I'm outa here...for a bit

Right now I am hosting the photos on one of my sites. One of the public photo sites is a good idea.

Tom

 

This little place is called "Box Canyon", and is a side canyon off of Maple Canyon. There are few good routes up the side. We decided to see if we could climb it all of the way to the top. As you can see in the photo, it gets very narrow. My wife bailed at this point and waited for me to climb to the top. She got the worst of it with a torrent of loose rock as I descended. A helmet would have been a good idea.

 

The next day we made a long hike/climb out of Maple Canyon. This photo is from the top, looking down the length of the canyon. It's about a 200 foot drop below my feet, and about 1200 vertical feet back to our camp. In the distance you can see the towns of Moroni and Mt. Pleasant, both in Utah, several thousand feet below.

 

The big bonus for climbing to the top was getting cell phone coverage. My wife checked in with the kids, and I got a call from a client. It's the story of my life.

 

The maple trees were starting to turn at that altitude.

 

Back at camp, reading by the fire pit. I only post this photo because of a funny coincidence that I didn't notice until posting these photos. Look carefully at the book that I am reading. It is titled Near Death in the Mountains. How appropriate.

Also note the soda can. That's an empty bag over the top, serving as a cover to keep out the hornets. They were pretty pesky that day.

 

Our campsite at Maple Canyon. The little BLM camp was nice. For eight bucks a night you got the site, a pit toilet, and all the water you could carry in from outside the camp. The lack of water out west was hard for me to remember. I'm accustomed to plentiful fresh water.

 

Climbing gear under the hatch floor. This was an excellent spot for most of our climbing gear, other than the large items and rope. Climbing gear consumed this spot, other than the requisite Swiffers.

 

Another good look at the funky Maple Canyon rock.

 

From Maple Canyon, we went south to Zion. I took more canyon photos than any human should ever have to endure, so I'll just post a few.

 

Zion, along the Virgin River.

 

Again, Zion. This is the famous (or infamous) Angles Landing. My wife is giving it some thought before we start the ascent. Angles Landing is 1500 feet above the canyon floor.

 

This is at the top of Angles Landing, a bit before the start of the knife edge. This is my last photo from the top. After this one, I didn't even think about pulling my camera from its holster. I was worried that: A) I'd loose my camera, and B) I'd loose my life.

Let me tell you a bit about the crazy people that visit our National Park system. A lot of them don't realize that this is not Disney World, and that if you fall from this point you will die. I do a lot of climbing, so I am fairly accustomed to heights, but random non-climbers were doing things that I wouldn't do unless I was tied in with a good partner. These people are crazy.

The worse part about Angles Landing is dealing with the crazy people on the chains. The trail has many fixed chains that server as hand rails, and you need them. People would get out on the chains and freeze, other people would try to pass them. Meanwhile more people were coming back over the same chains. I'll take climbing any day over dealing with that random mass of humanity.

 

Helmets are always a good idea, but often not used. I almost always wear mine when I lead, since leading puts me at risk of taking a long fall and potentially hitting my head. Also, as you suggest, when belaying or climbing second, there is risk of falling stones. This varies by area and type of rock. We were surprised by the amount of loose rock in Box Canyon, but in retrospect we should have known better.

Tom

 

How cool is that! Mt. Pleasant is a nice little town. We really liked the grocery store in Mt. Pleasant. It is new, clean, and well stocked. I was impressed.

Did you grow up in Mt. Pleasant? If so, what was it like?

Tom