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As our grand finale for the week Tom, Aaron and Todd set out
for a day trip via the shortcut route to Imlay Canyon. The group
departs before dawn and with a brisk pace arrives at the crossroad
entrance to the canyon at 7:40am only to find that Aaron's
wet suit (which was attached to the outside of his pack) had fallen
off at some point during the approach. Doh! He heads back to see if he can find
it, and fortunately comes across it only 20 minutes back up the trail. |
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Disaster (or at the very least, a major inconvenience)
averted, we gear up and dive in to the canyon, soon reaching the first rappel.
The Imlay
Rope Silo in the foreground has proven to be a boon in canyons
with lots of water like this one since it keeps your rope afloat. You
should buy one right away. |
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Though we're prepared to tackle the many keeper
potholes for which Imlay is noted (or notorious), recent rains have
filled the canyon to the brim and there isn't a keeper to be found. A
bit of a disappointment. |
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| Here's yet another photo of the famous simul-rap
from the natural arch. It's a pretty picture, but is a scene that I'm
actually getting a little tired of (not unlike the Golden Cathedral in Neon). |
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It's a little brighter further down canyon (a welcome
sight since it had been cloudy all morning). This photo was taken just
downstream of the basketball Jones feature which, since the canyon is
so full, any white man could jump. |
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There are several obscure references in the preceding
sentence that I would be happy to patiently (and patronizingly)
explain. 1 - Basketball Jones is a parody song written by Cheech and
Chong and released on their 1973 Los Cochinos album, 2 - the formation
in question is a hoop shaped/sized pothole, canyoneers are able to
bypass a keeper pothole by leaping over it and catching the rim of the
formation, an act not unlike dunking a basketball, 3 - 'White Men
Can't Jump' is a 1992 movie starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.
Now that that's done, can I get you a cookie? |
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Here's Tom at one of the many short rappels.. |
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The high water levels have reduced several of the short
rappels to short down climbs or slides. Here we are entering the final
series of drops. |
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Tom completes the final rap, takes a bow, and the fat lady sings. |
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A successful trip by any standards, we return with the
same number of people we started with ("Our track record was due for
improvement." Tom wryly notes when presented with this impressive
statistic), and everyone is tired but happy. We return to the 'fake'
world of cars and computers, responsibilities to fulfill and petty
duties with which to attend. I'll end with an Edward Abbey quote: |
One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for
real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.
-Edward
Abbey |
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Oops, ... ah.... how'd that get in there? That doesn't
apply to our group, must be something wrong with my pasting button,
let's try this one: |
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome,
dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains
rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without
end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells,
past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval
forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and
mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue
mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and
down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of
sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the
white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs
upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful
and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you
--- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.
-Edward
Abbey |
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The cost of any such trip can not be measured only in
terms of physical effort, you must also include gear destroyed or
lost. Here's the tally for the week:
Steph (1'st Place): escaped unscathed
Todd (2'nd Place): 200 ft rope became core shot at the mid-point and
is now 2x100 ft ropes
Tom (3'rd Place): 100 ft rope stuck at the top of the last series of
rappels in Heaps - 50 ft recovered, Black Diamond ATC lost in a pool
in Imlay, brand new holes in brand new backpack
Aaron (Last Place): 5 MP digital camera, death by drowning |
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