MEA Part 1

MEA....Minnesota Educator Academy......=    wife and kids have days off from school. It's a long haul, but with a full week at our disposal, Utah was our chosen destination. This would be a gear intensive trip with everyone outfitted for canyoneering, mountain biking, and backpacking......5 sets of all that gear takes up a lot of space...but that's how we roll.

 On our way out we did the customary stop in Fruita to ride mountain bikes. We chose the stuff at the Loma exit, because it's an easy on/off, and it's super fun. Thinking it would be simple to just get out and ride was my first mistake. Before we even got out of the a parking lot which took over an hour, G Man tore up his shin on the pedals while messing around with his brothers. Out comes the first aid kit and another half hour wasted. The rest of the ride went well and was worth all the hassle.

This was an official Imperial Venture Corps mission.....eating/multi utensil rules in full effect 

 From there we drove to our jump-off point for the Black Hole the next day. Following the Black Hole was an overnight (supposed to be 2 nights) backpack outing. The hiking was strenuous and absolutely beautiful,complaining was at a minimum and we all had a fantastic time. Our camp for the night was near a large dry fall with a deep pool below. Had it been warmer and not frowned upon, it would have been an amazing cliff jumping swimming hole. Worn out from the last couple days, it was difficult to stay up past nightfall, but the brightest of stars were an amazing sight to behold from our view in the canyon. In the morning we headed out for a day hike to the confluence of the canyon we were in to one adjoining about 4 miles down. Reaching our destination, we decided to cut the trip short, we had achieved our goal and staying another night would mean getting to Moab on Thursday afternoon.

Ruins.....didn't see any foot prints. It was so sketchy getting here I will probably never go back.   

Very large pottery sherds.....yes, it's called a sherd, not a shard 

This was the most impressive piece, what remained was the size of a large serving bowl

not sure what this was, but definitely not natural 

                   

finding this was a an added bonus to a solo morning stroll  

 If you've been to Moab you know why this is important, if you haven't, getting a camp site has become a huge problem. Moab is the launch point for the greatest outdoor playground anywhere, and everybody knows it.When we rolled into town Wednesday night I was disappointed to find the only thing available was a pricey site at a private campground in town......the shower was nice and worth the extra money. First thing in the morning we pulled up stakes and searched for a public camp site, landing a spot at King's Bottom. We were set for the next few days..............

......................................to be continued 

D Rider...........................out

Black Hole of White Canyon....Revisited

 Back in 2012 ArcFlash and I descended into the Black Hole on what was to be one of our first adventures in the area, kicking off several more tours of canyon country in the years to come...........

Headed down

Suiting Up

 We had so much fun on that outing I was looking forward to a repeat with anyone that was interested. The interested party happened to be my own wife and kids. They didn't really know the extent of what they were in for but were well prepared with new and old gear, many conversations and pictures of what to expect

 Our trip was mid October with the daytime highs in the 70  and lows around 50. This was just right, with the water being cold, but not downright freezing as we would find later in the week, in a canyon in Moab. Bright sun was also a plus, as anytime out in the open, we could warm up a bit by sunning on the rocks like black neoprene covered, lizards. Apparently it had rained quite a bit before we made our descent, not even a quarter mile in we suited up and made our first swim. Swimming was common and frequent the entire route and proved to take it's toll on the spirit of my wife and kids.

   About three quarters of the way through the boys and Lynn were getting cold and tired. As I was getting an ear full I gave the pep talk about the point of no return and highlighted the fact that there is no way out other than your own two feet. Admittedly the Black Hole route was harder than the previous time I went down it, and was quite a feat for my super tough, but young children, as well as my wife who hates cold water and will avoid it at all costs. My previous run had way less water and only required a couple legitimate swims, compared to the 15+ deep water swims we encountered.

Improvised water slide 

We took the log exit

  As for high adventure the Black Hole route did not disappoint, with all the swimming it was an exciting, lengthy challenge. Our outing took approximately eight hours with two lengthy lunch breaks, lots of repeat swims...for fun, and some scouting along the benches near the exit point. Although my family may have been pushed to their fun limit I think they still had fun......I was proud of them for pushing onward even though they didn't really have a choice.                

Almost out of the canyon

It's about a two mile road walk back to the van from here....luckily a group in front of us came back and gave a us a ride ....thanks Boston Grotto 

D Rider.....................................Out