Heaps TR – Somewhat Long, But then Again I”ll Probably Only Do it Once

Wow – Early Happy Birthday Bruce!

Thanks for the trip report and the motivation to excel. You have some really nice pictures. I look forward to seeing them again on a reasonable sized computer screen later tonight.

Congrats!! Felicia

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 29, 2011, at 5:21 AM, “bsilliman2001” weabruce@gmail.com> wrote:

> Link to my photo album: https://picasaweb.google.com/brucefrombryce/BoundaryHeaps6232011 Completed a trip through Heaps on Saturday, June 25, 2011 with Tom Jones, Parker Simper, Julie Burton, Nate and myself. We left the West Rim Trailhead at 5:00am and I believe that Tom touched down at around 10:00pm. We had actually arrived at the top of the last rappels at approximately 5:15pm but there was a group of four ahead of us for whom we had to wait.

This trip was hatched last October as I read the accounts of Ram taking his daughter Ami (sic) through Heaps for her 14th birthday. Well if she can make it through why couldn’t I, a veteran canyoneer of nearly 6 years. But of course everyone knows my shortcomings and limitations and in the past I’ve always surrounded myself with competent people who brought to the group skills greater than mine. And so it would be for Heaps. I emailed Tom and Ram and got a confirmation email that the game was on and it would be just two months prior to my 65th birthday. I think the clincher was that I was bringing along a mule with me that could carry whatever was needed and then some. But I get ahead of myself.

Emails were few and far in between so when we left Las Vegas on Wednesday evening at 7:00pm LV time we were not sure that we would be meeting Tom at the Lava Point campground or not. But sure enough when we pulled in we saw a flickering flashlight (which we ignored and sought to camp with a couple who were using only a small portion of their campsite). But we walked over to the vehicle with all the Imlay Canyon Gear cascading out of the back and soon were talking with Tom. It was at this time that I met Julie who I had corresponded with a few times to see if we could not hook up together in New Zealand in 2008. Tom informed us that we were rising at 7:00am for an 8:00 o’clock departure for Boundary which he felt was a necessary trial to ensure that we had the capabilities to tackle Heaps two days later.

Up at 6:00am for me and ready to go we headed up to see what flow was going into Kolob Canyon and Tom thought it was about 15cfs. So with that fact in ‘his’ head we went into Boundary with a sense that it would be wet and flowing. Now I’ve never been in a significant flow of water before so I was on virgin ground and Boundary is a good canyon for a first trip as there are no significant hydraulics to present difficult situations in getting off the rope at the bottom of the rappels. Tom showed us the system we were going to use and we were soon over the edge and into the canyon. WOW! The flow was great and at times somewhat intimidating and the canyon walls were slippery than hell. I know I slid down more walls than walking down them. On one particular wall, Nate had both feet flat on the wall and actually skied down the wall. Very impressive. The system worked well with a couple of sharp reminders from Tom to keep us from getting too over confidant. At least that was the case for me.

Soon we had hit the end, took a one hour trip to Kolob and then one and one half hours to all of our favorite hiking trail – The MIA! One other positive reason for bringing Parker along was that he had the combination for the lock at the top of the hill so we were able to drive two vehicles down into the camp, placing one at the top of the MIA and then driving the other to the canyon drop-in point. That advantage played out very well as we spent over an hour extracting Parker’s vehicle from a bog of mud right before a fallen tree that he had to drive under at a very controlled speed. After breaking down mud dams and covering the mud with branches from many down trees, plus setting up a 3-1 haul system to assist in getting his vehicle out of the mud, we were able to get his vehicle out and return to Lava Point.

At Tom’s suggestion Friday was an off day of rest, broken up by Parker, Nate and myself hiding a rope in amongst the poison ivy at the base of Heaps Canyon. Tom had actually wanted us to carry that rope through the canyon but was convinced that the alternate plan of Parker rappelling down on an 8mm Canyon Pro and then pulling up the 9mm rope for the rest of us would work. (Boundary Canyon had shown Tom and the others that Parker is more than capable of holding his own in the canyons).

Friday evening found us in Springdale to sort and arrange for community gear dispersal and the drive up to Lave Point for the departure the next day. Tom’s tent was up and he was soon sawing logs while Julie had a short time of getting to bed, then Parker, Nate and myself. It was a slow, long night for me as my imagination was running rampant and I believe I went to sleep for the first time around 1:45am with a 4:00am wake-up soon thereafter.

A relatively uneventful hike along the West Rim Trail brought us to the ridge line and then the razors edge to the first rappel. I soon discovered that my harness was somewhat defective in that the strap to keep my leg strap from falling down was missing. After the first rappel and taking the wrong route which could have complicated the pull, Tom made a corrective addition to the harness which corrected my problem.

