On tap for
our final day in Moab was repeat trip down Dragonfly Canyon (new for Dan and
Jordan). Unfortunately for Evan, there had also been a wild variety of beer “on
tap” the night before and by the time we arrived at the trailhead his condition
had degraded to a dubious “make sure a toilet is within arm’s reach for the
next several hours” status. Evan opted to pass on the trip.
Dragonfly
was as fun the second around as the first. The notable differences were air
temperature and that of the “nasty” water in the canyon. Both were considerably
lower than our July trip. The air temperature didn’t make much of a difference,
but the two plunges into the waterholes were bone-chilling! Yet again, my
partners tackled each challenge without hesitation or trepidation (personally,
I find the panicked, fear-stricken approach to be manlier!). Click here to see our differing styles in
dealing with the second waterhole.
As expected the
rappels were fun, especially the second, where the canyon narrows considerably.
The remainder of the canyon was scenic and a pleasure to descend.
The only “incident”
occurred near the end. Now completely dry from the two waterholes, we were required
to jump across a small creek. Jordan and Dan leapt across from bank to bank,
landing squarely on the other side. I was not convinced I could make the jump
(with my ginormous backpack weighing me down!) and so I stepped down to as close to the water as
possible and then jumped. I did land squarely on the other side but then slid,
haplessly down into the waist deep, murky, and rather pungent smelling water. I was not impressed, but we
did get a good laugh!
Nevertheless,
I did manage to dry out, as we basked in the hot Utah Sun, waiting for Evan to pick
us up. He was feeling better and did thankfully avoid a face first encounter
with the porcelain puke catcher.
After
lunch/dinner there was time for one more activity to wrap up the trip. I was
pretty happy when Dan suggested another canyon. Because we knew the general
route (from completing Tierdrop Canyon) and also because of its short length,
we chose U-Turn Canyon. Evan desired a little more recovery time and stayed at
the lodging.
U-Turn was
wonderful! I enjoyed it considerably more than Tierdrop. After the same fun
scramble up to the highpoint of the canyon, we were rewarded with a short span of sunny
skies and amazing views over the park. The descent went exactly as described
and was fun, fun and triple fun!
With bitter-sweetness we left Arches National Park to rest up for the long drive the next day. Everyone wanted to stay another week or ten!
