Suicide Canyon - Bad luck with nav, rope, and bugs... but awesome anyway!

This past Wednesday I finally added Suicide Canyon to my list of accomplishments, a much anticipated trip. "Awesome" definitely sums it up, but for those who want to read more than two sentences...

So the group was Zack, Dave, and myself. Zack and I met Dave at the parking lot area off Big Tujunga road at I think 10am exactly (would have been there early like 9:20 but Zack took 45min to get out of bed haha). After choosing our ropes, packing our gear, and getting our canyon clothes on, we head out and start following a really nice stream for a while heading east, crossing it about 4 times. It really was some clear water, and we passed some interesting places just hiking on the ground there, including some growth of corn as well as a little "chill zone" of sorts - complete with cushioned chair, clothesline, workbench, signs, etc out in the middle of nowhere.

We actually went farther than most travel, and decided to head up a gully we found and see if that can get us up the mountain, looking for a little more of an adventure I suppose. So instead of taking the trail that leads up the route (which we eventually crossed and continued on) we took a rather difficult but fun climb up the mountain. At first we had 4 short rock climbs - which actually could have been nice rappels if water had been flowing down them - which was followed by a few long loose earth uphill climbs. I led on the first one, and set up a rope to help Zack get up, as it was pretty long and challenging. From there on Dave went first while Zack and I stayed behind til he was up, as we kept dislodging rocks and whatnot by going up, one that landed square on my ankle... still a little sore today. I normally followed close behind Zack in case he needed any spotting, and since he wasn't incredibly comfortable with some of these. Even though he said "I can't do this" on one of them, of course he ended up doing it. Saying he can't and then disproving himself - story of his canyoneering life. He did however get one sharp cut which tore right through his Dickies and then skin, the one cut we actually bothered cleaning and fixing up.

Soon we reached the top of the ridge and introduced ourselves to some telephone poles, intersecting with the actual trail which we then followed up. There were a few more steep uphill sections, but on solid dirt fortunately. All I can say is whoever set up all those ropes to hold on to and pull yourself up on for those short climbs is Grade A in my book. After these of course the trail continued uphill but it definitely leveled out and was actually a very comfortable hike from there on, following pink blazers through the heavily wooded area... which led us to overshoot the canyon. Unfortunately, there was no obvious marker for a turn-off to the west towards the canyon so we continued uphill to the south following the blazers.

Uphill to the south of the canyon, we emerged in this suddenly open area that was nothing but large white rocks and boulders. Long story short, we crossed this, went back into the woods, found 3 dead ends, and went back. We agreed to just start heading back down since we knew the canyon was below us and that we had overshot it. Two minutes later as we are about to exit that rocky area marks my third rattlesnake encounter! Unfortunately, GPS coordinates from the site we use were eerily inaccurate and were really not of much help at all. Also... bugs! After those mentioned loose uphill climbs, once we got into the nice wooded areas... god were there so many. Zack would not stop complaining about getting bitten by horseflies and such. I couldn't feel it, but I definitely flicked some off and saw a minuscule spot of blood were they were. Probably have about 4 mosquito bites leftover right now too. Why oh why do I refuse to hike/canyoneer in pants...

On the way down we take a chance following a faint trail we hadn't seen on the way up (as stated, no obvious markers and it was actually detached from the main trail), which eventually leads us to the first rap. After the short loose downhill surf into the canyon - the first rap of which is to the right - I head off towards a little shady glade to the left to check for water since Zack said there wasn't any at the rappel. Voila! The canyon gods smiled upon us. A nice clear pool to filter. We sat there for a few minutes, got drunk, filled up some bottles, and headed for the whole reason we were even there.

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The first rappel - named Lovers Leap - is a good 190-200 foot rappel. Perhaps it was from the previous few hours of climbing and bushwhacking, but my hands got tired on it and kinda hurt a little. I locked my prusik once just to get the load off my hands for a little bit, don't know what was up. So I was the first down, almost landed on a dead headless squirrel (I think) which sat right at the bottom. We covered it up with some rocks. Zack was down next, his legs shaky as he got near the bottom. This was his longest rappel yet, but he's come a long way from being afraid of heights and taking an hour just to man up and go down Bailey's first 35 foot slope. Made me proud, my little padawan is growing up *cry*. After being down for a minute he was already saying he wanted to do it again though! So then down comes Dave after tossing the pull rope. I should take a moment to mention that this rappel reminded me of the last rap I did in Zion, at Spry... I couldn't touch my pirana or biner for a good 5 minutes or more because it was so hot.

