riverECHO

BJ and I pulled into camp atop Gooseberry Mesa at about 1am on Friday night. Popped the top of the van and fell right asleep. When we woke in the morning, it didn’t take us long to fall right into weekend mode with Tim & Mary Lynn, Jimmy & Trish, Cory, and Mike & Nicholas (the youngest member of our weekend gang). We gathered a group to join us on our introductory Gooseberry ride – out to the point, then back on the South Rim and Hidden Canyon Trails. I had forgotten how fun these trails are – a combination of slickrock, dirt, gorgeous views, pretty flat, but just enough challenge to keep you breathing hard and on top of your game.

Tim had already set up a slackline from the front hitch on his van to a juniper tree. If the line got more slack, he would simply back his van up a couple of inches to tighten it. We spent a few hours rotating out turns on the slackline, practicing our hula-hoop moves, and drinking Jimmy’s kick-you-in-the-ass margaritas. After an evening ride to the north rim to watch the sun set, we scurried back to camp to get some sleep before our big venture on Sunday.

Sunday to Subway – No photos for this one (see Tim & Mary Lynn’s blog for a visual journal). Tim and ML have been practicing their rope and climbing skills and invited us to join them to hike the Subway in Zion National Park. We called it a day of extremes as we began hiking in 100 degree weather and slowly made our way down a plateau to a narrow canyon where we would complete three mandatory rappels and four mandatory and icy swims (one of which was so narrow you had to doggy paddle). Towards the end of the tight canyon it becomes obvious why the area is called the Subway. Picture tube shaped walls perfectly wide enough for a subway train to wind its way through this remote route in the rock. A slow meandering walk out brought us back to the mesa just in time for Trish’s delicious steak fajita dinner at 9pm.