The Black Hole and The Crest
Day 2 of my Moab Canyoneering Extravaganza (MCE) definitely had the bar set pretty high based on the fun meter readings from yesterday and with 0 rappels, the use of wetsuits and this sign at the put in. I had my doubts. As usual I could not have been more wrong.
The hike in was pretty short and Dave was surprised by the amount of water at the entrance to the slot. Looks like we are putting the wetsuits on a lot earlier than expected. Right off the bat we are in waist deep water. Nephew Probe was working overtime today. One of the cool things about hiking in a wetsuit is you feel invincible, nothing slows you down, you are like a tank. Water, knee deep mud, Taliban bunkers? Don’t even slow down for ‘em. The first major obstacle involved a slid off a rock into a pool that we had no idea of the depth. For some reason Pumphead went first on this one and after lowering himself to a (relatively) safe height he dropped in and sure enough it was over the head deep. Since Dave went first there was not much lowering required for Swill and me. Just drop in! At the start of The Black Hole there was another drop in. From the top we could see a big pool of water and then what looked like a sandbar. Again Dave went first on this one and Swill and I were trying to figure out where the water went as the sandbar was real close. Once Dave was in the water the “sandbar” started to move and we could hear Dave “Ew this is nasty”. Our sand bar was a layer of debris and what can only be described as gunk. Swill yells “Hurry lets get in there before it closes up behind him”. (which annoyed Dave greatly, again entertaining Swill and me) No such luck this stuff was thick. Turns out it was a layer of pine needles and bark, it smelled good! We could probably charge vapid Park City trophy wives $300 an hour to sit in our proprietary blend of deionized, magnetic, free range, White Canyon Mulch. (DMOWCM). Words can not describe how cool The Black Hole is. The slot is no more than 5 feet wide with sheer walls and no sunlight. This was definitely the money shot! What an awesome day, I wish Rachel was there but she was in So Cal doing this Damn, maybe I should have been there?
Wow what a great trip. I can see myself getting into canyoneering a lot more in the future. As fun as it is though I just want to make clear it can be very dangerous. When things go wrong in the back country it tends to be in a big way. A simple sprained ankle in the Black Hole could make a nice day trip into an overnight survival situation. Don’t try any of these trips unless you know what you are doing or have a guide. It takes a lot of outdoor experience and a lot of gear to do it safely. Despite having a severe case of self diagnosed pump head, Dave is super experienced and detail oriented, exactly the kind of guy you want to go into a slot canyon with. Swill is like a human GPS. At the put in for The Black Hole (a canyon he had never seen before) he was telling Dave (correctly) where the trail head must be. In the back country the best way to get out of trouble is to not get into it in the first place. I am lucky these guys keep inviting me along.
Yesterday I hit the Crest for the first time in 2 years. Abby called and was game despite having just finished crushing the womens field (and getting 4th overall) and the Hidden Peak Challenge. The weather was a little iffy so we wimped out and did a car shuttle. After Puke Hill we were lucky enough to hook up with DrX. Sounds like he is getting the engine tuned, it will be good to see him throw down this fall. I didn’t quite rip the spine Sly style but more importantly I stayed upright. Made it to the bottom of Millcreek just as the rain started. Another great day in the books.