So! We're all down. Start pulling the pull line down. 20 feet later... BAM stuck. Can I get it down? Nope. Can Dave get it down? Nope. Can the 3 of us with our harnesses attached to the rope and putting our combined body weight against it get it down? Nope. Oh yea... and that's why you don't use accessory cord as a pull line :)

Me almost done ascending, maybe a little dramatic, but truly out of breath haha...

So I volunteer to ascend up and get fix whatever the problem is. Of course the one day I get smart and work UPPER body in the gym instead of lower the day before canyoneering is the day I have to ascend almost 200 feet. I actually find it easier to ascend free hangs, as you get to put more/all your weight on your legs. On slants, a lot more arm strength is involved. Thank god I recently got some full-size handled Petzl ascenders... screw tiblocs and ropemans. I get up there, fix the issue, and rappel down again. So commences the pulling and coiling of 450 feet of rope.

The next rap was like a minute or less away, half of which was through a short V-shaped wedge and the other half was just a straight down descent. It was short, about 40 feet. I went down last after Zack and had actually just tied a prusik onto the rope and descended down the "V" while he was on rappel to cut a little time.

Somewhere farther down the canyon we come to a memorable rappel which I thought was just gorgeous. Had some deep green growth in patches and the water was flowing just enough to make the surface of the rock shimmer, not even trickle.

Zack finishing up pretty much the nicest rappel in the canyon...

The last rappel was actually quite nice as well, though we hit this one after sunset and did it with our headlamps. Fun! Unknowing if the rope we used (120 footer) would reach the bottom, I went down first. It was about a 15 foot drop, then a short walk, then about 80 feet. Counting the amount of rope used up at the anchor and tied to the pull line, it was about 10 feet short had I gone down the fall the "normal" way. Luckily we were able to cut over canyon left and land on raised dirt slope with about 2 feet of slack left in the rope. So I get down, Zack gets down, and then Dave... and WHAT DO YOU KNOW! Bad luck strikes again. After trying all the normal methods of getting a stuck rope down, Dave heads up and gets the rope this time. I actually don't know what the issue was with this one. Just a crazy day. The first canyon I've ever done that required ascensions to free a rope... and we had to do it twice. Even though I did the big 190 foot one, I was kinda jealous that Dave got to do the nighttime ascend haha!

So it was a long day, but we saw some pretty cool things, pretty much blazed our own fun trail, and just took our time enjoying the canyon (love nighttime exits!)...

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Stone Plus... bug bites, cuts, hard hike...

Before I write this not-so-lively piece on the canyon Stone Plus One...

Ultimate Frisbee! Go play it. Do it. Now. K.

So... the canyon Stone Plus One. Heading up from Sunland, I think it's actually the very first canyon there is. It's the first ditch/canyon one hill east of the actual Stone Canyon (thus Plus One). It's one that has been on "the list" for a while since it's fairly easily accessible, being very near the road.

So this was last Friday we did it, the day before the SCUBA deal of the previous post. Yes, why didn't I post this first, why oh why. That was more interesting at the time. Anyway! So it was Josh, Zack and I again. Josh finally decided he wanted some 5.10 shoes, and he conveniently lives 3 miles from their store in Redlands - only they don't open until 1pm! So, Zack and I got down to the parking lot like 2.5 hours early and just waited around. Well, not "just waited" I suppose. We walked down to the nearby stream and had some fun, cooled down with the water (it was hot that day, quite hot). We also had a mini anchor-building class going on for him. I like teaching (so long as I know what I'm talking about lol) :)

So eventually, after waiting longer than expected, we get back in the truck and start driving out, and meet Josh as he's coming into the parking area. Ridiculously, the parking area has a sign that says it closes at 6pm, and we know we will be out later than that, so we leave and park at the first turnout up the road. To temporarily fast-foward... I was fairly annoyed when we were walking back thru the entrance like past 8pm and the gate was still open. (Pleasant part of post ends here).

