Quandary Canyon, Direct: October 27 and 28, 2001 - Part II

But on to Quandary. Bounce down the dirt road to Hidden Splendor. Throw some dinner together. Pop the tent out on the not-entirely-abandoned airstrip and grab some ZZZZs. Get up as early as you can, given the slow-rising sun and cool temps. Chug some coffee and pack the stuff in the car, drive to the "dead car" trailhead. Charge up the hillside to the start of Quandary Canyon. Yeah! Fall in the desert is pretty wonderful.

A little hiking and a little down-jumping and we arrive at the first real drop. Jen enjoys her first rappel off a Macrame Knot - hey, "Now, explain again, why do I have to go first??"

 

We follow the canyon into a lovely glen wherin is found this very nice natural bridge. Here the minions desperately support the tottering stone for the Emperor's crossing.

A little relaxation in the morning sun. Before "the business" begins.

The canyon narrows up and becomes sinuous, interesting, beautiful...

Let's just say I'm not real fond of cold water, early in the morning.

Jen, a Triathlete, is pretty used to getting in the cold water early in the morning.

Rather than avoiding the first "keeper" pothole by bypassing right, we rapped down and in, did a short swim and exitted a not too hard exit. Scott's out in front with "The Happy Hooker".

And finally, we get to the real "Business", where the Direct Route starts. This is where I placed a drilled angle 2 years ago, which some people think sucks unwary people into the Direct. The Mission was to descend the canyon using all natural anchors and pulling the superfluous bolts. At this first, most important anchor, we searched fruitlessly for natural anchors in the immediate area. It might be possible to go drag some big rocks from upcanyon to these sand-filled potholes, but instead we utilized a new device I made called the Sandbag. For more info on the sandbag Clic Here.