Canyoneering

Turning 10 is a big deal, so last summer we told Evie she could pick something BIG to do to celebrate her birthday. She thought and read and investigated. First is was Hawaii, then it was skiing around Crater Lake, then Scott asked what she really liked to do. She said, "swim, explore, hike, rock climb." Scott said, "Hey! That's a real sport! It's called canyoneering!"

We started saving money here and there and now we're here! Thursday we took a one-day basic canyoneering course from Hank and Tom at Zion Adventure Company. It turns out that Tom is the King of the sport and literally wrote the book on it (and designed the gear, etc., etc.)

We all hit it off famously. Scott and Hank talked gear and Jackie Chan movies, Tom was totally enchanted by Evie and we all joked and laughed and learned. When we got back to the shop (12 hours later), Hank remarked that it felt like he had just been out with good friends, not with a class, and Tom said it was the most fun he had had in a long time. We had a little knowledge before we came from rock climbing, but mostly we were eager for knowledge, quick to learn and ready for anything. By the end of the day Evie was setting up anchors all by herself, we were solving problems, laughing and having a blast.

So, canyoneering involves exploring small, slotted canyons by rapelling into them, hiking, swimming, climbing and rapelling some more through them. It is amazing, thrilling, challenging and all-in-all, AWESOME!!!