So! We get our gear, our ropes, make sure we have our headlamps, etc, and start heading out. Walk down the road, back down to and through the parking area, across the stream and start heading up a very long and large stone wash - which we eventually discover is the wrong way (I had the feeling all along, I tell you!) So we go back, find the right trailhead, and start heading up the real trail. 10 minutes in and we're pretty much out of water haha, definitely should have carried more. That hike was stupid without any. Was over an hour of a hike, quite steep, and including many of those "this has to be the last turn" feelings only to disappoint. It was also very hot, as mentioned earlier. We get to and discover the lower entrance to the canyon, but opt to just head up the rest of the way and start at the upper drop-in. Oh yea... and whenever we stopped for more than 1 second we would get crazy red ants crawling up us. It sucked, bad.

After a long steep loose earth slope filled with bushwhacking to get down into the canyon and the first rappel, and the hope of running water... we get to it to find a small pool at the top of the first rap with some blood-red algae and other muck at the bottom of it. Luckily there was a small, cleaner/clear stream trickling off the rap. Being the last one down, I locked off halfway down where there were 4 nice "lines" of water streaming down off the rock on a short overhang, and started filling up my bottle (thank god for filtered bottles, we were pretty thirsty).

So we continue down a few more rappels and one tricky downclimb that Zack jumped the gun on, made me think he was gonna split his head open. I was uncomfortable with this small downclimb, just because of how exposed it was, when I've never been afraid of heights and Zack took like an hour to man up to do his first 35' rappel. Something was definitely wrong with that. The canyon was ridiculously dry for the most part but eventually the groundwater started pouring through with a small trickle of a stream flowing, eventually reaching a rappel (the last of the upper section) with enough flow that we actually got fairly wet. This rappel we already had our headlamps on, as the canyon had become dark enough to use them.

A few minutes go on of horrendous bushwhacking, going through some poison oak (which I might add once again did not affect me, yipee!), plants with thorns, logs with a BILLION red ants - seriosuly, I put my hand on it for 1 second or less for balance going down a drop, and I had at least 10 on my hand/glove. It was extremely dark without our headlamps too, so that made it more fun. Eventually we get to the point of the lower drop-in. We got a late start with the canyon (~3pm), were getting tired, knew it would take a few more hours to technically descend it, and were quite seriously fed up with all the bushwhacking and bugs. So, taking into account the fact that we'd rather do the canyon when we can actually see it, as well as weighing and managing our time and energy, we call it quits for the day.

About 10-15min followed of the worst bushwhacking of the day. Going straight uphill back to the trail, sometimes literally going "through" trees and bushes because there's no clear-cut path, scratching ourselves up nicely. After getting back on the trail it was just a fight with our painful feet to carry us on (the hike was killer on the feet), and watching out for snakes in the dark once we got back down off the trail. Crossing the stream felt incredibly good on our feet, however. There was some quick streakage going on back at the car, getting into dry clothes, which felt oh-so-nice (both the streaking and the clean dry clothes, lol). Luckily, it was pretty much pitch-black out and no cars drove by and lit me up, since I was on the road side of the truck, which would have been quite awkward and funny!

So the next day... I have probably 10 mosquito bites (not exaggerating) and a few nice cuts on my knees and just above (I love gaiters). We plan to go back and do the whole canyon. Next time, we'll pack plenty more water, and definitely get an earlier start!

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More water than usual...

So two days ago, Sunday, my cousin and I hit up Sport Chalet's "Discover SCUBA" program, which is a free pool-based SCUBA experience. You get like 45-60min in the pool, they teach you the simple basics of how to breathe with the regulator, remind you to equalize, and just let you swim around and have fun once you're set and comfortable.

It's something I'd thought would be cool to try for a while, though I've never been in love with swimming (I can swim perfectly fine, mind you :P). Anyway, SCUBA.... was RIDICULOUSLY awesome. I could not believe how much fun it was, totally did not expect to be hooked so quick. Definitely gonna go for getting certified over the summer.

