Canyoneering Adventures in the San Rafael Swell

Woo hoo!!! I love canyoneering!! What is canyoneering, you ask? Canyoneering is about exploring the cool landscapes of slickrock canyons. It ranges from civilized strolls through terrain suitable for small children to technical explorations requiring ropes, wetsuits and a short memory for the discomforts experienced last time out. Check out www.canyoneeringusa.com/utah/ Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide....for some of the best beta on Utah's range of technical and non-technical canyons. Since I've moved to Utah, canyoneering has become one of my all-time favorite things to do. And with the San Rafael Swell and Zion National Park so close, I am lucky enough to spend most of my free time doing this.

I'm the T.A. for the canyoneering class at BYU. We teach our students about canyon safety, techniques, gear and equipment, and conservation. Our final test is an expedition to explore some great canyons in the Southeastern Utah desert. We just returned from our 2-day trip to San Rafael Swell. It was great!!! The first day, we went through Ding and Dang canyons, which don't require any ropes. They are great canyons for beginners as there are a number of sections that require you to stem across potholes and chimmy through some tight spots. In total, it was about 6 miles. The second day, we did Baptists Draw and Upper Chute Canyons. Baptists Draw is a more technical canyon that requires ropes and harnesses. It only has 2 rappells, but it is full of adventure. Depending on the season, it may or may not have water to swim or wade through. Last semester, I was the T.A. for this class. We did these canyons and they were wet, which required us to have wetsuits. That definitely upped the technicality of the canyon, as the trip was in late October, so the water was COLD!!! This time, we were lucky. There hasn't been any flash floods since October, so the canyons were dry. We had lots of wind this time, though. Once you drop into a canyon, there's not much sunlight. So even a light breeze can drop the temperature significantly. We spent most of the time bundled up in beanies, sweaters, and mittens. But it was an enjoyable time, nonetheless.

Overall, it was a great trip, with great people and great food. I must say that you just can't go wrong when cooking with dutch ovens. Everyone was responsible for bringing and cooking their own food. One of the perks of the job as a T.A. is being able to use the dutch ovens. So we made lasanga. There were definitely some students drooling over our meal as they ate their pop tarts and hot dogs. :-) But we were merciful and made some AWESOME peach cobbler for them. They were very grateful for us at that point...

What a great adventure to start off my summer! I have plans to do many more canyons over the next few months. Mystery Canyon (my absolute favorite!!) in Zion National Park, Neon and Fence Canyons in Escalante/Grand Staircase National Monument, and whatever else comes to mind that time will allow.

All of these canyons, plus some mountain biking, some sea kayaking at Lake Powell, some backpacking in the Uintas, some canoeing at Bear Lake and along the Bear River.....it's a miracle I can ever get any work done. Oh wait..... this is my work!!! Life is great. :-)

Still learning how to do this post thing

So I'm just playing around to figure out how to put pictures in my posts. Obviously my last attempt with Festival of Colors pictures didn't work.

It seems like this one might work. This is one of my favorite pictures from Camp WILD last summer. We set up a traverse for the kids to try if they felt up to it. It was about 50 feet up in the air and spanned about 50 feet across. Good times!

One kid was in tears just sitting on top waiting for everyone to go. He said there was no way we would get him out on that rope. But when it came time for him to try, he was willing to at least hook onto it. No sooner did we have the carabiners locked and loaded when he jumped out on the rope and pulled himself across. When we unhooked him, he was smiling ear to ear. And for the rest of the week, he couldn't wipe that smile off his face. Talk about an overwhelming mastery experience. I love it!!!

Well, it seems that I am figuring out this picture thing. Here is another favorite picture. This is of me and Jenn (my roommate) fly fishing at Panther Creek, which feeds into the Salmon River about a mile downstream. This was my first time fly fishing. And I caught 5 fish. They were itty bitty little guys. We let them all go because we were there on an educational permit. But still, I had tons of fun and now understand the relaxing and refresing feeling of fly fishing. One of my professors is absolutely obsessed!!! In fact, he teaches the fly fishing class here at BYU. I hope he never sees this picture because I'm sure my form is HORRIBLE.

Here's some proof that I actually did catch a fish. I said he was little. At least I don't try to pass him off for a fish "that was THIS BIG....NO SERIOUSLY!!!" Hahaha

Good fun! Good fun! I think I picked the best thing in the world to do as a profession. I get to go fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, canyoneering, white water rafting, camping, backpacking, cross country skiing, snowboarding..........pretty much anything outdoors. And I get to do it with all types of people. Not just kids in mental health treatment. It's all about quality of life. And I'm in the business of improving it.

It seems that spring is here finally. Get out and enjoy it! I am going on a canyoneering trip to the San Rafael Swell next week. I'm so excited to get out of Provo and enjoy my first adventure of the year. It bodes well for things to come this summer. :-)