never ever give up on your goals and dreams.  Find your own Dawn Wall and beat the crap out of it.  Fight it and conquer it!

GoPro Announces Wireless Streaming Video

I have been a fan of GoPro for several years now.  Once they hit the HD revolution with their tiny camera's the world was amazed.  They have continued to just get better and better as the years go on.  This year they announced and released the HD Hero 4 with some amazing upgrades.  I'm always a step behind this curve (cuz I'm cheap) and once the 4 was released I landed me a deal on a 3+ upgrading from my plain Jane HD Hero.

Today GoPro has moved forward announcing that they have teamed up with Vislink who is a global technology business specializing in the collection, transmission, management and distribution of high quality video associated data from the field to the point of usage.  This will be an amazing breakthrough in the world of POV camera's especially in the active sporting community.  These camera's can be worn on athletes and the footage transmitted directly to the producers of the show.  No more changing cards back and forth for the post production transmission of images.  The footage will be instantaneous.

This will be so cool.  If we can get Football players to strap one of these bad boys on, the hits in the game are going to soon be that much more intense.  The ski crashes during Olympic races could start becoming more epic, or snowboard racing could start getting way more intense.  This is going to be so awesome.

Looking at it in regards to the outdoor sports world we could be taking camera's on real time explorations for film productions and documentaries.  The caving and scuba diving worlds could be seeing things unfold right before our eyes in real time.  This will be fantastic (of course the question of range and obstructions I'm sure will play a role in this.

Check out the complete story on GoPro Website Here: http://gopro.com/news/gopro-partners-with-vislink-for-live-wireless-hd-broadcast

Mother Knows Best

As a young child I was taught that Mother ALWAYS Knows Best.  Many of us were taught this, or more or less, were forced to have this engraved into our psyche at a young age. We are given the opportunity as we grow to learn and develop our own sense of what we should and shouldn't do.  But in the end of course - Mother Knows Best or as I have modified - Mother is Always Right (and now that I'm married I'm constantly reminded that Mommy is always right).

What does this have to do with outdoor adventure you may ask - well it has everything to do with it.  It was the first outdoor lesson that I was taught without my parents even realizing it.  Let me elaborate a bit.

2014 saw it's shares of mishaps and misadventures in the canyons.  Early on in the year it looked like it was going to be a rough year for adventurers.  For those of you that have been in our office you might have seen my white board above my desk with the quote on it "Without Risk There is No Reward".  In adventure sports this rings very true.  We risk our lives in search of that next great thrill, or to see the next great landscape that many others are not willing to put risk into to see.  When I take clients out I explain to them that the places they will see today, the majority of the human race will never experience.  It is only with that step off the edge into the abyss and the trust in the rope do we see some wonderful sights.  "Without Risk There is No Reward."

What does this have to do with my Mother?  Well, not in the sense you are thinking, although I did tell a friend, Ram, this year that my mother would die if she saw what I was doing as I slid down a rock slab landing into a pool of water in a crevasse about 16" wide.  The Mother I refer to in adventure sports is our very own Mother Nature.  She always knows best, or in any sense, she is always right.  Her laws and rules are permanent and we had better be mindful of them.  

Many times we find a way to circumvent those rules for just a little bit, or a way to manage them to our advantage.  We mitigate gravity with ropes and parachutes.

One issue that has always plagued us is the decision to go or not to go.  This generally has more to do with the laws that Mother Nature has outlined in regards to weather and the safety that comes from the issues of diving into a slot canyon filled with water, or where water can potentially accumulate and take control of you.  I try to instill in students during our courses that the hazards in canyons can be mitigated to a point to enjoy the adventure, but that when the hazards start adding up to more than we can mitigate at once, the risk becomes too great and it's not worth the reward anymore.  The canyon will be there another day, let's make sure that we are as well.

I make no hesitation when booking trips to tell potential clients that if the weather seems questionable or the canyon seems out of reach at the time, then we won't be going in.  I know there has been many that have been disappointed in this.  A little over a year ago some potential clients booked and then proceeded to fly in from the Netherlands.  After frequent communication and constant weather checking I cancelled the trip.  They drove to our town just for the trip and showed up to talk with me.  I explained that the recent storms and the future forecast has me too concerned for the safety to feel it will turn out in our favor.  They, while being disappointed, expressed understanding and went on their way.  Their natural path of travel took them past the canyons we were going to do and they spent the night there getting up early in the morning to look around.  There were many other recreational canyoneers also camping at this location and they tried to convince these guys to go out with them instead.  The clients declined relying on my hesitation they later told me.  When they contacted me after getting back to the Netherlands they sent me some pictures of the wash outs in that area that happened that day from rain storms.  The entire campsite where they were was flooded out and later reports surfaced that some of the groups who had gone into the canyons were caught in flash floods and some minor injuries incurred.  Thankfully nothing serious.

Another client this year booked a trip and the weather the days leading up to it was pretty bad, but the day of the trip was really nice.  We headed out and entered the canyon drainage.  We donned our wet suits and harnesses and started down.  50 yds into the canyon we hit the first technical section requiring some gear to drop in.  I observed that the prior storms had filled the canyon with a large amount of debris and I knew that if this was just the beginning, and the rest of the canyon was like this we were gonna have a rough day.  By starting out this way we may hit spots that would be impassable.  I aborted the trip right there citing the potential obstacles and the hazards that may be encountered causing us some undue hardships and potential dangers.  

Currently in the past few weeks ending off the 2014 year, we have cancelled two trips that once we started down the road, the light rain we left town in turned to heavy snow and the roads were snow packed to a point that we were not sure about even getting to the canyon which was still over an hour away.  Trip aborted, clients taken back to town.  

