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| Participants: John, Gabe, Todd & Steph |
Canyons: Oscuros del Balces, Mascun
Superior, Fornocal, Portiacha, Basender, Mascun Inferior, Cueva
Cabrito
Other Canyons Completed: Estrechos del Balces, Escuain, Gloces & Furco. |
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| As a part of our extended canyoning
excursion to Spain we relocated from the Pyrenees to the Sierra de Guara Mountains, which is a small range located a bit south with many
canyoning opportunities. We are armed with a list of recommendations
and plan to hit as many of the best canyons as possible while the rest
of the country is stuck at work (or looking for work - at the time of
this writing, Spain unfortunately has an unemployment rate of 11.2%).
The group is a bit haggard from the frenetic pace of the last few days
and decides on a casual trip through the Oscuros del Balces. |
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| To continue the theme of the blind
leading the blind, 'Oscuros' refers to something like 'dark, twisty
narrows' in Espanol, 'Estrechos' are 'straight narrows'. Here are some
of the twisty kind. |
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| Not only is the water a breathtaking
Tidy-Bowl green, it also has a fresh clean scent of spearmint (er
..... not really, I made that up). It did have a good current though.
We rummaged through the toolbox of approved ACA techniques to
determine the best means of navigating the treacherous flow. We settle
on floating. |
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| Canyoning hard? Or hardly canyoning? |
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| The next day we're up for something a
little more hardy, and opt for Mascun Superior. This is another
classic canyon in the Guaras, I guess Pine Creek in Zion would sort of
be its equivalent in the states. The canyon features a few nice jumps,
some spectacular waterfalls, a cave and great scenery. |
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| The canyon eventually enters a cave.
The high mineral content in the water makes for some interesting
travertine formations. |
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If this next photo seems a little too perfect, it's
because the whole thing was created in a studio. Styrofoam rock walls,
a tanker truck of water released into the koi pond at the bottom and a
model hired and posed based on the results of extensive focus group
research. For a reasonable fee I'll digitally edit in your product,
suitable for use in most print media. |
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