The Latest Rave

We have made a change to the ScuttleButt for 2022.

Rather than entirely welded PVC laminate construction, the new version with have a '“Cordura” (actually, air-textured nylon, non-branded) top section that goes around the harness waistbelt, and a welded PVC laminate lower section over your butt and the harness leg loops.

Why? WHY? (You may ask)

Hello Tom,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to pick your brain about the Canyonero rope. I purchased this rope several years ago and …

It had been on the list for a few years. Okay, TEN years. Expectations were low, but the approach was only an hour, the canyon itself was fairly short, it promised some long raps at the end, NO WATER, and the exit was short. In the quest to get out and do something, yeah, let’s do an exploration, and see what happens!

Tim Hoover recently located in Springdale was my partner for the day. We met at the Water Canyon (Hildale) trailhead and it was darn cold out… being, like, January and all. Got going at 9:24. Wonderful hike up to the top of water canyon. Lots of uphill. Nice to do it at a relaxed pace.

For ten years, us pagans have done an interesting canyon on Christmas Day. And usually, it is perhaps the most difficult canyon of the year for me, being the “responsible one” with a vivid imagination for what could go wrong. This year, our Christmas gang was down to Tim Hoover and myself, and we were both inclined less toward suffering / swimming in icewater; and more toward just getting out for the day to stimulate the appetite.

After a bit of discussion, we settled on Hidden Star (which I had not done previously) and Yankee Doodle (which I had only done as a guided trip, all three of which were ‘interesting’). Tim suggested an early start, and I asked why?

So we did. Took us a while to find the start of Hidden Star, but I have to say it is a brilliant find. And Yankee Doodle - uh, well… is Yankee Doodle.

My buddy Jonathan Zambella made a connection with a UK boot maker a couple years ago, and has been using their boots in his Rental Program since. It’s complicated, so stay with me here. The goal is to bring a USA version “Chameleon” of the European boot “Aquator” to the USA starting Spring 2021 - might have a few Nov 1, 2020.

Out onto Dominey Reservoir for another splendid September trip. The weather was bomber - blue sky, not much wind - but a bit on the hot side, so early starts were called for, and many of our approach hikes were long and took a lot out of me, who does not do that well in the heat. Especially after hiding in my basement all summer…

I don’t take enough pictures to tell the tale of A canyon, and it is Lake Powell, so we don’t anyway. Powell is a special place, a reserve of adventure canyoneering.

Zion Park re-opened on a limited basis and I needed some exercise. Trail-hiking allowed, off trail not so much. Tim Hoover came up from Springdale which allowed us to do a 2-car route to Observation Point. The Cross-Echo version starts from the Stave Springs Trailhead, crosses Echo Canyon, hits O Pt, then exits via the East Mesa Trail. The simple East Mesa to OPt and back just seemed too little punishment for our sixty-year-old plus bodies…

I took along my “medium” camera to take pics of flowers (and perhaps scenery), and the results were …

A few wildflowers out on Ticaboo Mesa, May 4 2020

Home confinement was driving me nuts. Doing a straightforward canyon with a small well-selected crew seemed like a reasonable and safe/conservative thing to do. No local contact required. Separate cooking and sleeping / social distancing. We chose a place to camp where we expected no one else to camp, even on a beautiful weekend as was finally coming up after a slow spring. In this case, we was Sara Morger, Melissa Webb and myself. Thanks for inviting me.

I had done the South Fork of Ticaboo Creek route several years ago with Ryan Cornia after a 10 hour drive from Mt Carmel on a HUUUGE thunderstorm day. Thus we got the canyon full of fresh water. We had a good day, but I was not particularly impressed by the canyon. Three hours of sleep the night before might have had something to do with that.

The weather was beautiful, we did the canyon, it was brilliant.

S Fork is an odd canyon. A couple big rappels, a chain of potholes, and arch or two. Not very Ticaboo-like, no skinny stuff.

I consider a slot canyon a canyon where you can touch both sides at the same time. There are many slot sections of canyon in Zion, but most are part of technical canyons. Where can a person enjoy a slot canyon experience without ropes and helmets and permits and all that jazz? In Zion, there are not many options, but there are a few.

The BEST - Middle Echo from the Bottom

"From the bottom" means entering the canyon at some point and then moving UP canyon as far as you can or want to, and then coming back to where you started.

Seven days after President Trump’s inauguration, the country’s airports and courthouses were clogged with protesters fighting to protect immigrants facing deportation due to the administration’s “Muslim ban” policy. It was to be the opening salvo of a relentless attack on civil liberties—and a tsunami of lawsuits waged against the Trump administration.

“You wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.”

Zola meets Stefani at a restaurant where Zola waitresses, and the two immediately click over pole dancing. Only a day after they exchange numbers, Stefani invites Zola on a cross-country road trip, where the goal is to make as much money as possible dancing in Florida strip clubs. Zola agrees, and suddenly she is trapped in the craziest, most unexpected trip of her life.

Blurb: “Taylor Swift is a global icon who repeatedly tops the charts, fills stadium tours with rapturous fans, and continues to challenge herself both professionally and personally while remaining steadfast in her vision as an artist. Few have achieved as much as Swift, or have had their personal lives open to such public scrutiny, but in Miss Americana, she finds herself at a watershed moment in her career, using her platform not only as a singer-songwriter, but as a woman fearlessly harnessing the full power of her voice.”

The film is excellent. The story is Americana in spades. Talent. Ambition. Success. Drive. Success. Earned… Oh, wait. I did not win ALL the awards this year! I’m very disappointed, but the next album must be so so so much better!!!

Blurb: “No one at Camp Jened could’ve imagined that those summers in the woods together would be the beginnings of a revolution. Just down the road from Woodstock, Camp Jened was a camp for disabled teens. Directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (a former Jened camper himself) deliver a rousing film about a group of campers turned activists who shaped the future of the disability-rights movement and changed accessibility legislation for everyone.”