As I began typing this out the other day, I sat here wondering if I was gonna be in a canyon the next day for the Annual FreezeFest Black Hole trip.  Due to the weather forecast it was predicting some snow fall. The day came and the snow was there.  Not only did I not go, but the rest of the crew that had been out camping also chose that the risk of attempting any canyon that day was far too high to make the venture worth anyone's safety.

This year several video's surfaced on YouTube outlining the question, do we sometimes risk too much in the outdoors.  Do we often push that envelope just a little to far?  Maybe with a little more training and some respect for our Mother things will look up this year.  I am hoping that the New Year will start off wonderful, that we may all be out in the back country enjoying our favorite activities, but that we head the call of Mother Nature in a way that will be able to bring us back again and again and again.  May the New Year bless you all with safety, entertainment, enjoyment, and fun.  The canyons will be there another day if only you will be too to enjoy them.  See ya in the Canyons.

WARNING NOTICE - SOME VIDEOS ATTACHED HERE CONTAIN STRONG LANGUAGE.  LISTENER BE WARNED!

Zion: Rock of Refuge from Eric Hanson on Vimeo.

San Juan Wonderland

By Brian Wrabley

Owner - Treks West Tours

A visit to San Juan County, Utah is a fantastic adventure to a land full of the most stunning collection of natural wonders I know of! Other regions to be sure have their own beauty, but I can’t think of one county, by itself, that has more to offer in outdoor recreation than San Juan! I've been aware of the area since I was a little kid, when I’d become enthralled by the landscape of Monument Valley. The western’s directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne had captured my imagination, and came to symbolize the West to me. For the next 30 years I had no idea that Monument Valley was just one small part of this vast and stunning county. I first made it to the area in 2007, and made my pilgrimage to Monument Valley, it was then that I learned about all the other treasures there were here!

In exploring what San Juan County had to offer, I came across a veritable wonderland of natural creations! Fantastically sculpted sandstone, deep canyons carved by a serpentine river, jaw dropping views comparable to any I've ever seen! On top of the natural wonders, there’s a deep, rich human history here as well, to be found in the most amazing locations! The ruins, and rock art of the ancient Puebloans adds texture to this land! The Navajo, Paiute, and Ute people who came later and still reside here, show how life can be sustained, and thrive in this beautiful, but harsh landscape! The Mormon settlers who overcame amazing hardships to settle and carve out a place to live, and practice their faith! All these elements are woven together to create this fabulous tapestry of natural and human history, it enriches anyone who comes into contact with it! It was the inspiration from places like this that lead me to start my own adventure tour company, Treks West Tours www.TREKSWESTTOURS.com.  I knew I wanted a tour to Monument Valley, but the 2007 visit made me understand how many other great places there were to offer on the tour!

The array of places to see and things to do can overwhelm you! It’s good that once you come here you’ll be hooked, so you’ll keep coming back again, and again to experience more of it! The tours I offer are active ones with plenty of hiking, horseback riding, and river rafting in them and San Juan County has all of that and much more! In addition to Monument Valley the list includes Canyonlands National  NP, Natural Bridges NM, Lake Powell/Glen Canyon NRA, Hovenweep NM, Grand Gulch Primitive Area, Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway, Edge of Cedars State Park, Goosenecks State Park, Cedar Mesa, Manti La Sal National Forest, 3 of the west’s most iconic rivers, the San Juan, the Colorado, and the Green, scenic views like Muley Point, and the Needles Overlook! This isn't everything, I touched on a few, but there are innumerable BLM lands with ruins, and petroglyphs, some of the best in the world! The hiking is phenomenal, with all types of terrain! A horseback riding experience in Monument Valley has no equal on the planet in my opinion! The Colorado is the most renowned river in the west, and runs through many states, but the San Juan is the heart of this region! A rafting trip on the San Juan from one day to a week is a special adventure you’ll never forget! Deep canyons, peace and solitude, ruins, and wildlife along the shore it is a seminal event! In addition to all of this, there’s biking, climbing, ATV touring, fishing, 4x4/jeep tours, hot air ballooning, boating on Lake Powell, and much more!

It was on my visit to the area last Spring that I got to try a new experience that had been on my list for a while, canyoneering! I had a chance to try it up in Moab a few years before, but the trip got canceled do to weather, and I didn't get to make it up. In researching my recent trip I came across North Wash Outfitters, and Jared Hillhouse. My wife and I were going to give it a try, and after telling Jared our particulars, age, experience, fitness level, he decided Blarney Canyon would be the right place to have our first canyoneering experience. Blarney is located in Glen Canyon NRA and take a while to get to, but the drive on its own is stunning! After arriving, and getting our gear on we hike up a steep slick rock slope to the canyon rim, from the top you have amazing views of the Henry Mountains! The rappels on this outing are long in the 25-40 foot range, perfect for a beginner! Jared and crew ensure your safety every step of the way, and instill you with confidence as you try something so new. It’s an amazing experience between the rappelling, and the scrambling and scurrying down through the narrow slot canyons, some that don’t get any sunlight! It’s not easy but it’s invigorating as you prepare for the challenges that await you around every corner. Long story short, our canyoneering experience was awesome, one of the most thrilling of my life! Needless to say canyoneering is now a part of my Monument Valley tour, I can’t recommend it, and North Wash Outfitters enough! In my business I work with a lot of outfitters in a various fields, non are any better than North Wash!

The moral of this story is, if you’re looking for an awesome western experience and don’t want to have to drive hundreds of miles in between, look no further than San Juan County! There is so much to see and do you could spend a lifetime visiting and not do it all!