Howells Outdoors
Adventure is my middle name...actually it's Keith.
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2012
- Messages
- 444
Canyoneering season has begun (granted I was doing canyons in the winter, but we'll go with what the canyonistas call the canyon season 
This time I took off with some friends for Englestead Hollow in Zion. Talk about a rush!
Original post from www.mountain-dude.blogspot.com (there's more photos and stuff there too):
"I'm freakin' out!"
Those words sum up the feeling you'd have at the edge of a 300 ft drop you are about to drop down.
Now, first things first, let me get a word of warning out there to anybody reading this: don't go canyoneering unless you have taken the time to learn the necessary skills or you go with a guide company to an easy canyon.
Done.
Next, I want to hit on the idea of adventure and my thoughts I had while out there. Rappelling a 300 ft cliff was spectacular. Stupid, but spectacular. I don't go canyoneering for the big rappel or the adrenaline of the experience. I actually hate rappelling.
I enjoy the problem solving of canyoneering, and, more importantly in my eyes, canyoneering gets me to places few get to see (Really makes my photography look like I'm good because most people don't see photos of these places. In reality it is point and shoot, because the places are just gorgeous).
So here's a bit about the route to Englestead (permits are required to go through Englestead and additional permits are required to go down Orderville Gulch into the Narrows).
Map Here
After parking and hiking down an ATV trail for a bit you find a nice relic from the logging days.
These sort of things are cool to check out. Yeah, they are just junk out in the field now, but they're pretty cool to see. That being said, I don't want to see new junk laying out there (i.e. food wrappers, beer cans, etc.).
The road drops down into a wash and the hike becomes a nice stroll in a wash, shortly followed up by a sudden dark gorge.
It's a breathtaking view at the top of the Englestead Hollow slot canyon. Words don't do justice. Photos don't do justice. It's just something you have to see.
Pretty soon for us it was time to rig the anchor and toss the rope over the edge; followed shortly by tossing ourselves over the edge.
Again, this was terrifyingly amazing, but not why I go canyoneering.
Getting over that edge was the scariest part, just like any time you rappel. Once you were over the edge it was ok; if you kept your mind off the possibility of anything happening and you falling to your death.
The first 20 feet of that rappel is simply focus on your shoes and look nowhere else. Then I got comfortable and looked around. I think the weirdest part of a rappel like this is the smell of the rope going through the rappel device. I wasn't going fast (pretty slow actually) but the height made for a long sustained friction on the device and you could smell it heating up.
Words of the canyon wisdom: I hate wearing gloves when canyoneering, but 300 feet is a rappel to wear gloves on.
Back to the canyon.
Right after the first drop there are a few consecutive rappels. After 300 feet, these rappels seem very, very small.
But at this point you're right in the middle of the slot canyon world. It's gorgeous down there.
The contrasting light, the polished sandstone, long jams and rock jams, mossy covered walls. Just a great place to be. I'll get back to this point of all the small beauties that make the canyon spectacular after finishing a bit on the route description.
The canyon continues with more rappels and down-climbs. Before you know it you hit a natural bridge and then you're on the last rappel in Englestead. 15 feet past this and you're in Orderville Gulch and coincidentally in Zion National Park. From here it is follow Orderville downstream (if you have a permit) through pools of water and drops into The Narrows and out to the Temple of Sinawava.
The little beauties of the canyon.
I'm a big fan of what Edward Abbey said in the introduction of Desert Solitaire:
"You've got to get out ... and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll see something, maybe."It was the little details of the canyon that made my trip for me. The flowers, the bushes, the frogs and bugs. The little details of the riparian area that made the whole thing wonderful.
I sat down to take some pictures of three frogs. After being there almost still for about ten minutes, I was welcomed to listen to a serenade of several frogs and other unseen creatures. I got to watch how they woved and what they enjoyed.
You can't experience that if you're in a rush. You for sure can't get that experience when you're on an ATV.
At that moment, I was in a good spot; I was a part of that timeless scene.
I wish people would take their time out there. Yeah, trails take you to amazing places, but along the way there are great scenes to see.
These timeless scenes don't have to be out in the middle of nowhere, requiring an advanced skill set. They're closer than most people think, they're better when they're out in the middle of nowhere. Read this for example: The Kids Who Play In Dirt.