My cousin Kenny and I were in the pool for a good hour, I think the most time we spent underwater continuously was like 25min. Would have been longer but they had to pull him up and swap out his tank since his first one was getting low. He had a blast too, pretty sure he's in love with it. I have never had so much fun in the water. From playing underwater catch with the torpedoes (without a time limit on your breath) to doing these crazy acrobatics like you're on the moon... can't wait to do it again!



I had a little mishap myself while under. My mask was a little loose. Not loose enough to matter - until I forgot to exhale through my mouth instead of nose and got water in it, and up my nose, and so I shot out of there to get the water out. Floating is hard when you have your BC (buoyancy control) vest set to keep you underwater haha.... fighting just to keep yourself up above the water. I think part of my problem that first time under for a few minutes was I kept taking like... half-breaths I'll call them. Without fully exhaling, I guess your lungs just start to fill up with carbon dioxide. So I start making sure I exhaled completely, which made it tons more comfortable. It's the simple things :)

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The right tool for the job - cameras

Canyoneering can be quite a strenuous activity when it comes to approaches and just getting to the rappels, sometimes taking hours of hiking on uneven terrain, bushwhacking, some moderate climbing, wading, etc. The reward at the end always makes it worth it, however. There are many waterfalls few have ever had the chance to see, most probably that only we canyoneers have ever witnessed, as they are only accessible by descending the canyons.

During canyoneering adventures, there are many awesome vistas, pleasant streams and rivers, and some beautiful gems of canyons to be found and descended. Many like to capture memories of their travels in photos and videos to share with friends and family. Canyoneering represents hazards to everyone and everything involved, including electronics like cameras. Gear constantly getting tossed around, rock surfaces and dirt all over, and not to mention everything getting wet! Some take their normal cameras out in drybags or other water-resistant cases, but care must still be taken to keep them from getting wet when pictures are being shot, and so they can only be brought out in somewhat safe areas - limiting some potentially awesome photo or video ops.

For this reason I recommend the Olympus Stylus line of digital cameras.

I personally own the Stylus 1030 SW, which is what all the pictures and videos on this site are taken with. It is:

• Waterproof (not just resistant) to 33 feet
• Shockproof to withstand a 6.6 foot fall
• Crushproof to withstand up to 220 lbs of force/pressure
• Freezeproof to 14* F and by way of being waterproof it is also dustproof

• Takes photos up to 10 megapixel
• Records video at either 15 or 30 fps
• Has a myriad of options and effects to choose from
• Has built-in panorama stitching (blends 3 images together into one wide one)

*A quick note on the Panorama feature that some have made a mistake about: For this feature to be enabled on your Stylus camera, you MUST use an Olympus-brand XD memory card. Using another manufacturer's card will not allow you to use the feature.

Without a doubt it is the most well-suited camera I know of for canyoneering. As long as you don't worry about getting small scratches on it (to which it is also quite resistant). Without having to worry about water pouring on it or even it getting submerged, this camera provides the opportunity for some very special shots, even on rappel. (READ: If you ever do stop to take pictures or video on rappel, be safe! Lock off your rappel device and back it up with a leg wrap or engage your autoblock.)

Some go about buying a camera simply by it's megapixel (MP) rating - how high of a resolution photos it can take. Honestly, the 10MP of the 1030 SW model is incredible overkill. Even 5MP, which I take all my shots at, is very, very detailed. A 2MP image is larger than the average computer monitor can show at full resolution. For the record and comparison... all the images on my Picasa Web Albums - where all the pictures on this site are located - are uploaded at 1024x768 resolution, and can still be zoomed in for some nice detail.

Quite honestly the entire reason I'm even discussing this is to say that if you're just out for recreation and to share photos with family/friends, it's easy to save yourself some cash and get an older model that isn't 10MP, or 12MP like the newer Stylus Tough 8000. In terms of the Stylus SW models, the biggest factor to look for is how strong and waterproof it is.

