Escape to the Roost
As my sabbatical winds to a close, I had a chance to head out to canyon country for some adventuring with friends. It was a fantastic week with perfect weather, good company and good eating (hooray for car-camping and a baby-q). There is nothing quite so delightful as a fantastic hot meal in the wilderness after a good day of outdoor explorations…it’s just a shame I forgot to pack the marshmallows!
Tired Canyoneers
It’s been years since I’ve been out canyoneering, but other than needing to rebuild my climbing confidence, the basic skillset was still fully intact. I can’t say the same of my poor shoes…they gave up the ghost after our first day through High Spur canyon. I can’t say I blame them. The poor things had been left neglected in the garage for the past two years…maybe getting in a grand total of one or two hikes in that timeframe.
Canyoning in the Roost was a pleasure though perhaps a bit hard on elbows, knees and clothing…but what’s a flash of underpants between friends? 🙂 All that sliding and chimneying on sandstone had the expected result on the seat seams…I think we may have all had holes in our pants by the time we were done!
Approaches and returns were straightforward and pretty much free of dreadful bushwhacking, even while hiking cross-country (such a nice change from my “local” canyons 😉 ). The weather was cool enough that most of the bugs were in hiding, with the exception of some gnats. Wildlife was sadly a bit scarce, though we did rescue a wee garter snake out of the depths of one of the canyon narrows – and we startled a large herd of deer as we hiked down Water Canyon out towards Horseshoe Canyon and the Great Gallery.
Four days, four canyons…plus a scenic drive up through Monument Valley and across Cedar Mesa. Here are a handful of photos from the trip – I’m looking forward to heading back up that way again!
Created with flickr slideshow.
For more photos, have a look at some of our Facebook Albums:
– High Spur
– NW Fork of Big Spring
– Water Canyon
– Blue John Canyon
