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| Canyoneering | 2.50 Miles |
2 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 2.50 Miles | | | |
| 2 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Ah, Waterholes, you stole my heart... and blew my mind! What an amazing canyon. Definitely a great challenge, both physically and mentally. We dropped in early Saturday morning to find the canyon dusted with snow, making it even more beautiful. With heavy packs and tons of gear, we made our way through the many amazing rappels, downclimbs and narrows. We leapfrogged through and quickly made it to the zipline spot where we got held up for a bit as we ran into another group going through. They were awesome and set up the zipline for us so no one had to brave the frigid pond (complete with a dead duck floating in it...).
We continued on to the staging area for the "Big Drop", where we went over the rappel sequence one last time. Before I knew it, it was my turn to do the 3-stager, the part I was most nervous about. Focus, focus, focus. First came the super-awkward crack squeeze down to the first ledge. Here I stopped and took it all in, doing a reality check and asking myself "do you realize you are seriously standing here in a tiny nook partway down a 400' wall?!? I felt surprisingly calm at this realization. Then down to the Edge of the World anchor, switched ropes while an angel kept me calm, then continued on the rest of the 300' down. It was a peaceful ride down, it was unbelievable how far away the ground looked though. Made it down safe & sound, with tired hands and a huge smile... wahoooo!!!
After a clean rope pull, some group shots and a few more rappels, we finally made it to the Colorado River. Rafting down a hypothermic river, at sunset, on a pool toy no less... this was the other part of the trip that I was anxious about. We were not there for more than a few minutes before some nice fishermen in a boat pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride back to Lee's Ferry. I couldn't believe this, as earlier in the day I had secretly made a wish that this exact thing would happen!! But alas, after hauling those packrafts around all day, we decided to take the adventurous route and float the river instead. With the bright moon to light the way, it took us 1.5 hours to paddle back to Lee's Ferry, where some friends awaited to help us load up gear and head back to camp.
It was an unforgettable adventure with an incredible group of people, of which I feel very grateful for! Adding to the day, we also came upon the wall scribblings of the Swiss man who was rescued out of the canyon 2 weeks ago after spending 3 nights stranded in there. How he made it down with no gear and didn't fall/die is beyond me. He had etched all kinds of things into the wall, a lot of it sounded like he was losing his grip on his sanity (understandable, considering the spot he was stuck at). It felt to me like it was his last will and testament, both fascinating and sad to read. But of all the things we found scratched in the wall, the one that stuck out to me the most read: "Love is all one needs." That pretty much sums it all up, don't you think? |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
). This drive is just incredible. And driving over the slickrock for the last two miles before the reaching the Point was the highlight. We spent the night here, overlooking the impaired and impounded Colorado River. The view from Alstrom is incredible. This is one of the more epic places I have camped. Definitely worth the long drive.
With a canyon with the reputation of Waterholes, it doesn't take much prodding to get yearning canyoneers to join ya. 
After the middle exit, is the sweetest stretch of tight narrows by far. Reminds me much more of a Utah canyon than most of the other AZ canyons. The BIG rappel sequence of 3 drops totaling 400ft was just as sweet as ever, but having done it a few times not it's nowhere near as intimidating as it was in the past. 
It was nice to see my buddies rope still there from a few weeks ago and we used it again and used my skinnier 400ft rope as the pullside. It was def a great feeling when all of us were down safely and the ropes pulled with no issues. 
A couple more rappels and it was an easy stroll down canyon to the Colorado River. Pumped up our pool toys and made the 4 mile float down river and rolled into Lee's Ferry just as the sun was setting. So much nicer to be doing that during the later afternoon as opposed to after dusk. Hope you guys don't mind another Waterholes photo bomb; such a long, scenic & technical canyon that it's tough to narrow down the pics. 
