After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it” “you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???” “Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…” “Soooooo……” (A.R) “Uh, alright I’m on board…” It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today! This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end. The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day… Enjoy!
aramv14
Love it! You were a pain in the ass when I woke you up in the morning??? I must have missed something? I don’t remember you being a pain in the ass at all. You asked if I thought you could deal, and I gave you the completely honest answer of “I don’t know”. Quite frankly at the time I was wondering quite the same thing for myself. If I remember correctly, I believe I told you that you probably could do it, but to be ready for one of the longest and hardest days of your life. From the moment you said you were on board, you were focused, and ready to go in a hurry. Good decision.
I’m thrilled you rallied and joined us in PINTAC. That really took some courage and determination. It was so much fun getting to know you better and doing canyons with you! I enjoyed every minute of it. By the time we were done with Longbranch you were the one with all the energy, plunging down into that pothole on the final rap. Hope all is well and thanks again for being so generous and lending us your gear for Scorpion. Can’t wait to get some climbing days in with you in Boulder this summer/fall!
Aaron
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “TomJones” wrote:
And now immortalized in the “Best Of Canyons EGroup” archive.
Responders are reminded to clip their posts!
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wr >
TomJones
And now immortalized in the “Best Of Canyons EGroup” archive.
Responders are reminded to clip their posts!
Tom
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wr
forum8fox
I’m glad you have all enjoyed my efforts at the write up. I’m still waiting on my pics so I really tried to focus on being as descriptive as my memory would allow me to be. I’m sure I messed us somewhere along the lines but I tried my best.
Thanks for the kind words, especially to you Jenny. Sorry we didn’t get to do any canyons together, and sorry for the bad first impression(the cigar mostly as the rest was delightfuly worded and I don’t think I could explain my persona at the time better). I’m glad it didn’t last, and I look forward to the next oppertunity to get out with you (BTW thanks for sharing your water bag ideas). After all how often do you get to go canyoneering with a ledgend???
Next time Spidey, we will be back I’m sure…
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “RAM” wrote:
What he said. What she said. Nice…nay exceptional writing by both. Thanks for the ride. A face to it? > http://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/Jason#5478042616216229826
Exceptional stuff! > R
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Jenny” wrote:
Jason,
You have much to celebrate from this experience. Your TR was both highly descriptive of the technical as well as sensitive to the beauty you saw in there. Your honest dialogue shared humility and the deep reach inside for courage, as well. Your language…was you; pure and unpretentious. I read it twice, a classic. I am so pleased to be able to put a face to it and hear your soft voice behind it. When I first arrived at camp you appeared to me as a quiet, doe-eyed young man smoking a nasty stogie, of which I stayed up wind. But after a few days out, when you circled around the car to offer me a hug and a fare-thee-well, you seemed to exude a deep strength and confidence, full of that particular essence of Life that this kind of thing can instill. I think you have clearly tasted The Stuffing, that self satisfaction of accomplishing something remarkable and truly wonderful. Thanks for sharing this TR. You are sumptin’ indeed. Congratulations. Play safely out there, OK?
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “forum8fox” wrote:
After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it”
> “you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???”
> “Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…”
> “Soooooo……” (A.R)
> “Uh, alright I’m on board…”
> It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today!
> This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end.
> The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day…
> Enjoy!
RAM
Denali Mike. Here…. http://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/PINTAC# For those that missed it or want to revisit after the story is has been shared in words.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Mike Schasch” wrote:
Great read Jason, sounds like a beast of a day! Hope to see some pictures
mike
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “forum8fox” wrote:
After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it”
“you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???”
“Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…”
“Soooooo……” (A.R)
“Uh, alright I’m on board…”
It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today!
This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end.
The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day…
Enjoy!
>
RAM
What he said. What she said. Nice…nay exceptional writing by both. Thanks for the ride. A face to it? http://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/Jason#5478042616216229826 Exceptional stuff! R
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Jenny” wrote:
Jason, > You have much to celebrate from this experience. Your TR was both highly descriptive of the technical as well as sensitive to the beauty you saw in there. Your honest dialogue shared humility and the deep reach inside for courage, as well. Your language…was you; pure and unpretentious. I read it twice, a classic. I am so pleased to be able to put a face to it and hear your soft voice behind it. When I first arrived at camp you appeared to me as a quiet, doe-eyed young man smoking a nasty stogie, of which I stayed up wind. But after a few days out, when you circled around the car to offer me a hug and a fare-thee-well, you seemed to exude a deep strength and confidence, full of that particular essence of Life that this kind of thing can instill. I think you have clearly tasted The Stuffing, that self satisfaction of accomplishing something remarkable and truly wonderful. Thanks for sharing this TR. You are sumptin’ indeed. Congratulations. Play safely out there, OK?