The Stylus 770 SW is a 7.1MP camera, but is equally as waterproof, crushproof, and freezeproof as it's newer 10MP and 12MP siblings. There is only a small difference in shockproof rating, 5 feet instead of 6.6 feet. So most definitely if you can find a good cheap deal on that older model, go for it, 7MP is more than enough unless you're some avid professional photographer, in which case none of this would really concern you anyway.

When looking at the Stylus models, if you look at the others, don't let the numbers deceive you. For example, there is a 1030 and a 1050 model. I own the 1030. The 1050, though higher in number for whatever reason, is actually only waterproof to 10 feet, instead of 33 feet.

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TECH TIP: This camera is shockproof to 6.6', not indestructible. If possible try to keep it attached to you or your harness at all times. Don't go through all that trouble locking off on rappel for that perfect shot only for your wet hands to drop your investment a hundred feet to its grave. If you don't have one of those fancy stretchy cables with a connection to your camera, here's a quick way to secure it anyway.

If you have an extra carabiner and an extra prusik cord or runner, just girth hitch it around the wrist strap and attach the carabiner to one of your gear loops or pack's shoulder straps. This should give you enough length to easily move the camera around and place it in a breast pocket or shorts pocket, and now it won't plummet to its doom.

Correction to previous post

I was just reminded by a friend of mine that I missed an important note near the end of the last post on self-belays, autoblocks, and prusik knots.

Hopefully anyone who reads this blog, and who is an actual canyoneer, is able to determine for themselves proper canyoneering methods as each situation calls for it (meaning I'm hopefully preaching to the choir with many of these informational posts).

I discussed using a self-belay in a rappel with a strong water flow and pretty much called it out as being evil. As said above and in the final paragraph, canyoneers should be trained enough to determine for themselves whether or not to use an autoblock - based on conditions on rappel, taking into account their own skill levels, and judging the greatest risk (water vs. falling). There are other factors that go into heavy wet rappels also such as releasable anchors, which also may shape how one goes about the rappel.

For the record: When I did the Seven Teacups, it must have been my 5th canyon ever, so I was not incredibly experienced, nor do I now claim to be an expert in all things canyoneering (thus the warning on the sidebar). In this blog I'm sharing what has worked for me, the people I descend canyons with, and practices I believe to be safe by concept and through experience, and I will try to continue giving examples of when things I mention are safe and unsafe.

Point of this post: Every rappel has its own situation and one cannot determine how they will descend each simply because of a canyon rating. A canyon could have terribly powerful waterflow, yet most of the rappels may avoid the waterfalls off to the side, while each rap also has different amounts of water going down it. In the case of short rappels with strong flow and pools at the bottom, it is probably advisable to not use an autoblock and just keep both hands on the brake line. In the case of something like Falls Creek... heavy waterflow or not, I would personally never be caught descending a 400 foot drop without an autoblock on. On the rare chance something did happen, carry a knife and cut the sucker off (the autoblock, not the rope!) or get yourself lowered from the top.

Doing the Police's work for them - Self Arrest

Belay : Use of a rope to protect a climber against a fall.

While on rappel, there are multiple methods to keep yourself safe from a fall. The most common is to have someone who has already reached the bottom belay you from there, called a fireman's belay. In the event of a slip or fall, that person needs only to pull on the rappel line (the rope you're on) to stop, or arrest, your fall. In this case the person providing the belay is basically a second braking hand, making the line taut between the ground and your rappel device bringing you to a stop.

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Equipment of the moment: 6mm sewn prusik cords

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There also exist self-belays, or pseudo-belays that can be used if someone is the first person down or just as an extra level of safety. These can be as simple as knots made with short cords or complex mechanical devices. For the sake of this post we'll focus on the knots.

The main two "slide and grip" knots, or "friction knots" used in canyoneering are the Prusik knot and the Autoblock. Both work the same way. It is attached to your harness with a locking carabiner. Placed below one's rappel device, your hand is used to slide it comfortably down the rope. In the event of a fall, your body/the carabiner pulls against the bight causing the knot to "lock" and grip the rope in place. This is assuming the rappeller's hands are off the rope after the slip - if the person is holding on to the knot, it will just travel all the way down the rope and not grip it.


Autoblock on left, Prusik knot on right.

