Pine Creek

Pine Creek never disappoints. The physical barriers that keep people from being able to get up mountains are mostly removed when canyoneering. You can have an awesome day of adventure without training for months. I have been wanting to take Neena to Zion ever since we started dating. I'm not sure why it took 3 years...

We woke up in a field behind a trailer park. The long night of searching for a place to sleep ended with us pulling to the side of the road and sleeping out under the stars. We went out for a quality breakfast before heading back in to the park. After grabbing our permit and checking the weather we made our way to the trail head.

There were a few other groups ahead of us so we took our time getting through the canyon. Everyone was mildly hypothermic by the time we made it out, but the sun and the hike out eventually had us warmed back up. We had a fun group and Zion National Park, as always, delivered the goods.

 

Crawdad Canyon

Crawdad Canyon, a small climbing resort/swimming pool, has had me curious since I learned of it in the new southern Utah guide book. I was a little leery of paying to climb. St. George is surrounded by amazing climbing walls with no entry fees. Curiosity and our relatively inexperienced group bumped Crawdad to the top of our list.

Needless to say I was impressed. It is an amazing little canyon that will no doubt be a destination for future kid friendly vacations. The swimming pool and campgrounds were nice, the climbing was amazing, and the canyon stayed much cooler than the rest of the St. George area. All the climbs were labeled and well protected with sport chains at the top of the majority.

We spent the most of the day in the canyon and I found it hard to leave. If you get a chance, and can spare eight bucks, make sure you take the time to visit.

Where have I been? Cutting things in half

I now understand why a friend of mine charges $150 bucks to turn a snowboard into a splitboard.... It was fun having a project for a while, but I am glad these boards are done and ready to be ridden. I look forward to the fun times I hopefully get to enjoy with the people these boards are for.

It all started when I snapped mine and fell in a river. I offered to cut some boards for some friends because I would be making my new one. Four boards, hours of oldies music in the garage, epoxy covered fingers, and here they are. From Left to right; Nate Love, Glen Harris, Torah and Jacob Welch. All awesome people. I did my best. The one up top is mine, my buddy Jeremy Jolley hooked me up with a Rosignol Experience 163. I am pretty stoked to get this thing up some big hills.