Canyoning in Southern Utah
Aug 10th, 2007, 06:03 AM
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Canyoning in Southern Utah
Has anyone been canyoning in Southern Utah (Capitol Reef, Moab, etc.) area?
My wife and I are looking into doing this again, we've done it in Scotland and Iceland. We are looking into companies in Moab and I just found one that takes you in Capitol Reef.
If anyone has done this, I would love the help/suggestions on which place to do it or which guides to go with. We love canyoning that involves a lot of water.
My wife and I are looking into doing this again, we've done it in Scotland and Iceland. We are looking into companies in Moab and I just found one that takes you in Capitol Reef.
If anyone has done this, I would love the help/suggestions on which place to do it or which guides to go with. We love canyoning that involves a lot of water.
Aug 10th, 2007, 08:59 AM
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We've done it in Escalante. We had a great guide - Drew Cosby of Escalante Outback Adventures. I think he no longer owns it, but the business is still there. www.utahcanyons.com
We did Spooky and Peek-a-boo Canyons (slot canyons) and stayed at www.escalantebnb.com which was very nice.
We did Spooky and Peek-a-boo Canyons (slot canyons) and stayed at www.escalantebnb.com which was very nice.
Aug 11th, 2007, 01:06 PM
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The Escalante area has awesome canyons as does the San Rafael Swell. You may want to take a look at "Hiking the Escalante" by Lambrechtse. I would definitely get a guide for any technical canyoneering (ropes etc). If you are just talking about hiking in canyons, the Colorado Plateau is the place to go. Grand Gulch, Natural Bridges, etc. are amazing canyons with fascinating Ancestral Puebloan habitation sites and graneriers. If you do that, stay in Bluff Utah at the Recapture Lodge. You can also book llama supported hikes through them. They probably have non-llama hikes as well.
Aug 16th, 2007, 06:55 AM
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http://www.deserthighlights.com/trip...y.htm#pleiades
We think we are going to do this tour (Pleiades Canyon). Has anyone done it?
They are located in Moab.
We think we are going to do this tour (Pleiades Canyon). Has anyone done it?
They are located in Moab.
Aug 24th, 2007, 05:15 AM
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If anyone is going to be in Moab on 8/29/07 and wants to go canyoneering with www.deserthighlights.com on either the Entrajo Canyon or Pleiades Canyon trip, we can all get 10% off the tour if there are three or more going. My wife and I make two already....We don't even have to be in each others group, as long as we are going on the same trip.
We are still trying to decide between the two trips.
Just thought I'd mention it in case someone is looking to do this on this date and wants to save a little $$.
We are still trying to decide between the two trips.
Just thought I'd mention it in case someone is looking to do this on this date and wants to save a little $$.
Sep 3rd, 2007, 03:17 PM
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Wow, you guys must have had a blast! I'm so jealous. I'm glad you mentioned this company Desert Highlights. I'm gonna be doing a canyoneering day trip outside of Zion NP with Zion Adventure Company next month, so it was great to go to the site of this company in Moab -- ideas for future trips! Can you tell us more about your trip? Do you have any pictures? Would you use this company again?
Thanks a lot,
Carol
Thanks a lot,
Carol
Sep 3rd, 2007, 03:43 PM
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I'll post some more info about the tour tomorrow.
Right now, I do not have any pics. Took some with a disposable waterproof camera that I need to get developed and a few with a waterproof digital camera that the company let us use. They made a picture disck for us but we forgot to pick it up before we left town. I am hoping he can drop it in the mail or e-mail the pics to me. We didn;t take too many with the digital camera because it was hard to do it when you are trying to enjoy yourself and you have all this gear on. Also, most of the pictures came out blurred because of all the motion and we were not familiar with the camera.
Right now, I do not have any pics. Took some with a disposable waterproof camera that I need to get developed and a few with a waterproof digital camera that the company let us use. They made a picture disck for us but we forgot to pick it up before we left town. I am hoping he can drop it in the mail or e-mail the pics to me. We didn;t take too many with the digital camera because it was hard to do it when you are trying to enjoy yourself and you have all this gear on. Also, most of the pictures came out blurred because of all the motion and we were not familiar with the camera.
