Over the years I have had the great opportunity to write a little bit about desert canyons and the sport of canyoneering in the pages of Prodigal's Chair. In May of 2015, Stephen Stellato, Andrew Turchon and I had the good fortune of descending a number of canyons in southwest Utah, prime canyoneering country and an outrageously beautiful segment of the American landscape. Lost and Found is the name of one such canyon, and it's where we spent the better part of a day toiling through an amazing labyrinthine defile cut and eroded by eons of flash flooding.
Lost and Found Canyon is a remote slot canyon located in southeastern Utah. Reaching it requires driving an intricate network of high clearance dirt roads. We were frequently lost while attempting to find the start of the canyon...so the name Lost and Found turned out to be quite fitting. Although only about a dozen miles from the interstate, this region once frequented for the purpose of uranium mining is now completely off the grid and being out there gives one the feeling of being very very isolated. Thus…it's fabulous.
The first rappel in Lost and Found Canyon happens to descend through a magnificent natural arch, quite appropriate for a canyon in the immediate area of Arches National Park. The drop is short, about 40 feet. In this photo one can easily see the rope as it feeds through the brass colored rappelling device attached by a carabiner to my harness. The friction caused by the rope against the metal of the device allows the canyoneer to control his or her descent on the rope. In this way one is able to continue down canyon when encountering drop offs which would otherwise render the descent impossible. Specialized ropes, with a breaking point in the thousands of pounds, are the lifeline of the canyoneer, and understanding the dynamics of your gear is a necessity if you plan on living and enjoying a long and healthy life. Mistakes may have penalty points that are sometimes severe.
This was a narrow canyon in places. Here its either squeeze into the slot and continue down canyon, or stem above the slot and climb down. We chose the latter, and roped up for safety of the downclimb. Back in the day we would have just gone for the downclimb. These days we have kids and homes and toys and there is more to lose…so we selected to use the rope for safety sake. Would have been fine without it but steeepy-steep nonetheless.
This was a narrow canyon in places. Here its either squeeze into the slot and continue down canyon, or stem above the slot and climb down. We chose the latter, and roped up for safety of the downclimb. Back in the day we would have just gone for the downclimb. These days we have kids and homes and toys and there is more to lose…so we selected to use the rope for safety sake. Would have been fine without it but steeepy-steep nonetheless.
In the springtime the desert blooms and desert Lilac stands out against the reddish hue of Wingate Sandstone. These flowers look good and smell great. April moisture allows these and other fragile and delicate wildflowers to burst out of their torpor and revive. Cacti and succulents also bloom amid the towers of naked, sunbaked rock. It's a beauty short lived; the blooms will subside as May marches on and the arid landscape reasserts itself for another year. One has to enjoy the grandure and goodness when it is available, and when it is not, be contented, even happy, to have savored a glorious, albeit fleeting moment in time.
The following image is of Sacred Datura, a member of the nightshade family which is highly hallucinogenic. Native Americans have used this trippy plant to visit other realms of their consciousness for centuries. The trip is said to last in the neighborhood of 12 hours and is known to be intense. Maybe someday…
Technology makes it increasingly easy to get cameras into spaces that weren't always easy to photograph. Andrew is lining up a shot in a shallow stretch of Lost and Found. Like many canyons, Lost and Found has its tight constrictions, and areas where it opens up. The open stretches offer the opportunity to relax a little bit en route, whereas narrow portions of canyon typically throw more curve balls at the hiker. Up and over chock stone boulders, climbing polished rock walls, scrambling under tree trunks and other evidence of past flash flooding jammed in the narrows, rappels off of cliffs, and often (though not in Lost and Found) swimming across potholes which are pools of collected runoff held in the depressions of the stone. I got into the sport for the narrow sections, but as I move through middle age I find I use the shallow and wide stretches to rest up, photograph, and mentally prepare for the set of challenges the next round of narrows will undoubtedly hold.
The two photos below show two perspectives of a feature called “The Porch,” which is a slab of sandstone overhanging the canyon that will comfortably accommodate about 8 people. Here we are looking downcanyon from The Porch, at the top of the third rappel in Lost and Found, a drop of about 135 feet total. Those are pretty sizeable Cottonwood trees down there, but they look like bushes from our bird's-eye location on The Porch. “The Porch”…sounds like we should be drinking Corona’s not prepping to descend like spiders to the desert floor.
Canyoneering is a thoughtful pastime Here Steve Stellato takes a moment on the exit hike to reflect on the fact that all good canyons have to come to an end. Next up? Drive our shuttle car back to our trail head car and then drive both cars back to Grand Junction, CO.
Logistics such as the car shuttle, the canyon itself and every obstacle along the way make for the fun. A vacation? Not close. These trips are work. The payoffs, however, are life affirming and sometimes life changing. There is power in the forces of nature, in placing one's self in a wilderness far removed from the daily trappings of life. A clarity, a heightened sense of spirituality, and profound well being are often side effects from climbing and canyoneering. These are not thrill sports, they are not adrenaline rush activities such as, I imagine, something such as bungee jumping. Jumping off a bridge attached to a fat bungee cord takes guts, I will grant you that--but it does not take any skill for the average participant to that activity. A professional generally sets up the bungee and anchors and the participant is usually a paying customer. Purpose of the jump is the thrill it throws off.
Climbing and canyoneering are slow, deliberate, mindful, and more akin to chess than to jumping off a bridge. You think out every move, and often several moves ahead at one one--anticipating as you must each obstacle ahead. Rappelling down a rope safely requires a number of skills drawn from a diverse skill set. It is not particularly hard, however. And if done correctly, there is no adrenaline to be gained. Slow, steady and safe. I have been an avid participant in the disciplines of rock climbing and canyoneering for well over two decades. Injury or worse is not in my plan book. And adrenaline is unnecessary. Know what you are doing, certainly know your limits, and live to play another day.
Header art by T. Guzzio. Original photo by the author.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTOPHER:
Christopher Mattera, Ed.D. has been descending and photographing technical canyons on the Colorado Plateau for twenty-five years. His photography appears in Moab Canyoneering: Exploring Technical Canyons Around Moab, the newest guide book to technical canyoneering on the Colorado Plateau, recently published by Sharp End Publications. In addition he is an educator, and writer. Contact Chris at [email protected].
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