These knots usually grip very quickly, within an inch of a fall assuming they travel down the rope at all. They can also be used to ascend a rope (though in this case mechanical ascenders are immensely preferred). Using two prusik knots or autoblocks, one connected to a foot loop and one connected to your harness or extension (chain reactor/P.A.S.), simply alternating which knot is under load and pushing the other up the rope will allow you to climb it.

There is some debate over the "safety" of using these self-belays. In my honest opinion it's just silly. There are some who believe they should almost never be used, and only sometimes by the first person down (meaning the first person has nothing but his brake hand to rely on). The argument is that if someone were to slip, the knot would get caught up in one's rappel device and they would be "stuck" requiring them to be lowered or rescued. Let the record show that - assuming this did happen any sort of often - I would personally rather be stuck than be a puddle any day of the week.

It is indeed quite possible for this to happen, and it is very aggravating/frustrating when it does. It is first very seldom one slips and starts to fall, more so to the point one's hands are thrown off the rope, and then again even more that the autoblock or prusik knot makes it all the way to the rappel device if properly attached (knot on belay loop of harness and rappel device extended from harness via a chain reactor or personal anchor system). This is meant as no sort of boast but I have never had it get stuck to the point where I could not release it and continue rappelling, nor has anyone I've gone with, including totally inexperienced people. Others' dramatization aside, it is really not that much of an advanced technique and just adds an extra layer of safety.

The only time I think most everyone can agree self-belays should not be used is in rappels with a strong waterfall or strong current to land in - as these increase the chances of them gripping the rope and preventing descent/movement, which can be dangerous for anyone in a heavy waterflow. I have personally experienced this on the second rappel at the Seven Teacups. I slipped, started to fall, and the autoblock was caught and I could simply not release it under load. Looking up to try and fix it was difficult enough as water would just pour down onto my face, and I had to look downwards just to breathe easily. Was approaching the point of just cutting the darn thing off, but thank god 5.10 shoes exist and I was able to use my feet to lift myself up a few inches - enough to release it and continue rappelling.

Canyoneers really should be able to determine whether autoblocks and prusik knots are suited for such wet rappels. No one HAS to use them for dry rappels or those with only a small flow - but there is definitely no reason not to increase that margin of safety.

Bailey (again...) and some other stuff

So yesterday I duo'd Bailey canyon for the fourth time, each time with a different person. It's a nice one... but I'm kinda done with it for a while. A canyon without flowing water just takes a lot of the fun and cool factor out of it. It also seems like every time I do the hike to get up to the drop-in point it gets harder when it should be getting easier. It was horrible, an hour in the sun and hot air. Thank god there was at least some little trickle of a stream flowing up near the drop-in for me to filter because I downed that entire bottle hiking up (filtered bottles ftw).


Oh yea... so far I've been 100% immune to poison oak. I've literally walked through a bush of it and brushed an arm against it a few times, but it usually washes off with all the water I go through and stuff. Yesterday I definitely grabbed a new growth that was ripe with sticky oil all over the leaves. Nothing yet in over 24 hours but I'll know in a day or two if I've defied it yet again!

So Bailey canyon... dry and overgrown, yet very green for the small-to-nonexistant amount of water that I've ever seen flow through it. Lots of bushwhacking even in-canyon. Lots of bees, gnats, spiders, beetles, and other annoying insects. I actually mistook a hummingbird for the growl of a mountain lion because it was in some crevice and its hum echoed quite loud and deep. One of the few nice things about this canyon is that at least half of the rappels are around 30 feet or under, and can be quickly and easily done by double-roping down my 65' rope.

Played around with my Totem a little more, for like the first 4 raps. I don't mind using it in its simplest ways but its more complex ways are just... not very comfortable and are actually hard to control a steady speed of descent with. More on the Totem later. But yea... I switched back to my Pirana for the rest of the canyon (I also got tired of the Totem swinging around and clanking... the Pirana has a nice tight fit into the biner and doesn't do so as much).