Soon we were eating our first lunch and suiting up for our entry in the famous Heaps. I was fortunate that it was at near, if not full pool which reduced the pothole escapes, never my forte. The system we had used in Boundary was again implemented and we were soon moving through the canyon at a fairly consistent pace (at least I thought so but a couple of remarks from Tom brought us back to our senses). I quickly recognized the famous log stuck in the slot between two potholes and of course had some difficulty in passing through this obstacle. The canyon proved as beautiful as everyone had said and I thought I was taking a lot of pictures but not to the detriment of team movement. Soon I was traipsing ahead of the group in the lead for the next anchor setup as I passed through what I thought was the long sandy corridor. But I was informed later that I was incorrect. We soon came to a section where a large flat rock provided us convenient location for our second lunch and a brief nap for those that could sleep. My small dry bag with my food and medicine in it had sprung a leak thus destroying my food for the remaining 3 hours of the canyon. I was able to eat some salami and cheese plus candy and a couple of bars and thought I would be fine.

We redressed and head into the final section of Heaps. I was looking forward to the room where others in the past had turned around because they thought it was a dead end. It seemed that difficult moves within the canyon increased through this section including a climb onto a large log that was helped along by a kind suggestion by Tom on where to put a foot enabling me get onto the log (just over that log was the small room where when it was full it appeared that there was no getting through there. Just prior to this area was a very long section that was completely flat with a sandy bottom and no water. In a canyon such as this it certainly was something you didn’t expect to see. Then there was the pothole where everyone had to bridge across the opening, Julie did so why couldn’t I since I was about 6 inches taller than her. With Parker at the ready I traversed the pothole and then came the left foot plant, right hand on the wall and a quick hop down onto the slick rock. Tom was always the teacher and encouragement from Julie and Nate, plus a helping hand once or twice from my friend Parker made the group effort a successful one.

I was in the lead as we swam through the very long, narrow corridor when I came upon the rappel down to another waiting pool. Noticing no anchors I quickly determined that I would be a meat anchor for the group and get down as best I could last. Tom suggested a two backpack anchor which would be an easy pull over the edge. I began to notice that my body was getting cold and that my hands were slowly beginning to shake. First Julie, then Nate and Tom went over the edge with me anchoring them. Maybe it was something in my face or eyes but Parker told me to go over the edge and get out of the water and he would do the backpack rappel. But I had to spend another couple of minutes in the water and after stuffing the rope I was visibly shaking all over my body. Julie had also started to experience some signs of hypothermia but had eaten some to raise her body temperature. I quickly tried to tear open some energy bars and despite my shaking hands quickly ate two of them, quite a few gummi worms, some hard licorice and had almost a liter of Gatorade. After about a delay of about 15 minutes and one kindly hug from Tom, the shaking stopped and I felt considerably better, especially knowing that we were very close to the final rappels. I do want to thank the park service for putting that convenient sun location right where I needed it the most at the time I needed it.

After a couple more down climbs and I think a rappel we came to the end; well for everyone else the end. But for me, at the end of a long day where I had completed what I believe to be the most difficult and most beautiful canyon I’ve every done, there remained one last obstacle the chimney up climb. Now, I have developed my skills to a pretty good level when ascending chimneys but this was a frigging climb with footholds only on the right and no hand holds on the left. Nate had coiled the rope and was putting it away when I asked that he provide a top belay. In fact I was hoping for a top raise. It proved to be very difficult but obviously I made it up to the take off point for the last rappels. That is when we caught up with the group ahead of us who had left nearly 3 hours prior to our own departure. Not sure who they were but I believe our ability to move through the canyon as we did was a consequence of Tom’s knowledge and his system of setting up rappels.

Tom explained the system that we were going to use and I sat down for a long wait for my turn at the three rappels. I would be going last from the top and in the middle for the other two sections. I had practiced my Z-rig three weeks earlier during Saddle Fest and was confident in its ability to control my descent. But apparently when I reached the Birds Perch my face showed something completely different as Tom said something like I looked worried. I think I told him something like, “I’m scared shitless”. But off I went and after correcting a ‘Bruce moment’ of sticking my backpack in the slot I was off on the final rap. And what a spectacular one it was. The setup worked to perfection and I was moving at very good pace for me yet under control at all times. Gripping the rope in my left hand and feeding with my right worked to perfection. Touch down came quickly and after cleaning up the ropes and packing up we soon were at the shuttle stop waiting for the ‘last’ shuttle. I remarked to the driver that I thought that the last shuttle was at 11:30pm and he said, “by the time I get back to the Visitors Center it will be 11:30pm. What a long day!

All in all it was the most exciting, exhilarating experience in my short canyoneering career.

Thank you Nate and Julie for your support and encouragement, Parker for being there when I needed it and Tom for having the confidence in my limited abilities to make it though this once-in-lifetime adventure.

My apologies for the length of this narration but I had to get these words down on paper if not for you but for me.

Bruce from Bryce

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