ADAM HAYDOCK

We attempted to wake up early once again in the cow pie pasture Kolob Lake campsite which went a bit better than the previous days but we had to hunt down Troy and Derek on the other side of the lake. We got ready and headed back over to the West Rim trail and went over to Pipe Spring Canyon.

This canyon was picked since it is next to Boundary Canyon and it appeared to be a nice canyon that only had a hike out using the upper half of the MIA exit. We tried to get over to Kolob Canyon but we needed to get permits which we were not able to get.

We set out on the roads that took up down and around the MIA exit to the entrance of Pipe Spring Canyon.  There was a nice flowing spring from a pipe which had cold water that allowed us to replenish after pipe spring and after the MIA exit which made for a nice rest stop.

The first drop was around 170ft. into a slot canyon passage which was a beautiful fluted wall and continued to drop down a series of rapid fire rappels under 200ft.

We continued down past a series of rappels and started to leap frog over one another to the next drop to move quicker and prepare for Imlay Canyon.

We work our way down to a multi tiered drop that had a incredible view of the MIA exit and Kolob Creek Canyon below us which was beautiful.

Mike stopped to get a promo shoot of Daniels Super food Breakfast cereal which never seemed to turn out quite right while the deacon was working his way down the chute and under the chock stone to where we were.

I don't think we could be serious on this trip whatsoever but with this drop we had to do a little problem solving. Mike and Patrick rapped past the next anchor and had to pass a knot by tying rope together to get to the bottom. There were some ideas to rig to lower and send ropes up and down but when I got down to the next drop I clipped into the anchor on the pine tree and had everyone else come down there with me.

We pulled the rope down when everyone was down and re rigged it to the anchor at the pine tree than rapped down to the canyon floor.

The walls narrowed and became a slot canyon which made for some beautiful photos and Daniels Sharue photo.

We worked our way through the canyon and past a few more drops and climb downs until we were out of the canyon.

Good news was that we were able to get dumped out into the second half of the MIA exit which was nice so the we did no have to hike the whole thing but we still had over a 1000ft of elevation and quite a steep hike to get up for the group.

We all worked together and eventually made it up to the road and hiked back out to the cars where they were on the West Rim in good time. Afterwards we headed back to the Ponderosa ranch to camp for a night mystery canyon the following day.

Another week long week trip to Zion National Park and some of the best canyoneering in the state of Utah! The high desert dry weather and beautiful landscapes make this region one of the best locations for a picturesque enchantment of sandstone geology as the watercourses cut through the mountains, sculpting their way through ancient history revealing the strata layers of our planets past. These natural plumbing systems. which I like to refer to as "caving in the sun" have a lot of similar properties as cave systems with the absence of a ceiling, yet demand some different skillsets to have a safe and effective trip.

in Jolly Gulch, Zion National Park

 Beautiful colors of firey red, orange, and yellow paint the walls as hanging gardens and dry falls tarnish the sheer cliffs that reach over 700 ft at times. No doubt, Zion is a characteristic of what makes canyoneering and the desert a unique place to find peace and freedom.

Daniel on the 165ft. rap in Jolly Gulch

These mosaic drainage systems can also come at a price if the intrepid visitor seeking beauty, challenge, and experience relieve their attention to detail and allow risk mitigation to fall to the wayside. Recently a group of trained canyoneers went into Keyhole canyon and were caught in a flash flood which took all of their lives in a place that is known to be a relatively short and "beginner friendly" canyon. The forecast called for a 60 percent chance of rain. I have always told myself I would not go into a canyon when there is over a 30 percent chance of rain yet there are variables to that and "what if" scenarios. There was a rescue a few days before we went to Imlay canyon and another fatality the day after we were in Imlay canyon on a side canyon called "not Imlay".  These were experienced and trained people, some of which were friends of friends, and the unfortunate occurrences happened that ended fatal.  Please be careful out there when visiting these wonderful canyons, even the so called "Beginner Friendly" canyons can become quite serious for any experience level.