Yesterday we also opted to try having the two of us rappel at the same time (aka. simul-rap). Normally (as far as I know) one of the main reasons against simultaneous rappels isn't the strength of the anchors but simply the question "is there space enough for two people to rappel?" There is one wide open rappel in this canyon that we tried it out on - a game of counter-weighting each other and not letting off until both are down. Actually... it was a one-way counterbalance, since we did actually tie a biner block up at the anchor, and just put the heavier person on the fixed side and the lighter on the pull line. It was kinda cool, like all things are for the first time. Not necessarily more efficient or less safe (no extra dynamic forces on the anchor, just two people's weight instead of one).



After the 6 hours doing Bailey we stopped for pizza then went back home, then I immediately proceeded to an hour and a half of tennis with someone else. My feet were pretty much dead at the end of the day and I just yearned to be off of them.

Got some gloves right before I went out for this canyon too, finally. Been thinking for a while it wouldn't make too much more of a difference since I've gone 8 months without and it might even make tying stuff more difficult. Tying stuff was the same as always and rappelling became even easier, much more so than anticipated. Especially when you have to drop into a hang and your hands suddenly take on all the stopping power as no weight is on your legs - definitely makes free hang sections much more comfortable - and controlled. Also very nice coiling a long rope riddled with small rocks, sediment, and other miniscule yet sharp objects. Unfortunately my hands are not beautifully calloused so these help quite a bit.

The main argument against gloves I would say... at least for people new to the sport... you have to know how fast is too fast and that you aren't in an action movie. Gloves actually eliminate the warning signs of touch - like getting rope burn from going too fast. I think it's actually impossible to generate the heat required to actively burn through a rope on rappel (especially rope with a technora sheath), but that isn't to say the sheath wont take some damage from a heated device sitting in one spot, even if its just some charring, or that you won't lose control going too fast. Also if you need to stop on rappel... the faster you're going, the harder you'll stop, and the more force you'll put on the anchor. Again, normally not nearly enough to worry about with a solid anchor, but not good practice in case you ever do rap off a "sketchy" anchor (like another person [meat anchor] or a dead man's anchor).

Back to Bailey for a minute... the last rappel is always kinda cool. It's better when it's at least flowing with a trickle, but yesterday it was pretty much just wet rock, not really any water flowing. The first time I ever rapped down it we had to go through about 20 bees a quarter of the way down, luckily neither of us pissed them off enough. And you always have to make sure you don't impale yourself by sitting on the point of a log that's propped up against the fall. It's a short, easy, and fairly flat hike to get to the bottom of this fall also, and people often take it with their kids and sit down for a snack. It's especially fun rappelling down onto a family with their little kids looking up at you like you're superheroes.


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Vivian Creek - Beautiful woods, wet rappels, awesome rangers

So yesterday was my second outing for Vivian Creek, out near Redlands in the San Bernadino National Forest.

I picked up Zack in the morning and we drove out and met Josh, and his friend Addison, and we all headed out to the canyon. It was a nice drive, though the road had a ridiculous amount of bicyclists that morning, who didn't seem to value life (kept swerving into the road). Anyway, we get to the parking lot near the almost entirely dry riverbed, figure out which ropes we bring (thankfully Josh took his 200' so I didn't have to lug around my 240'), got all our gear packed, and started hiking.

Before I go on, this is one of my favorite canyons, it's really a beautiful place as you descend through the canyon, much different than the canyons more near in the Angeles N.F. That being said, this is one of my most hated hikes. It isn't even long - about an hour from the parking lot - but it is just incredibly unrelenting. It's about 10 minutes on seemingly flat terrain and crossing the wash and you're already tired somehow, then 45 or so minutes of a very steep trail. The air is also a bit thinner and there's usually a frosty breeze. We were almost stopped by a ranger on the hike up for not having a Wilderness Permit, which none of knew we needed (never needed it before), but we got it all sorted out and the day wasn't wasted.

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So we get up to the first rappel and take our time to get ready. We decide the water is indeed cold and get our extra splash layers on, harnesses, etc. There was no anchor on the tree, so I grabbed some webbing out of my pack, went over, and got a "Wrap-2-Pull-1-" (a way of setting the webbing) at the base of the large tree, using a nearby rappel ring from a smaller, not-so-well-done anchor I dismantled (Josh and I weren't comfortable with what it was tied to, and the webbing felt a little shot). This tree was right on the edge and to tie it I needed to get around it so I attached myself to Zack and had him sit tight on the other side to counter me as a precaution. Anchor set, ropes go on and get tied, I hook up.

