This canyon was like a ride at Disney World; I never wanted
it to end, and it was over too soon.
Tom found a gopher snake on the way in… It bit him just
moments after this picture was taken.
I borrowed a wetsuit from Kristin and accidentally put it on backwards…
Jason kept referring to it as my leisure suit. That zipper definitely inched
its way south a few times; on one rappel, Jason yelled at me, “This is a family
canyon, Erin! Keep it clean!” I looked down and realized my chest was fully
exposed. But I was wearing a sports bra, so at least it wasn’t completely humiliating.
This was one of the
first rappels, and I was a little nervous since I hadn’t done this in a while.
I yelled down for a belay, and Jason grabbed the rope. Right in the middle of
the rappel, as I was being pounded by water, Jason pulled the rope so I
couldn’t move. It was awful; I couldn’t breathe. He was yelling at me, but I
didn’t hear the “Say you’re sorry!” part. All I heard was, “Say it! Say it!”
And all I could think of to scream in that moment was, “No one likes a
splasher! No one likes a splasher!” (This is kind of an inside joke with me and
Jason and Allison. But it’s true; no one likes a splasher.)
There were so many
slides and gorgeous waterfalls in this canyon. I think this picture perfectly
captures the fun we had. This is Kevin going down a slide, me screaming with
delight, and you can see fall after fall behind us.
I did something
really stupid on this rappel. You can tell how it’s kind of overhanging… I was
hip sliding to that point, but then I knew I was going to swing when I got to
the overhang. I put my left hand out to steady myself… under the rope. It was
stupid. Even as I did it, I knew I was being stupid. And sure enough, when I
got to the overhang, my hand slammed into the rock and was caught under the
rope. My Phoenix dad was sure that
it was broken, so I got x-rays. It’s not, but it’s bad enough that the
doctor gave me some serious pain meds. So at least I know I’m not being a big
baby. But I also got quite the lecture from my Phoenix dad on proper rappelling
technique.
I think this ties with Shake Tree for my favorite canyon in
Arizona. When we finished, Jason said, “Let’s go again! S’mores, the sequel!”
That pretty well sums up how I felt about this canyon. I couldn’t stop smiling;
Kevin started calling me Smiley. I just felt overwhelmed by how lucky I am that
I get to spend my weekends doing this stuff. I never want to take this time in
my life for granted.
*Photos courtesy of the oh-so-talented Jason Marshall and Jack Hasslegrass.
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