> — In Yahoo Canyons Group, “forum8fox” wrote:
After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it”
“you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???”
“Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…”
“Soooooo……” (A.R)
“Uh, alright I’m on board…”
It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today!
This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end.
The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day…
Enjoy!
>
Jenny
Jason, You have much to celebrate from this experience. Your TR was both highly descriptive of the technical as well as sensitive to the beauty you saw in there. Your honest dialogue shared humility and the deep reach inside for courage, as well. Your language…was you; pure and unpretentious. I read it twice, a classic. I am so pleased to be able to put a face to it and hear your soft voice behind it. When I first arrived at camp you appeared to me as a quiet, doe-eyed young man smoking a nasty stogie, of which I stayed up wind. But after a few days out, when you circled around the car to offer me a hug and a fare-thee-well, you seemed to exude a deep strength and confidence, full of that particular essence of Life that this kind of thing can instill. I think you have clearly tasted The Stuffing, that self satisfaction of accomplishing something remarkable and truly wonderful. Thanks for sharing this TR. You are sumptin’ indeed. Congratulations. Play safely out there, OK?
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “forum8fox” wrote:
After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it” > “you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???” > “Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…” > “Soooooo……” (A.R) > “Uh, alright I’m on board…” > It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today! > This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end. > The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day… > Enjoy! >
Mike Schasch
Great read Jason, sounds like a beast of a day! Hope to see some pictures
mike
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “forum8fox” wrote:
After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it” > “you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???” > “Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…” > “Soooooo……” (A.R) > “Uh, alright I’m on board…” > It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today! > This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end. > The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day… > Enjoy! >
Steven Jackson
Nice read, sounds like fun.  I’m still totally bummed I wasn’t able to make it.  Kings Mesa is awesome!
— On Tue, 6/1/10, forum8fox forum8fox@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: forum8fox forum8fox@yahoo.com> Subject: [from Canyons Group] TR: P.I.N.T.A.C One of the hardest days thus far in my entire life To: Yahoo Canyons Group Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 8:33 PM
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After doing “Big Tony” I was having a little bit of anxiety, wondering if I would hold up for the trip or if I would fold like a little girl. The original plan was to do “DDI” the following day. We started mulling it over and it made more sense to do “PINTAC” next if there was any chance of knocking all of the canyons that were planned off. Or more should I say the important ones (“PINTAC”, “Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow”, and “West Scorpion”). Unfortunately I already knew I was going to miss WS because of time constraints.
I personally felt that I didn’t want to have to do both xx slots back to back, and the others felt they didn’t want to deal with 3 xx slots back to back. So it was decided that unless RAM shot the idea down then we were going to do “PINTAC” the following day.
From that point on I became very nervous, as I was exhausted already from “Big Tony”. I think I felt just as I had before the first time Eric Harvey, Steve Crisp, and I had done “Sandthrax”. Very unsure of what was to come or if I could hang. I think the fact that I was so far from home and so far out on bad roads was getting to my head a bit. Also that I didn’t realize how involved these canyons really were, the approaches and exits are no cake walk as far as effort are concerned.
It’s not like “Sandthrax” where you show up and your only like a ½ mile from the top… No; no, my friends. You drop down at least 500′ into a creek bed, then your approach starts from there (generally down stream then up and out the other side). Once you finish your canyon and you hike back up the creek bed, you get to climb back out (sandy grueling uphill at the top).
It wasn’t only the mile or so of hard high stemming ahead of us, it was the long approach and trek back on top of all of this that was really pushing the envelope for me. Considering “Tony” was the easiest of the X canyons and closest of them all; and I was already feeling kind of worked (during and after), it’s easy to understand my butterflies.
The other issue was we had to get an early start (sunrise hiking basically) and I was whooped. I went to bed wondering what I was going to do, unsure of how I would react when the morning rolled around. I sure didn’t want to let the opportunity pass me by but I was tired, sore, and scared.
The morning went something along these lines:
`Knock, Knock,’ “Hey man, it’s time to get up” (A. Ram). “Oh man ugh…” “damn it”
“you coming?”(A.R) “UGH… IDK… What do you think, based on how I did yesterday, will I hold up???”
“Uh, I don’t know man (as I’ve not been), probably…”
“Soooooo……” (A.R)
“Uh, alright I’m on board…”
It was a rough start, sorry bout being a pain in the ass Aaron. So I wake up and get dressed, and stuff my face as much as I can as I know I will need the calories today!
This was after all to be the longest approach of the entire trip. I also tried to hydrate decently.