I am not here to say how great I am or how other should have done this and that...we have all made mistakes...yet I think there is something to be said about situational awareness, experience, practice, and training which all comes into play when making decisions. I feel this "equation" is one of the best tools for risk mitigation and what might help new and experienced canyoneers, cavers, cave divers, mountaineers, and others that face a threshold of risk which can help to make good decisions. Even when we do this, a not so favorable outcome can and will happen.

Derek Reneer in Jolly Julch

Again, I am not here to ever ridicule or put down the decisions others have made but I find that not only when I put my deepest prayers and the most comforted condolences to the friends and families that are dealing these major loss, I find that we can continue to learn from our friends and grow into a more self aware and conscientious collective while keeping these lessons learned alive by yielding to these risks that our friends have found to be fatal. Not only will we never forget them but it might just help out some others in similar situations. Overall, I have to say that this trip was quite eventful with a lot of change organization due to the large rock that blocked the road to Zion, Kolob Terrace road closing at certain hours, and Angels Landing being closed. This all made for quite the plan which included car shuttles and camping accommodation adjustments.

Mike Green and Derek Reneer in Jolly Gulch

I got to the ponderosa ranch early and waited for everyone else to wake up early in the morning. On this week long, Troy Fuqua, Daniel Martin, Derek Rainier, and Mike Green were at the campsite. Walter Stech missed his flight and came into the camp the following night.

The First Rap in Jolly Gulch

We headed out to the East rim trail to drop Jolly Gulch. This was rated at a 3AII as it had 3 rappels to 165ft into a small section of narrows and into a gorge the washed out back towards the trail. We headed up to the top of the rim which took about an hour or so and made it to the top of Jolly Gulch.

Daniel Martin and Derek Reneer in Jolly Gulch

 It was a nice view of the gorge and a great first rap down into the canyon bottom. I also chose this canyon to ensure that everyone was able to get their gear dialed in and get use to rappelling on 9.2 rope since different techniques will be used than when we are caving.

Mike Green in Jolly Gulch

 To my surprise, there was no webbing set in place so, at first I thought to set up a releasable anchor but ended up setting up a fiddlestick so we could practice minimal impact and leave no trace.

Daniel about to go down Jolly Gulch

We each got on rope and went over the edge down to the bottom of the 165ft. rap into Jolly gulch. We pulled down the fiddlestick and the rope made for an easy pull afterwards. What a great device.

Top OF Jolly Gulch East Rim trail Zion National Park

The next two raps were a 30 and another 30-40footer which took us down into a pool and out of the canyon. We rigged a biner block and set up a single line to the bottom. We recently heard from a few hikers that since the park had the boulder blocking the road, the rangers were going to close the road at 4pm so we had less than a hour to make it back over to the entrance before we were locked out. Troy and Daniel made it back over to the cars and moved them before the road was closed.

bottom of Jolly Gulch

We eventually made it back to the road just as the gates were closing...they were literally closing the gates as we got to the road!! We loaded up the cars and the others were talking to the Rangers about the Boulder. The ranger asked us to see our permits but since the road was closed, we did not drive around to get the permits which is what I told the ranger. He let us go without incident due to the boulders blocking the road.

We made it back to the campsite and tried to figure out where we were going to go
The following day due to the road being closed. We came up with fat mans misery, walker gulch, and deadeye dick, but as we were about to go to sleep, the park announced they re opened the road and were able to get the Boulder out of the way so we got prepared to head over to spry canyon for the next day.

FLICKR:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploration-worldwide/albums/72157659540047822

Boundary Canyon is just on the border of Zion National Park which is why it is called Boundary Canyon, yet the canyon itself is one of the most beautiful routes that I have seen in the area.  It is rather short but it offers a high reward of beautiful scenery in a minimal impact and less visited area.

at the top, looking down into Boundary Canyon, Utah

The canyon is surrounded by Kolob Canyon, Pipe Springs, and Eye of the Needle Canyon which are all in the area so this one makes for a beautiful day trip if you are planning on visiting the other canyons. The famous MIA exit will need to be used but will take you right back to your car for a great loop trip in the high desert backcountry.

