VII
Trachyotomy

Trachyotomy

Although I had avoided explorations on Lake Powell that spring, when Trachyotomy Canyon came out of the blue, I was completely psyched to go along. This was another exploration that seemed to be a first descent but turned out not to be so. On the first day, we turned back at the Witch's Cauldron and the ascent up our fixed rope strengthened my resolve and invested me in the outcome of our exploit. When we returned the next day and renewed our efforts, it was with a firm intention of completing the task.

I was not entirely surprised to feel my enjoyment of the unknown return, and I thoroughly immersed myself in the moment. It is strange that bailing out would empower me but that certainly was how it felt. I had not used my oft-practiced ascending skills in an actual canyon setting where failure of my technique or anchor would be catastrophic. Regardless of the technique in question, practice and repetition are necessary for confidence and efficiency but, until I had real-time experience, I always felt an unease that I would make errors which I hadn't foreseen. With an ascent of minor proportions, yet very definite consequences, I was now sure I could do the thing correctly when necessary and, with Trachyotomy complete, my desire to continue and expand my search was reinvigorated. I went back to Google-Earth with renewed interest and assembled a new list of possibilities to look into on my upcoming desert trips.