Neon Canyon, March 12, 2002

And now, for the main event... After a quick descent of E2, we realize we have enough time to pack up and make the walk down to Fence Canyon, and set up camp for a little more adventuring. After a quick hike and a brief evening scotch-and-storytelling session, we set the alarm clock for dawn.

One *Feature* of the Fence Canyon campsite, is that you get to cross the Escalante River first thing in the morning. Here, John and Mike eschew some of the usual garments for the sake of economy.

 

Crossing the Escalante - what fun!

Enjoying the quiet of early morning.

We pass the "usual" way in to Neon. Most folks drop in here and quickly get to the Golden Cathedral rappel, and dash out of there. We were up for more of an adventure, so we went past this and dropped in somewhat higher. To each their own. Hike your own hike.

A lovely slot, must be some interesting stuff down there - guess we'll find out.

Downclimbing a slot to get into Neon somewhere higher up.

Winston Churchill, in his long life, apparantly never ever dressed himself, he always had a valet. Admittedly, WC probably was not trying to get on a wet suit that fit him 20 lbs ago. We sure hoped we were going to need them, 'cause these rubber rompers are a pain in the patootie to get on. Here Ram gets double-teamed - just enough strength, ingenuity and luck to actually get the zippers closed. Or close enough.

Rapping in - Ram on rope, first drop.

And the canyon is... Dry. I am told this bridge is not usually noticeable, being underwater. This could make for an interesting trip - almost no water? At least we can expect to stay warm.