Being one of the two really experienced canyoneers (the most experienced of the group :P) I go down first, Josh staying up to make sure everyone else ties in right. It's a two-pitch rappel, meaning it's one waterfall, but some ways down there is another anchor to tie into and finish the descent. We had enough rope to do it as a single pitch but opted to do it as two since it would be Addison's first rappel ever pretty much. So I get down, swoop over to the second anchor - another tree shooting straight out horizontally - and tie into that before disconnecting myself from the rope. From here my job is just to belay people as they come down and guide them over, making sure they maintain a point of connection to something since we're still 100 feet up on a steep/slippery slope. I actually bring up some slack and make myself a "meat anchor" so Zack - the second one down - can rappel down another 10 feet to another tree, so we can have some more space at the anchor. Eventually everyone gets down to me, then we go for the next 100 feet.



Josh went first this time, and I stayed up at the top until everyone else was down. While we were setting up this anchor, Zack took off his helmet for a minute - he was firmly planted where he was, but still shouldn't have - and accidentally dropped it all the way down, I think it bounced 3 times. Miraculously it didn't have any cracks when we found it, but I let him use mine to go down this last 100 feet since he isn't as experienced and may have slipped more easily.

So first waterfall, 160', done. This canyon fortunately has some very scenic short walks between rappels, and the waterfalls are not back-to-back, so you actually get some very nice scenery from one drop to the next. Luckily I was finally able to try out my Totem in a canyon, which is just another rappel device - more on that in the future.

Eventually we arrive at a 70 foot waterfall I thoroughly remembered from the last time I was there. When I last did Vivian Creek, it was just Josh and I. We come up to the next rappel, the anchor which is no farther than 5 feet from the actual edge/drop. The tricky part is... going by some others' terms... the "edge" can possibly extend even 30-40 feet behind the anchor. Using edge in this sense I mean the point of no return if you mess up (you start sliding/rolling, you might not stop). The stretch to the tree is nothing but loose rock and gravel, you have to be very cautious. Our first time, there was no webbing to tie onto in the tree, so we attached our chain reactors (harness extension slings) together and went on opposite sides of the tree as Josh tied the anchor. The basic idea was "if you slip on that side, im diving on this side" so we could counter-weight each other if one slipped. Luckily, there was webbing there this time and the 4 of us just tied onto it and went about our business after the careful walk to the tree.



Finally some time later we come to the final rappel, a 120 foot waterfall which included a short overhang. Somehow this last one I think made Addison and Zack a little uneasy (though Zack had done worse). Maybe it was because of the hang, maybe it was because it was steeper than the 160 foot first rappel, I don't know, but they both took their time and did fine. Josh was down first, and took some videos of the rest of us coming down. This last rap was awesome, real comfortable and fun just free hanging under that water for a few seconds.

After packing up our rope, we start the short, thankfully downhill, hike out. The hike back to the car is one of going through a nice wooded forest, which opens up to a wide and dry wash, then forest again (though you stay near the wash after crossing it). Hearing one person's voice in particular running through my mind after spotting some trash, I pick it up and take it out with me. I know, I'm just awesome.

We take our time getting our gear off and changing into dry clothes, waiting on half of our number to finish using the PP rooms, and head off for some food at A&W... mmm... double bacon cheeseburger. Josh, out of clothes really, had some remarkable ensemble of an outfit on, which brought about nothing but constant laughing and smiling from my end. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to share. Suffice it to say I haven't had such an easy time laughing in quite a while by just looking at something.

All in all, it was a great day. Horrendous hike in, but great day. Made a new friend, descended a canyon I absolutely love, and finally got some pictures of it. Oh yea, the 5 groups of people who asked what we were doing after seeing us in the parking lot with all our gear on, complementing us on how awesome it is/sounds.... that was cool too :P Never get tired of answering that question!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL OF THE PICTURES FROM THIS CANYONEERING TRIP!