The Latest Rave

Zion Park re-opened on a limited basis and I needed some exercise. Trail-hiking allowed, off trail not so much. Tim Hoover came up from Springdale which allowed us to do a 2-car route to Observation Point. The Cross-Echo version starts from the Stave Springs Trailhead, crosses Echo Canyon, hits O Pt, then exits via the East Mesa Trail. The simple East Mesa to OPt and back just seemed too little punishment for our sixty-year-old plus bodies…

I took along my “medium” camera to take pics of flowers (and perhaps scenery), and the results were …

A few wildflowers out on Ticaboo Mesa, May 4 2020

Home confinement was driving me nuts. Doing a straightforward canyon with a small well-selected crew seemed like a reasonable and safe/conservative thing to do. No local contact required. Separate cooking and sleeping / social distancing. We chose a place to camp where we expected no one else to camp, even on a beautiful weekend as was finally coming up after a slow spring. In this case, we was Sara Morger, Melissa Webb and myself. Thanks for inviting me.

I had done the South Fork of Ticaboo Creek route several years ago with Ryan Cornia after a 10 hour drive from Mt Carmel on a HUUUGE thunderstorm day. Thus we got the canyon full of fresh water. We had a good day, but I was not particularly impressed by the canyon. Three hours of sleep the night before might have had something to do with that.

The weather was beautiful, we did the canyon, it was brilliant.

S Fork is an odd canyon. A couple big rappels, a chain of potholes, and arch or two. Not very Ticaboo-like, no skinny stuff.

I consider a slot canyon a canyon where you can touch both sides at the same time. There are many slot sections of canyon in Zion, but most are part of technical canyons. Where can a person enjoy a slot canyon experience without ropes and helmets and permits and all that jazz? In Zion, there are not many options, but there are a few.

The BEST - Middle Echo from the Bottom

"From the bottom" means entering the canyon at some point and then moving UP canyon as far as you can or want to, and then coming back to where you started.

Seven days after President Trump’s inauguration, the country’s airports and courthouses were clogged with protesters fighting to protect immigrants facing deportation due to the administration’s “Muslim ban” policy. It was to be the opening salvo of a relentless attack on civil liberties—and a tsunami of lawsuits waged against the Trump administration.

“You wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.”

Zola meets Stefani at a restaurant where Zola waitresses, and the two immediately click over pole dancing. Only a day after they exchange numbers, Stefani invites Zola on a cross-country road trip, where the goal is to make as much money as possible dancing in Florida strip clubs. Zola agrees, and suddenly she is trapped in the craziest, most unexpected trip of her life.

Blurb: “Taylor Swift is a global icon who repeatedly tops the charts, fills stadium tours with rapturous fans, and continues to challenge herself both professionally and personally while remaining steadfast in her vision as an artist. Few have achieved as much as Swift, or have had their personal lives open to such public scrutiny, but in Miss Americana, she finds herself at a watershed moment in her career, using her platform not only as a singer-songwriter, but as a woman fearlessly harnessing the full power of her voice.”

The film is excellent. The story is Americana in spades. Talent. Ambition. Success. Drive. Success. Earned… Oh, wait. I did not win ALL the awards this year! I’m very disappointed, but the next album must be so so so much better!!!

Blurb: “No one at Camp Jened could’ve imagined that those summers in the woods together would be the beginnings of a revolution. Just down the road from Woodstock, Camp Jened was a camp for disabled teens. Directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (a former Jened camper himself) deliver a rousing film about a group of campers turned activists who shaped the future of the disability-rights movement and changed accessibility legislation for everyone.”

We were looking for something to do, not too long, not too short. Not too icy, not too wet. A sunny but cold day expected, thankfully with minimal wind. I suggested the south-facing Spry, the greatest anticipated difficulty being negotiating the extremely shaded first rappel area. Some of us grabbed microspikes, one of us grabbed a wetsuit (me) and off we went, somewhat delayed by Cassy’s morning staff meeting; thus we squeaked out a crack of 10:30 start.  The “we” being TreC Kwan from Vegas, Cassy Brown from Sdale and myself.

Heaps is closed. Hopefully opening soon - I hear they are working on the Kayenta Trail. In the meantime, here is a pictorial for the Canyon, from pics over many trips and from several sources. Enjoy.

There is a long tradition of Pie and Beer Day in Utah — our second 4th of July! Coming on a Wednesday this year, we HAD to take the day off but… the madness of Zion these days, and the maddening heat finally here, the standard canyons inside the Park just did not seem like a good idea. Shirlz suggested a romp through Benson Creek up by Parowan / Brian Head. Splashing water, a couple nice raps, not too long, someone else driving… Previously it had seemed a long way to go for a short canyon (1-1/2 hours from Mount Carmel), but it sure seemed like a good idea on this day.