Zion with the nieces

Laura

freespirittraveler
Joined
Oct 1, 2012
Messages
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I thought I'd post a quickie report since so many people helped with suggestions for my outdoor girls-only adventure. This was my first trip with kids and they wore me out-I don't know how you parents do it. And they are really great kids! I can't imagine taking a trip with whiney kids. Anyway, we camped (the 12 year old loved it, the 15 year old hated it) and took the Outdoor School at ZAC since the 12 year old was too young for the canyoneering class. She did so well that ZAC says she can take the canyoneering class next time! The 15 year old did fine but decided it just wasn't for her either-she likes being in the outdoors but doesn't want to tackle it headfirst. I only had a camera phone but you can get the idea of what a natural the 12 year old is:

Anya the Canyoneer.jpg

Rappelling.jpg

Throwing Rope.jpg

Next was Keyhole Canyon, on our own. I have to admit I was exhausted by this point and had reinjured my knee trying to keep up with these two, but I had promised we'd do this, so off we went. The directions to Keyhole were vague-apparently the NPS doesn't want specific directions to keep people who don't know what they're doing out of there. Well, it worked. We approached on a steep basin (with me wondering what the hell I was doing out there at 48 trying to keep up with a 12 year old mountain goat) that seemed to match the route description, but there was no safe way to enter the canyon. We could see it snaking below us, but from the side we were on it was a 10-12 foot drop no matter where we tried. We spend an hour on an extremely steep slope exploring different ways to enter, and both of us had several close calls where we had to rescue each other. At one point I was on a sandy slope and it gave way beneath me, sending me on a slow slide toward the edge and there was nothing to grab but a bush. Fortunately I stay calm in these types of situations and self-arrested by grabbing the only stable part of the dry bush. We were going to try to rappel into the canyon using a standing dead tree trunk as an anchor when I realized we were in over our heads. I had to make a safety decision and cancel the expedition. She was sooooo disappointed! I thought she'd never forgive me. I promised to take her back another time, and told her safety always comes first in the outdoors. She was not convinced, but asked if we could go back to the practice area (where we had the class) so I took her. There she discovered that rappelling by yourself is quite intimidating, and after one close call she slowly began to realize that I had made the right call. So while we didn't get to actually canyoneer it was a good lesson. I told her it's important to listen to your instincts, and if something doesn't seem right then you don't keep going. We went back to ZAC and found out we probably entered too early. All in all a good day.

Last day we went to the Narrows, and they thought it was the most amazing place they'd ever seen. I let them run ahead and explore at their own pace. It's fantastic experiencing a place through a kid's eyes-their sense of wonder is precious.

The Girls.jpg

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, it was a lifetime experience. I am going to keep my promise and we are going back next year, this time to take the canyoneering class and re-tackle Keyhole, plus maybe the Subway and Orderville (if possible). The 12 year old really found her niche and she wants to work at ZAC when she's older. Each girl got a sense of who she is and what she does and doesn't want to do.

Now if only the monsoon would start so I can get back!
 
Bummer you couldn't do Keyhole. That drop in is crazy steep! It actually sounds like you were pretty much in the right spot, or at least close. This is the correct entrance to the canyon: 37.226572, -112.900655. But at least you've got some rope skills now and given at least one kid the outdoors bug!
 
I wish I had a gps but I don't (yet). The people at ZAC said you weren't supposed to see the canyon snaking in front of you like we did. I'm going to go back next time I'm out there and check it out again.
 
That's odd. You can totally see the canyon snaking through below where you drop in. It's kind of a wide section of the canyon, but it's down there. If you have a smartphone, you probably have a GPS. I use the GPS Gaia app on my iphone with full topos. I love it and it's great for dropping a pin before you head out to make sure you're in the right place.
 
That's odd. You can totally see the canyon snaking through below where you drop in. It's kind of a wide section of the canyon, but it's down there. If you have a smartphone, you probably have a GPS. I use the GPS Gaia app on my iphone with full topos. I love it and it's great for dropping a pin before you head out to make sure you're in the right place.

No smartphone. Hmmmm, at ZAC they said I shouldn't be able to see it like that. We also didn't walk terribly far from the car after we parked, which also makes me think we were entering in the middle of the canyon. I'm definitely going to check it out again. From the side we were on, we could see the edge over the canyon but couldn't see where we would be dropping in, unless we took a leap of faith and dropped over into nothingness. Does that sound about right?
 
Oh, yeah that does not sound quite right. From the parking area, you walk up the road to a really large, prominent drainage. Follow it up some steep slickrock to a little pass with a hoodoo on it. From there you can see down to the bottom of the canyon in a spot where it widens for about 100 yards. I don't have any photos of it, but this shoes the approach the pass. You go just to the left of that hoodoo and then down climb a really steep slope that is a bunch of rock slabs with roots sticking out that make good handholds or tripping devices, depending on your luck.

upload_2014-6-24_16-52-30.png

Borrowed from this site: http://thetrekplanner.com/2014/01/12/keyhole-canyon/
 
Hmmm, that picture looks about right, but when I clicked on the article and saw their photo of the actual canyon entrance, we never saw anything like that. Also, there were three hoodoos at the top of the ridge we were on. All in all probably good we didn't try it. As I told my niece, you can always go back later, but an accident you may never come back from.
 
this is where we went last year.

i-KqBC6Db-M.jpg

we went up the slickrock to the three hoodoos and then kept left
i-pGrznWG-M.jpg

we kept left past this one

i-82t9435-M.jpg

scrambling down to the entrance. It's a bit sketchy with loose stuff, but was okay.
@Laura , did you see anything of these sights?
 
That picture of theirs of the actual canyon entrance is once you get down into the canyon into the wide spot. The pic that Yvonne posted above is the spot from the hoodoo down to where that other photo of the entrance is. It is really, really steep and takes great care to get down safely.
 
Good report, Laura.

Reminds me that I never wrote up my hike up to Jughandle Arch. Some pics from that hike might help clarify the geography of Keyhole.

The view from the top:

KeyholeOverlook1.jpg

Cropped in with the notable Keyhole locations: KeyholeOverlook2.jpg

Everything in between the access points and the exit is more a less a sheer drop into the slot.

- Jamal
 
That helps a lot @Jammer and @Miss Buffalo, thanks! We entered in the right place, but somehow never found the access. The map we were given at ZAC indicated it was a straight line from the summit. We walked back and forth, up and down that steep slope but as Jamal says, there was nothing except sheer drops into the canyon. Looking at the last pic he posted, I believe we were at the part marked "Too Steep".

this is where we went last year.

i-KqBC6Db-M.jpg

we went up the slickrock to the three hoodoos and then kept left
i-pGrznWG-M.jpg

we kept left past this one

i-82t9435-M.jpg

scrambling down to the entrance. It's a bit sketchy with loose stuff, but was okay.
@Laura , did you see anything of these sights?

I saw pics 1 and 2, but never saw anything like pic 3. I'm thinking we didn't keep left enough.
 
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