The top of Boundary Canyon, Utah

After spry canyon we made our way up to the top of Spry to get the shuttle and get up to lava point and Kolob Lake only to find out that all of the campsites were taken.  We ended up having to camp at the reservoir which was about 9000ft of elevation, yup it was quite cold at night.

Walter Descending Boundary Canyon, Utah

 The temp dropped into the lower 40s and upper 30s which woke some of us up at night with the chills which made it quite difficult to sleep.

Boundary Canyon Photo By: Mike Green

We were not prepared for cold weather camping but we made the best of it.  The sky was clear which was nice and at 9000ft up, the stars were amazing!!

Mike Green in Boundary Canyon, Utah

 We got up early to make our way over to the west rim trail and into boundary canyon.

Boundary Canyon, Photo By: Mike Green

We headed over to the trailhead and attempted to find some campsites at the Lava Point campground without success.

Boundary Canyon, Utah

Troy Derek and Daniel took the day off so Walter, Mike, and I headed over to boundary. The day was a bit more chill and the dynamic was a bit different which was nice as we got to immerse ourselves into the canyons beauty and esthetic.

Mike Green Descending down in Boundary Canyon, Utah

We could see the canyon from the top of the MIA road and headed down through the woods to the rim of boundary canyon.

Adam haydock in Boundary Canyon Photo by: Mike Green

The hike to boundary was not that bad as we basically had to go downhill and follow a few dry washes until we reached the top of the canyon.

Walter Descending a beautiful drop in Boundary Canyon, Utah

Now this was a beautiful view!!! The canyon walls had colors of pink and cream color with the top of the canyon appearing to look almost like a limestone layer. The first drop was around 170 ft into the canyon which had a shear drop and a beautiful view.

Walter descending in Boundary Canyon Utah

The raps were rapid fire and were right next to each other that took us down about 9 rappels that were all less than 200ft. The fluted walls were pastel and tarnished with a beautiful array of design that the sun gave dynamic to with regard to the shade that casted behind that sculpted walls.

Tarnished walls in Boundry Canyon

 It was spectacular to see and one unique canyon that I am so grateful to have went to visit.  I have never seen sculpted like this before in Zion. It was completely dry too!!!

Walter descending Boundary Canyon

 The beta mentioned water but we did not see any water coming into this canyon so we ended up carrying wetsuits through out this canyon and up the MIA trail.

Mike Green in Boundary Canyon

We eventually made it to the bottom of the canyon and followed the dry wash through the beautiful canyon walls and the forest at the bottom as the maple leaves changed which took us into Kolob creek.

Walter in Boundary Canyon, Utah

We had lunch at the confluence of Kolob and boundary than followed the watercourse to the MIA exit.

Boundary canyon wash, Utah

The towering walls reminded me of the narrows as the large walls towered over us which also included one plunge into the water.

Kolob Creek Narrows, Utah

Eventually we made it to the end of the route where the MIA exit starts. This is a trail that ascends 2200 ft of elevation in only a couple miles of lofty sand and scree where branches, roots, and gravity is used to balance ourselves up this canyon exit.

Kolob Creek Narrows, Utah

It was either this route or we go out the narrows which would take almost a day to complete.  The MIA exit was strenuous but it was not as bad as it was made out to be, yet it did take around 2 hours to complete and total time in route for the canyon was around 7 hours.The MIA exit is split up into two sections so once we got to the top it was nice to look back and see how far we have come from the bottom.  We ended up going back to the Kolob Lake and camped with everyone to prepare for the following day into Pipe Spring.

Last Rap in Boundry Canyon, Photo by Mike Green

Kolob Campground Photo by Mike Green