City of Rocks

It doesn't get much better than a weekend away with good climbing, good people, and good food. We piled into the car with Jann, Steve, and a whole lot of climbing gear to meet up with Greg and Kate in the City of Rocks. So far The City has yielded some of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen and this trip did not disappoint.

We spent a cool night under the stars which eventually changed to a light rain. Eventually we pulled ourselves from our beds and headed out climbing. We hit a few of the City classics, but with the warming of the day climbing soon became difficult. Sweaty hands on rock don't mix very well. Greg pulled off some amazing routes and I had a good time hanging out behind the lens.

Eventually the heat of the day got the better of us. We escaped to Almo for some pizza, air conditioning, and cold beverages. Afterwards we tried to nap, hiding out under a makeshift shelter, through the hottest part of the day. The evening brought more climbing and ended under a sky full of stars. The City of Rocks is always a good trip. Hopefully I can get up there a few more times this year.  

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.