Anyway, here are some more photos from the trip:
Featured image for home page:
This time I took off with some friends for Englestead Hollow in Zion. Talk about a rush!
Original post from www.mountain-dude.blogspot.com (there's more photos and stuff there too):
"I'm freakin' out!"
Those words sum up the feeling you'd have at the edge of a 300 ft drop you are about to drop down.
Now, first things first, let me get a word of warning out there to anybody reading this: don't go canyoneering unless you have taken the time to learn the necessary skills or you go with a guide company to an easy canyon.
Done.
Next, I want to hit on the idea of adventure and my thoughts I had while out there. Rappelling a 300 ft cliff was spectacular. Stupid, but spectacular. I don't go canyoneering for the big rappel or the adrenaline of the experience. I actually hate rappelling.
I enjoy the problem solving of canyoneering, and, more importantly in my eyes, canyoneering gets me to places few get to see (Really makes my photography look like I'm good because most people don't see photos of these places. In reality it is point and shoot, because the places are just gorgeous).
So here's a bit about the route to Englestead (permits are required to go through Englestead and additional permits are required to go down Orderville Gulch into the Narrows).
Map Here
After parking and hiking down an ATV trail for a bit you find a nice relic from the logging days.
These sort of things are cool to check out. Yeah, they are just junk out in the field now, but they're pretty cool to see. That being said, I don't want to see new junk laying out there (i.e. food wrappers, beer cans, etc.).
The road drops down into a wash and the hike becomes a nice stroll in a wash, shortly followed up by a sudden dark gorge.
It's a breathtaking view at the top of the Englestead Hollow slot canyon. Words don't do justice. Photos don't do justice. It's just something you have to see.
Pretty soon for us it was time to rig the anchor and toss the rope over the edge; followed shortly by tossing ourselves over the edge.
Again, this was terrifyingly amazing, but not why I go canyoneering.
Getting over that edge was the scariest part, just like any time you rappel. Once you were over the edge it was ok; if you kept your mind off the possibility of anything happening and you falling to your death.
The first 20 feet of that rappel is simply focus on your shoes and look nowhere else. Then I got comfortable and looked around. I think the weirdest part of a rappel like this is the smell of the rope going through the rappel device. I wasn't going fast (pretty slow actually) but the height made for a long sustained friction on the device and you could smell it heating up.
Words of the canyon wisdom: I hate wearing gloves when canyoneering, but 300 feet is a rappel to wear gloves on.
Back to the canyon.
Right after the first drop there are a few consecutive rappels. After 300 feet, these rappels seem very, very small.
But at this point you're right in the middle of the slot canyon world. It's gorgeous down there.
The contrasting light, the polished sandstone, long jams and rock jams, mossy covered walls. Just a great place to be. I'll get back to this point of all the small beauties that make the canyon spectacular after finishing a bit on the route description.
The canyon continues with more rappels and down-climbs. Before you know it you hit a natural bridge and then you're on the last rappel in Englestead. 15 feet past this and you're in Orderville Gulch and coincidentally in Zion National Park. From here it is follow Orderville downstream (if you have a permit) through pools of water and drops into The Narrows and out to the Temple of Sinawava.
The little beauties of the canyon.
I'm a big fan of what Edward Abbey said in the introduction of Desert Solitaire:
"You've got to get out ... and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll see something, maybe."It was the little details of the canyon that made my trip for me. The flowers, the bushes, the frogs and bugs. The little details of the riparian area that made the whole thing wonderful.
I sat down to take some pictures of three frogs. After being there almost still for about ten minutes, I was welcomed to listen to a serenade of several frogs and other unseen creatures. I got to watch how they woved and what they enjoyed.
You can't experience that if you're in a rush. You for sure can't get that experience when you're on an ATV.
At that moment, I was in a good spot; I was a part of that timeless scene.
I wish people would take their time out there. Yeah, trails take you to amazing places, but along the way there are great scenes to see.
These timeless scenes don't have to be out in the middle of nowhere, requiring an advanced skill set. They're closer than most people think, they're better when they're out in the middle of nowhere. Read this for example: The Kids Who Play In Dirt.
Anyway, here are some more photos from the trip:
Featured image for home page:
