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| Canyoneering | 3.85 Miles |
1,396 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 3.85 Miles | 7 Hrs 29 Mns | | 0.64 mph |
| 1,396 ft AEG | 1 Hour 27 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Insomnia
Joel was the only one in our party that had done Insomnia before. We decided to do a different sneak exit then he had done to mix it up a bit.
We loaded up our packs with 4 ropes: 300, 200, 150, and 120 ft. The intent was to be sure to still have rope if we stuck ropes on the big rappel. We wanted to be sure we could finish the canyon.
We bushwhacked down a drainage that was not part of the beta I had. We ended up doing two short rappels in that drainage before we hooked up to the main Insomnia drainage. The first rappel we rigged off a cairn anchor.
In the main drainage we tried to not put in our wetsuits. We went through a 56 degree pool and then decided that we really did need the wetsuits!
Next up was the garbage compactor pool from Star Wars. The smell was worse than a horrendous poop! We each enjoyed watching other people swim through it.
The canyon turned into a beautiful slot canyon. Fluted and sculptured in ways that you can’t imagine. This is why we canyoneer!
Soon we were at the top of the big drop. Tim was at the anchors first and was checking it. He checked the bolts and they were NOT good. The hanger on the left was spinning. The right bolt could almost be pulled out of the wall. I was thinking, ‘No way!’ But unfortunately at this point there isn’t any choice but to do the drop. We communicated back to Joel and Carl and they started looking for another anchor to back up the bolts. They found several options and went with a log. We passed up the longer strand of webbing and soon Joel had it rigged. Things were safer but still it was nerve-racking. I was to go first since I had my full ascending gear on. Gulp! I was happy to have my caving rack along. It handles long rappels by adding a lot of friction. It also doesn’t twist the rope, enabling a spin-free free-hang. I also attached my VT prusik above the rack so that I had an auto block. I looked at Carl, who put his hands in the shape of a heart which was really encouraging, and then I took off. I had to first place some rope protection to prevent the rope from being cut by the edge of the cliff. Then I was off. But not before taking a selfie! The first several feet was against the cliff but soon I was hanging free. As I rappelled a little bug decided to hang with me for a while, keeping pace. Then I saw a butterfly. I kept lowering myself at a steady pace. The full drop is 320 ft. Our rope was only 300 ft. The beta for the canyon mentioned a ledge but I had no idea if it was a tiny ledge or what. I could only hope that the numbers were right and I’d find it easily. Soon I was at a ledge! It was huge and easy to get off rappel safely. I was so jacked up on adrenaline that I jumped up and down and then sat next to the tree that would be our next anchor. I blew my whistle to indicate I was off rope and out of the way. Unfortunately when I got off rope, it swung away from me so Tim didn’t get a fireman’s belay. We are estimating that the drop was probably about 260 feet.
Soon the full crew was down and we continued on our way. Looking back at the full cliff was mind blowing. At the top you could see a keyhole like feature and then just a shear cliff.
We did a few more obstacles and then we were at the sneak exit. We took off our wetsuits and had our lunch. Lunch included some celebratory muffins I had made special for the trip. While baking a work call had come and the muffins spent a little too much time in the oven. I liked to refer to them as really brown. Luckily, the guys were game and ate them.
The climb out was reasonable for the four of us; for the most part it was a scramble up a drainage with all sizes of boulders. Towards the top it got chocked with bushes so we worked our way through locust and other shrubbery. Reaching the top was satisfying, we were done and safe. What a thrilling day! |
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