This was our first trip to Zion National Park! It has been on Melanie’s top 5 for ages and we finally made it – and boy did the park show us its best.
Over the last four years, Melanie and I have done a decent amount of rock climbing. The goal is always up there. This was opposite day, with the prize down below and awesome rappels to reach them.
Step 1 – Gear
This being our first canyoneering trip, the gear list was less familiar to us. Luckily Evan was there to be our gear spirit guide and we had all of the good stuff:
- 60m static rope
- 120 ft 5mm cordelette
- Harnesses and belay devices (we were using climbing ATCs backed up with prusiks but we hear critters are great devices)
- Helmets
- Enough webbing and rappel rings for anchors
- Wetsuits and dry bags. We got them from Zion Rock & Mountain Guides who were awesome.
- Headlamps/misc survival gear
- Shoes that drain well
- Water and snacks
- Great friends!
Step 2 – Observation Point
An awesome thing about this canyon is that first you do an amazing hike! I am generally 100% for loops vs. out-and-back trails, so it worked out that we got to get to an amazing vantage point over the Virgin river canyon and there was another rad way down.
So we began at the bus stop for the trail to observation point! We cruised up 2100 ft over 4 miles up the canyon wall and along a couple really cool slots in the sandstone. The geometries and the textures cut by erosion and time are really breathtaking.
And of course there was a great view!
Introducing the 2017 class of Canyoneering 101:
Step 3 – Mystery Canyon
Mystery Canyon is an L-shaped canyon that starts near the top of observation point, and eventually cliffs out into the narrows. In order to get into the canyon, you have to start off by slipping down an eroded slope, ominously named “Death Gully.”
The gully continued through a forest, and eventually flattened out until we were walking on what looked like a river bed. Then the canyon walls started to close in on either side until we reached our first rappel. Then it narrowed even more until we were walking and rappeling down a magnificent slot canyon with smooth vertical walls. Nature’s sculpting at its finest! Lucky for us, since this was only the second day the canyon was open to canyoneering for the season, the webbing on all of the bolts was brand new, and the bolts were solid.
After turning the corner of the “L,” the canyon opens up again. As we passed over a huge pile of rockfall, an amazingly textured wall loomed over us on our right. I thought it kind of looked like the surface of another planet, maybe Jupiter.
Once past the Jupiter wall, we put on our wetsuits in prep for the longest rappel. This rapped dropped straight into a pool of water, requiring a quick swim to shore after dropping off of the rope. It took some convincing for Mel but we were quite invigorated afterwards.
And finally, at the exit of the canyon, there is the unforgettable rappel into the narrows. Evan rappelled down the waterfall first, putting on a show to the Narrows hikers, who congratulated him with a round of applause when he touched down. A pleasant hike out of the narrows led us to the bus out of the park, where we wore our gear proudly on our way back to camp.
Having never done any canyoneering, I felt super spoiled by this amazing adventure which was our first experience. A lot of the same principles as climbing applied, and we were surprisingly exhausted despite the lack of vertical climbing! We took a well deserved rest day on the next day and basked in the amazing Zion scenery. What a park! We’ll be back for more canyoneering and probably some climbing!
