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.

Ringing in the New Year with a bit of Cold Psychotic Shenanigans

For those that aren't fully engulfed in the sport of Canyoneering, this whole idea seems a bit psychotic.  For those that are into the life of a Canyoneer, this post will draw up stirrings and feelings of jealousy and rage at not being able to be there and they will understand this feeling.

Canyoneering is often times thought of as a warm weather endeavor and rightfully so.  You are constantly swimming and splashing through narrow slot canyons where the sun doesn't shine and the earth seems to swallow you up.  When you get done with the cold water swims you quickly seek out the opportunity to bask in some warm sunlight and strip down the layer of neoprene that has protected your body for the past several hours.  This is what it's like in June and July, when it's 100+ degrees outside.  Now take away the sun and 100+ degree temps and do it all.  Now you have Freeze Fest.

The winter months can be somewhat agonizing for the Canyoneer to get through when it's cold out and all you do is dream about your next slot canyon adventure.  Freeze Fest was dreamed up 12 years ago by some die hard Canyoneers who just couldn't take sitting around the house during the winter months any longer.  Dubbed as "The Bad Idea that Caught On" Freeze Fest has been gaining momentum ever since.  The "Main" event as it has been dubbed is a trip through "The Black Hole" which is a section of White Canyon in south eastern Utah just north of Lake Powell.  While most of the Freeze Fest canyons done during the 5-8 day event are dry canyons, meaning there is no water in them, The Black Hole event is designed to completely mess with your body and test how much cold you can endure, or how much neoprene you can pack on in order to stay warm.

I don't always get to go out and participate in this event, but living only an hour away from it, I try to meet up with them each year as I am allowed between work and weather conditions.  For Jan 1, 2014, the weather forecast was set to be one of the best ever and I was not working so it worked out great.  Aside from that, it was my 10 year anniversary from the first time Dave Black took me out to this event and I met some of the best Canyoneers and later friends that you can have in this sport.

I took along Aaron who was eager to just get out of the house and play during his Christmas break.  We loaded up the Tahoe and hit the road at 8:30 a.m.  Knowing there is usually a 10:00 a.m. start time this would give us time to get out there and gear up.

As we arrived there were several cars already in the parking lot.  Turns out one would be Jenny who I have spent some time canyoneering with.  She was excited to see us and greeted us with great big hugs.  As more and more people arrived from their campsite in North Wash, we continued to greet old friends and start making some new ones.  We shuttled vehicles and made the start of the hike with 30 participants (a record number I understand).

Photo by Malia

The hike into White Canyon turned into a sweaty march and showed how warm it was for January.  Hats were removed and jackets stored for later.  We approached the suit up point and as the group had kinda spread out, we all started combining together again as we changed into wet and dry suits.  As small groups finished changing they set out through the water and off into the canyon.

Photo Sequence by Aaron

It turned out to be a great day.  Everyone kept moving and stayed warm.  One key was to keep your hands out of the water, but after a while that became tiresome and you started swimming just to get out and walk to warm up.  We kept calories going in to keep our internal core temps up and we kept moving as much as possible.  What a great 10 year anniversary for me and to be able to spend the day with some old friends and find some new ones, it was fabulous.

Photo Sequence by Jared