Zion National Park - Keyhole Canyon - August 23, 2014

 

Mark has been advocating for another Zion National Park trip almost since we got back from the last Tridiot (mis)adventure down The Narrows. So, we finally made it happen. The Tridiots who do not have to work left early on Friday and those that do got a bit of a late start, battling our way through Vegas traffic, picking up honorary-Tridiot-for-the-weekend, Kevin, and rolling in to the Watchman Campground after 1:30 AM on Saturday. Oscar and Julie were already sleeping in their tent and the rest were safely tucked away at the Quality Inn just outside the Park entrance.

We were lucky enough to pull a Subway lottery permit for Sunday, August 24. I set my alarm for 5:15 AM to go wait at the backcountry desk to try to get a walk-in permit for another canyon for Saturday. And Keyhole Canyon it was to be. This is an excellent introductory canyoneering adventure.

It would not be a true Tridiot (mis)adventure unless we overcame some sort of obstacle other than the canyon itself. I was moving too fast and got us off on the wrong trailhead right from the get go, which really just meant that we added a nice one hour hike on the slickrock. Once back on track the canyon was all sorts of fun. A few Tridiots had their first rappelling experience and we managed not to leave anybody behind. We were especially lucky to find that the recent rains had left cool, but relatively clean water behind. Keyhole can sometimes be filled with fetid, smelly water.

-Juice