Bogley

mmac · Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 13 Location: Flagstaff AZ

Hello All!

My name is Mike, and I'm relatively new to the canyoneering scene. I've been going to Zion with my mom and her husband since last summer. My girlfriend Maria and I are expanding our horizons and trying some things out ourselves. I'm a systems analyst at Northern Arizona University, and enjoy hiking, climbing, photography, and all kinds of nerdy stuff!

Anyway, on to our trip and photos.

We used the new Arizona Technical Canyoneering guide by Todd Martin and some hear-say from friends to get an idea of what to expect.

We dropped the car just off of I17 at exit 331 (about 15 minutes South of town)

Started hiking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed :)

After about ten minutes of hiking we got to the head of James Canyon and a few deep pools (easily scrambled around)

This pool was almost a swimmer... We ended up wading around one edge using some slippery submerged rocks.

Most of the canyon looked a lot like this (or more overgrown)

First real down-climb and swim.

I left my camera put away for the first rappel because the launch was a bit precarious and the bottom required a floating-disconnect... But here's a cute shot just around the corner.

One of the narrows sections

Me and Maria. We both wore our helmets, but she was more interested in tuna than de-gearing (note the can on her knee)

It got kinda chilly, so Maria donned a beanie she knitted, which turned out to match her wetsuit quite nicely.

More narrows

At this log, we set up a hand line. Just around the corner is an 8ft downclimb that was severely underhung - hence the line.

A view from the top of the second rappel.

And from the bottom.

The rap avoids a neat little dry fall

There was a lot of in and out of the water, scrambling over rocks, and generally not camera friendly terrain...so pics of a couple sections are a bit lacking.

We found a really big log jam though!

This hallway is referred to as a "particularly chilly 8ft wide hallway" in the book and was about 10° colder than any of the other pools.

After a very long hike (really only a few miles) we arrived at a big basalt dry fall (we did the loop version going down James Canyon and hiking back to the car via Kelly Canyon).

The fall was bypassed by a trail on the right. We ended up getting rained on pretty hard and wandering the rest of the way back over a pretty unused and unclear route. I was very glad that I had a topo and a compass. GPS would've been nice, but everything worked out. Because of our meandering the whole trip took about 11 hours. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip. Not quite as spectacular as the canyons I've visited in Zion but very nice. Can't beat the distance from home either!

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 12989 Location: The Rubbish Bin

Excellent first post! Welcome to the forum. Very cool pics, thank you for sharing. :2thumbs:

Don · Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Posts: 916 Location: Utah Valley

I can only wish my first post had been so cool. Welcome! :five:

mmac · Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 13 Location: Flagstaff AZ

Thanks! I really love taking photos, so I have lots to share :D

Felicia · Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 695 Location: So. CA

Don wrote: I can only wish my first post had been so cool. Welcome! :five:

I agree! It has taken me a year to get this far! :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

abirken · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 2642 Location: Colorado

FABULOUS!!! Keep it up. The folks on this site will eat it up! :2thumbs:

rockgremlin · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 4195 Location: Alcatraz

WoW! Nice work!

I look forward to seeing more canyons "south of the border." Interesting canyon - I'm not used to seeing so much vegetation in my slot canyons.

mmac · Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 13 Location: Flagstaff AZ

I forgot to include an important piece! The guide book was pretty darn accurate. The beta was easily understood and dead-on for the most part. There were a few minor obstacles that they didn't mention (forgot?). The only thing I would've changed about the book itself is the labeling of the major obstacles/landmarks on the trail map. It wasn't too hard to figure out where we were using the topo and milage estimates, but some waypoints would have been really nice.

The canyon was pretty overgrown which was interesting. All of the canyons we've done up to this point were in Zion, and fairly clear of plants. We ended up doing a decent amount of bushwhacking as the current switched sides of the canyon bottom.

denaliguide · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 723 Location: new zealand/alaska

nice trip report. looked like you had a fun day. next time more pics of maria and fewer of you. :naughty: :roflol: :roflol: oh yea, welcome to the forum!