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| Canyoneering | 4.00 Miles |
1,700 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 4.00 Miles | 2 Hrs | | 2.00 mph |
| 1,700 ft AEG | | | | |
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| | Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit | | A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit | | II - Normally requires a half day |
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| no partners | | I had a dilemma during the day; join a group of friends at the movies after work, or go for a solo hike down The Ropes to the Colorado River and do some fishing. Both had their appeal, but I reasoned that the movie would soon change to something that I had more of a desire to see than Twilight: Eclipse, so I headed home to get changed. I also found that I had no decent river bait, and with only about 2 hours of usable daylight left, I didn't want to screw around waiting in line a Wal-Mart, so I turned the trip into a photo hike instead. I rolled out to the parking area, descended into the old cable trough between the two ridges, and hiked out to the sand hills beyond.
It had been too long since my last time out to the West Rim, so I hit the rim further west than I needed to be. I lost some time, and probably could have made the river had I cut further east. It turned out alright, though, since I was able to enjoy some beautiful scenery along the rim.
The drop down into The Ropes was slightly sketchy, since I was off of the usual approach, but I got down into the main basin (hoping I'd be able to get back out easily), and immediately picked up the "trail" - poles in a line, leading off of a steep edge. Steep, but walkable: I love Navajo Sandstone. I headed down a ridge with a nearly sheer drop off to my left down to the Colorado River and a deep fissure between the ridge and the cliff face to my right. It was then that my Camelbak decided to fail - the stop valve popped out and water started gushing. I saw where the valve landed, however, and with the pipe in my teeth I downclimbed into the fissure and retrieved it. Restoring functionality to my hydration pack, I came to the first downclimb. I was only moderately concerned, since I was solo, but a quick test allayed my concerns. The handholds were large and the toeholds obvious. I downclimbed the 6' drop and continued down the ridge towards the second downclimb, with a steep landing at the base. Another quick test and I went for it, reaching a broad ledge without a problem. I was getting close to my turnaround time, judging by the shadows on the canyon wall, so I followed a fissure down to a slickrock apron where the last pole stood, anchoring the "rope", in reality a length of steel cable that allows hikers to go down (and back up) the otherwise impassable slickrock dome. I knew I didn't have time to make the river, but I did set up my camera and snapped a picture of myself on the "rope", climbing back towards the anchor. It was time to go.
The going up was much tougher than the going down, and I certainly got a good cardio workout gaining the rim ~700' above the anchor. The sun was just dipping below a local horizon, casting some of the rocks in a stunning light. I was glad I brought my camera, so I shot away. I found old crawler tracks in the sandstone, from when builders were running the lines to the towers in the 1960's. The steel treads were strong enough to leave permanent marks in the Navajo Sandstone. I cruised past the substation and up into a draw with some more lovely photographic opportunities. I dropped back down from a plateau into the original cable trench and then climbed back up to my truck just as the sun was dipping below the true horizon of the Paria Plateau. All in all, a nice after-work hike! |
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"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon |
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