Pine Creek and Kolob

Mike, Travis, and I headed down to Zion last weekend for an end of summer Hootenanny. After a full day of wakeboarding and a BYU Football game, we arrived in Zion Sunday morning at 2:00 am and then got in line at the backcountry permit office at 4:30. The following day was the most lethargic day of the entire summer. After church we spent a long time in the visitor center and then headed up to Zion lodge (anywhere that had air conditioning, really). There is a huge grassy area in front of the Lodge with a massive tree that casts a shadow over the entire thing. We passed the rest of our Sunday, sleeping in the shade and finding "Faces that aren't faces" in the cliffs. Finally Monday came and we dropped into Pine Creek canyon instantly missing the sun we had hated the day before. The water was pretty cold and we spent a lot of time swimming through the canyon. By the time we reached the final rappel, my muscles were exhausted from shivering.

This is me being cold and exhausted. The final rappel is a 100 ft. free rappel into what they call the cathedral.

Since Pine Creek is only a 4-5 hour canyon, we decided to go Climbing in Kolob on our way home. The wall that the boys selected is a 75 ft over hang. Travis lead-climbed it and then Mike went after. I also tried and made it about 25 feet up, stopping every few feet to rest my fore arms. It was a pretty cool wall, though.