The Rest of Our Labor Day Adventure

On Saturday morning we got up early to hike with Dan and Kristin. We got to the Zion visitors center while there were still parking spots left. We got on a shuttle heading to the grotto. While I understand the need for a shuttle because there is not nearly enough parking for everyone in the park (this is particularly true on an unbelievably busy labor day weekend.) The shuttle system at Zions is so inefficient. Alison came up with a plan to add an express shuttle to make the shuttle system so much better, now if only they would implement her idea.

Our first hike of the day was Angel's landing. I was excited to do this hike again. Especially because it was Kristin and Dan's first time. We got a much earlier start than last time and it was much more pleasant. The first set of long switchbacks was still challenging, but not having the sun beating down on us really helped.

View from the bottom of Angel's landing

Kristin was a little nervous about this hike. While we were hiking she told us about a book she read which challenged the reader to do something that scares them every day. The idea is that by doing something scary you expand your comfort zone and keep growing. We certainly had some growing experiences on this trip.

I really enjoy hiking Angel's landing because it is a challenge and I feel a sense of accomplishment when it is finished. One of my favorite parts of the hike is Walter's wiggles. It is a set of small switchbacks leading to Scout's lookout.

After Scout's lookout comes the fun part of Angel's landing, the spine. The first half of the chained area was slow going because there were so many people. In front of us, there was a family with a little kid. He was tied to his dad to make sure he didn't fall. They let us pass and later on our way up we could hear the kid crying. Fortunately, we saw them at the top when we were on our way back down. 

The top of Angel's landing is worth the hike. The views of the canyon are incredible. We stopped and spent some time enjoying the view before heading back down. 

At the bottom, we met up with Jake and Meg who went on another hike while we were on Angel's landing. We ate a quick lunch and headed to the Temple of Sinawava. Our plan was to meet up with Blake, Debbie, and Skylee. We were a little worried about whether our plan would work out because none of us had cell service in the park. We only had to wait about 30 minutes and then we were all there and ready to hike the narrows.

It was fun to go on a hike with everyone there. While angel's landing was much better than the last time we were at Zions, the narrows were not as good. It was unbelievably packed with people. They were almost more of a hazard than the water and rocks. The water was also a lot murkier than on our last trip.

Despite less than ideal conditions we had a great time hiking with our family. We talked and laughed and enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us.

By this time we were very tired. We headed back to camp and had some tacos for dinner. That night there was a barn dance. Alison and I took Skylee. As always she had fun dancing. It ended up being more of a cross between a family reunion and a high school dance so we didn't stay too long.

On Sunday we went on the biggest adventure of the weekend. When we initially planned this trip Jake got permits for Pine Creek Canyon. Pine Creek is a technical canyon that requires rappelling. Since Alison, Kristin, and I did not rappel we needed to learn. Throughout the summer Jake has held a bunch of climbing nights where we could learn too and practice rappelling. Alison and I didn't get to go climbing night as often as we would have liked, but we made it enough to feel comfortable rappelling.

We slept in on Sunday morning and took our time getting ready. Pine Creek has many areas that receive little or no sunlight so we wanted to wait until it was nice and warm to start our hike. Because Pine Creek can be wet and cold we all wore wet suits for the majority of the hike.

The start of Pine Creek is near the canyon overlook trail. We parked a truck near the end of the trail and shuttled everyone back to the start. While we were getting ready to go we ran into some of Meg's friends. They were also hiking Pine Creek. It is such a small world. Once we were all suited up we started down the trail. To get into the canyon you have to hike under a bridge. We had only been hiking for a few minutes when we came to the first rappel. There were two pretty big groups going down before us so we ended up waiting a long time before we could get set up.

To get to the first rappel you had to go through the intimidator pool. If you were careful you could stay out of the really deep part, but it was still cold gross water. The first rappel had two stages. First, you rappelled down 50 feet into a sandy bowl, and then you had to walk back 10-15 feet and then rappel down 20 more feet into waist-deep water. This first rappel was pretty representative of the entire trip. Pine Creek consisted of a number of tricky rappels and there was a lot of water.

Up next were a couple more tricky rappels. One we could have used a hand line and walked ourselves down, but we were really focused on being as safe and as comfortable as possible. Another short rappel required starting off a log. It was really tricky and like most of the rappels ended in the water. 

The third rappel was one of the most beautiful parts of Pine Creek. This rappel was into a large cavern known as the cathedral room. It was a 60-foot rappel into deep water. Once you rappel down into the cathedral room you have to tread water while you unhook from the rope. The cavern was pretty dark and the water was freezing, and the surroundings were unreal. Near the top of the cavern was a double arch. The way the light filtered into the room made for a surreal experience. 

After the cathedral room, there was a lot more water. We had to do some swimming and the water was pretty gross. I am not a very strong swimmer so I was glad to have Meg there. She was a lifeguard for a long time and was ready to help if any of us struggled with the swims. Fortunately, we all made it through without too much trouble. 

There was another little rappel, some stunning views, and then a sunny area where we rested and ate some snacks. We also broke out our instructions. We didn't print them before we left so Dan spent the morning writing them out on the back page of one of Skylee's kitten coloring books. 

Reading our kitten instructions

After the sunny area things opened up and we got some amazing views of the canyon. We also had to go through less water. Instead, we were climbing over boulders and other obstacles. We had another 60-foot rappel that was a little awkward leading up to the final rappel. 

A Mama Mia pose for Debbie

The final rappel was a 100 foot free rappel. I have a fear of heights. None of the other rappels made me too nervous, but I was really afraid of this last one. It had a particularly difficult start. Once you are all hooked in you have to sit out on a rock ledge and swing off. Once you swing you are hanging on the rope and can rappel down. Once I was off the ledge and going down I felt really good. Getting off the ledge was brutal. Jake was sitting there helping each of us get hooked up and giving Alison, Kristin, and I the perfect advice to make sure we could work up our courage to start the rappel. 

Finishing this rappel felt like quite an accomplishment, but the hike was not over yet. We still had to hike out about a mile. We were initially planning to follow the river out. This path required a lot of bouldering and would have taken quite a bit of time. Instead, we hiked up higher on a dirt trail we observed during our final rappel. It took us through quite a bit of brush and there were a few obstacles along the way, but it was by far an easier and better way to get finish the hike. It took us a few hours longer than we planned. Fortunately, near the end of the hike, we were able to text Blake and Debbie so they wouldn't worry too much about us, and by the time we got back to camp they had a feast of brisket, mac & cheese, and baked beans ready for us. 

By the time we finished dinner, it was late and we were exhausted from hiking. We turned in for the evening. We woke up on labor day packed our stuff and headed home early. Alison usually needs some time on the weekend to do homework for the PMBA. The PMBA has been a lot of work. We made home it in time for her to get everything she needed to do. That was the end of our labor day adventure.