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. :-)