We were off hiking with the sun rise and, as was the nature of the whole trip I would periodically have to stop and dump sand out of my shoes. We continue down the creek for a while until we spot the climb up to the head. We climb out and hike on nice ridges on domes until we arrive at our planned cache of food and water.
Aaron rounded up the stuff we wanted to cache and took it down. There is a break between the upper and middle section of “PINTAC” which allowed us to do that.
Next thing I know we’re off again and hiking around a good size formation (I think it’s called the great ridge). Once we skirt it around the left to the back side; we arrive at the head of the canyon, which promptly gets to business. We walk around a down climb into a pot hole and maybe 100-200′ down canyon to a low angle slab which allows us to walk down into it onto flat ground.
We take this opportunity to suit up as we know it’s time, its obvious when you look down canyon that the fun has already begun. Off we go, moving through strenuous sections with steep walls covered in sand and a lack of useable features. Oh and some rotten rock thrown in for good measure.
We carefully move through the worst of it (the rotten bit) and down we go (1st 100 yrds or less)! On the ground already! Not for long though as just around the bend it forces us back up, and I mean literally we are climbing.
This was to be the nature of the majority of the canyon. It had lots of downs and ups, and a surprising amount of ground to stand on. The rests sure came with a price though, which was mostly paid for with lots of energy and muscle expenditure going back up.
At one point we had acknowledged at least 5 serious climbs, but I’d guess it was more like 10 by the time it was said and done. I don’t think any of them were harder then 5.9 or maybe even 5.8??? But they sure took lots of work, and were very long and unprotected for the majority. I’m sure they could be harder for some people as different people do things different ways (body proportions, and having a realistic body image play a big role too).
The canyon had 3 stemming sections with a little bit of open riparian features near the bottom The upper 2 are for sure the real deal, X rated goodness(WTF is XX anyway, I thought x was fall and be seriously injured/dead). Both are very physical and scary as the walls are un-friendly to travel (steep walls, very little to work with most of the time, sand and exploding moki balls, rotten stretches, silos etc.). Oh and don’t let me down play the exposure, it is rarely fleeting especially with all of the climbing.
I was getting pretty worked because I wore fleece pants under my shorty and jeans, thus overheating and dehydrating. Also I carried a trout in there and less snacks because of it and alas found no time or place to enjoy it until the end.
The problem was that there is still a section of r rated stemming after all of this madness! The stemming in this section is mostly a lot lower, but still a lot of work. I definitely felt like I was near “hitting the wall” and I wanted it to be over. My partners coaxed me to eat but I didn’t feel I could digest anything, and if I could it was a loss of energy diverted to doing so. Luckily for me Steve forced some water and power shots down me (thank you a ton), we powered through it and it was essentially over!
There were some really pretty stretches in the middle section. We were fortunate to at least have some good light through the day. There was lots of fluted, convoluted, sculpted stone through out the narrow bottoms of most of the canyon. Also a bit of moss graced the walls adding color. Occasionally you could shuffle along the floor, but only when it was obviously worth it as you were climbing enough already.
If that didn’t make it worth it already the open section is gorgeous, beautiful streaked ampetheaters and sheer walls. Also a very unique (to me) cathedral subway with awesome carved out old erosion patterns down the walls and floor. It also had great colors (moss and salt or calcium deposits perhaps), and spots where the land had slid from above and piled up. Gorgeous! (this paragraph mostly sums up the visual aesthetics of the open section of the canyon)
We come to a rappel and find no anchor, then we realize the water course takes you through poison ivy and we look up on the bench to the right where we find a cairn deadman anchor. We dismantle it and replace the webbing then re-assemble it and rap diagonally to avoid the ivy with a meat anchor (me) and last man at risk (me).
Eventually there is another drop with no anchor and after a fair bit of effort we find a way to avoid it and all of the poison ivy that seems to thrive all around it. This involved a bush whack up against the wall on the left (LDC) and down the precarious hillside once the ivy relents.
Then we arrive at the final rappel and find no anchor, this time it was really swept out. We work down to the lip and find a small pot hole and build an equalized deadman cairn anchor after a bit of rock hauling from a little ways up canyon. I go first then Aaron (on meat), and then Steve B takes the last man at risk position as he had the privilege of building it and wanted the honor.
We marched back out like zombies, taking a short break to share a trout. I don’t think there was too much time messing around but I could be wrong. The canyon took us 4.5 hours of stemming and 11 total car to car… BIG DAY!!! I took the next day off while Aaron, Landon, RAM and Jenny explored a new find. Steve hiked them in but otherwise also took the day off, we enjoyed the afternoon in Escalante.
I was sure glad to have that off day…
Enjoy!