Pine Creek Canyon and Wildflowers, Zion National Park, UT

Randi was in Zion with a couple of Californiac friends, and invited me for some fun. I had a class in Yankee Doodle on Saturday, but joined Randi, Kelley from San Fran, and Jay from Death Valley for quick visits to Keyhole Canyon and Pine Creek Canyon on Sunday, with an early-ish finish so they could start driving home at a 'reasonable' hour.

The gnats in Yankee Doodle were aggravatingly vicious!!!

I passed on Keyhole and met the group to start Pine Creek Canyon about 10:30 am, which gave us pretty good light in the slot. Here’s Kelley on the midpoint of the first rappel. Bad rope-eating crack here!!

Setting up the rap before the Cathedral.

Randi going over the edge into the Cathedral.

Down into the big pool. Thankfully the water was fresh and cold, so putrefication had not yet started.

Kelley hanging at the top of the cathedral rap.

Pools, rock, light… Made the canyon nice…

And some of those shafts of light…

Things are looking up! (and so is Randi…)

For the last rap, we set a big sling around the pointy rock in the streambed, so we could rap into the chamber below. There was a kneedeep pool at the bottom, which caused consternation when the ropebag made a big splash. Kelley on the last rap.