Much before first light we set off from our undisclosed (i.e. illegal) campsite and drove into Canyonlands National Park to witness the sun rising over the near-infinite maze of canyons, as seen framed by a famous arch on the edge of the mesa. The sunlight is reflected upward off the cliff below to cast a golden hue of light on the underside of the arch. I knew it was a pretty cliche shot but that did not prepare me for the better part of a dozen photographers and tourists lined up to get their shot, tripods practically intertwined. I set up my tripod between two people who were so close they were constantly moving into my field-of-view. I snapped a few photos but grew bored. Everyone was glued to their square foot of real estate and there was hardly any talking. It was a really weird scene that made me feel really unconfortable- this was not what photography is about. I took some photos from a few more angles until my camera battery failed, which I took as a welcome sign to stop taking photos, climb to the top of a small hill nearby and enjoy the view with girlfriend in hand.
As soon as the show was over we drove to Moab and rented some sexy sexy mountain bikes. They had run out of my size so I got a free upgrade to what I think was probably a $3000 bike. We biked onto the Klondike Bluffs Trail where I got a feel for how the bike performed on sand, rocks, ruts and slickrock. It was probably around 10am and the heat was already brutal. Ryan and I took a fun detour on the technical single-track of Baby Steps before rejoining Sara at the top of Klondike. Here we had over a quarter mile of screaming slickrock downhill. I can safely say I have never experienced anything like it and I could not get enough. My bike smoothed out the bumps, divots and depressions so effortlessly that after a while I became comfortable riding
at full speed with my hands nowhere near the brakes. I am definitely going to have to return and ride some of the other classic Moab trails sometime.
We returned the bikes and gorged on all we could eat pizza and salad in Moab and then had an equally glutenous midday nap in the shade at the local park. By the time we worked up enough motivation to do something else, the afternoon was well-advanced. Ryan and I packed canyoning gear and then we all set off along a scenic trail up a babbling creek to its source, a great spring beneath a great natural bridge in the canyon's ampitheater. I set up a hammock between two trees for Sara to enjoy. We realized it was getting late and it would be dark in an hour but we decided it was probably enough time to go through the canyon. Ryan and I made the sketchy and exposed climb out of the canyon which featured two thin and loose 5.4 climbing moves, one with very significant consequences. After much displeasurable muttering, we made it up and hiked across country to the head of the main canyon.
We found several small downclimbs to surmount before finding ourselves at the lip of a very deep and dark looking drop into the Medieval Chamber right about sunset. We tried to be efficient with the time we had left- this was not the ideal time of day to start canyoning and it felt more like caving! This first drop was nice and steep with two unavoidable pools on the way down. The view up out of this chamber was magnificent (frontispiece) with bats swirling around as the first stars began appearing. We continued on and in no time at all found ourselves at the top of the natural bridge.
We had planned to rap off the bridge itself, but due to time we decided to use the existing anchor to our benefit. It was a beautiful free rappel with an amazing view of the bridge the whole way. Sara and I enjoyed the rising moonlight as Ryan snapped some photos of the stars. We all three walked back on the light of one headlamp, carefully avoiding the poison ivy of the lush trail. It was quite late by the time we arrived back at the cars and I think we all slept well that night. A long but satisfying day!
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