David comments on a bit of his experience coming to King Solomon's cave. It is hard to know where to start about King Solomon cave. I vividly remember the phone call from Adam when he told me the cave he discovered contained huge crystals larger then cars and unique hollow sword looking speleothems among other pretty incredible things. Well to make a long story short I was every bit as impressed as he was of the significant cave discovery of King Solomon Cave. I appreciate the opportunity I had along with many other cavers to document, survey and explore King Solomon Cave. It truly is a unique and special cave that I got to experience with great friends and a memory I will cherish. As our survey came to an end and photography encompassed a full-bodied narrative of the cave, immediate protection efforts became our primary scope of work. Indeed we had over 10 people in the know about KS cave and the probability of someone finding out about the cave was and has always been a concern. The efforts came together with countless hours of work, documenting, discussions, and even tiered levels of trust within the need to know arenas of individuals. There were concerns of who to trust and unfortunately, that was a reality that we all had to suffer from.
To me, Grand Canyoneering is measured by the time between being over the rim and being under the rim and the wait time can be quite slow.
reaching back out of the rim, I find a slightly changed demeaner and a fulfillment that reaches deep within my curiosity. .
A fulfillment that can not only be shared amongst others that very well might have a different experience, but a fulfillment that draws our own state of being from within and evolves our experiential level.
Heading down flippoff canyon to the bench of the redwall allowed
us access to a small yet scenic canyon tucked away in the upper reaches of Kanab Creek, Crackbaby canyon.
The vibe is casual and the conditions are quite ideal for our timing into Crack baby.
The raps are in quick succession and the narrows were quite impressive with cavernous chasms and beautiful polished stone.
The awkward rappels made for spicy teamwork setting but the reflection of a zion canyon in the grand canyon was a nice touch to our visit in crack baby canyon.
The last rap provided a swimmer that required a wetsuit for our time of year but also provided our only source of water for the duration of our trip.
Although water was encountered in rattlesnake canyon and in Indian hollow, we created a stash of
water and utilized crackbabys water for our life bearing fluid intake.
The hike out to the confluence of Jump-up and Kanab Creek( where our basecamp would be made) wasn't too far from the exit of Crack baby and the hiking was straightforward, no tedious boulder hopping or clambering around crumbly sandstone. It was like an apparent highway of sorts.
I could see people making crackbaby a "day"trip if you don't mind the 2400 feet of non trail descent and ascent but since your down there, grab a permit and stay a while!!!
The following day we had Rattlesnake on our minds and planned on a early start so with extra time on our hands we checked out the head of rattlesnake and made it back in time for dinner and a early nights sleep with a early start.
The grand canyon is neither with you or against you, it's just has it's own presence on our planet and the inner moods can be caught with a equation of chance and predictability. a bit more investment in one or the other variables can skew your chances and leave an experience absent or one that will never be forgotten.