Sep 4th, 2007, 09:19 AM
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My wife and I had a good time on our rappelling trip. It was just the two of us and our guide, no one else signed up for this tour. We drove about 30+ minutes out of town to the Lasal Mountains and hiked about twenty minutes into the woods. We stopped near a drop-off and changed into our suits and got geared up. We rappelled down 5-7 waterfalls, some with more water then others. The guide showed us how to use the equipment which was pretty easy. He lowered my wife down a few times before she felt comfortable doing it herself. We had on dry-suits, so we did not get our clothes wet at all. After we finished we had to take off the gear and hike back up to the base-camp, then we had a light lunch. Then we hiked back to the truck.
The tour saaid it was an all day thing but I guess they tell you that to cover larger groups. We arrived at 8am, left for the mountains about 9am and got back to the office at about 2pm. So, we actually only did the activity for about three hours.
Our guide was great (Zach). At first he was not too talkative, but it was early. It was his second summer doing this in Moab and he said he was probably leaving after the summer and not coming back. He just likes to move around and try different jobs and areas.
The only problem I had was:
On their website, it states that the customer is responsible for driving to the site and might have to escort their guide. I had e-mailed the company before making the purchase and asked about that, I was assured that they would provide transportation. After I made the purchase and received confirmation, there was a statement saying the same thing about driving the guide and ourselves. Right when we got readt to leave the office in the morning, themanager asked if we would be able to fit the guide and equipment in our car. "I knew all morning they were going to try and pull that!" I told him no, it was too small. "I wasn't going to drive the guide and ourselves, that's what I paid them for". I didn't mention the previous e-mails, I just told him know. Besides, they had a Ford Explorer sitting in the parking lot which we ended up using.
Oh, one other thing. They did provide a waterproof digital camera for us to take as many pics as we wanted and it was part of the price. BUT, we had to take the pics ourselves and because of all the movement, most pics were blurred and to try and take pics with gear on and try to get it out and ready to capture moments was a pain. I thinkg we might have gotten five pictures. They should have another employee go on the tour just to take pics if it's going to be included in the price.
For two people with tax, came to $305.
Expensive, but you only live once and we have never rappelled before.
We had done canyoning twice before in Scotland and Iceland and they were similar in price
The tour saaid it was an all day thing but I guess they tell you that to cover larger groups. We arrived at 8am, left for the mountains about 9am and got back to the office at about 2pm. So, we actually only did the activity for about three hours.
Our guide was great (Zach). At first he was not too talkative, but it was early. It was his second summer doing this in Moab and he said he was probably leaving after the summer and not coming back. He just likes to move around and try different jobs and areas.
The only problem I had was:
On their website, it states that the customer is responsible for driving to the site and might have to escort their guide. I had e-mailed the company before making the purchase and asked about that, I was assured that they would provide transportation. After I made the purchase and received confirmation, there was a statement saying the same thing about driving the guide and ourselves. Right when we got readt to leave the office in the morning, themanager asked if we would be able to fit the guide and equipment in our car. "I knew all morning they were going to try and pull that!" I told him no, it was too small. "I wasn't going to drive the guide and ourselves, that's what I paid them for". I didn't mention the previous e-mails, I just told him know. Besides, they had a Ford Explorer sitting in the parking lot which we ended up using.
Oh, one other thing. They did provide a waterproof digital camera for us to take as many pics as we wanted and it was part of the price. BUT, we had to take the pics ourselves and because of all the movement, most pics were blurred and to try and take pics with gear on and try to get it out and ready to capture moments was a pain. I thinkg we might have gotten five pictures. They should have another employee go on the tour just to take pics if it's going to be included in the price.
For two people with tax, came to $305.
Expensive, but you only live once and we have never rappelled before.
We had done canyoning twice before in Scotland and Iceland and they were similar in price
Sep 4th, 2007, 01:17 PM
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Jedivader, thanks for the report. That is kind of weird, with the whole driving thing. Sounds like they're really trying to cut corners. I've done dozens of outdoors-type tours both in the states and out of the country, and I'm with you -- I've NEVER been asked to drive. I guess in some ways it's not a big deal, but there is the issue of liability if something happens. Anyway, you're right that when you pay money for a tour, it should include transportation.
I personally prefer a "dryer" rappel, but I see on their websites that they indicate which ones are "wetter." I was surprised to see some trips that had only 2 rappels... at least they say that upfront.
Maybe you're a matter-of-fact kind of guy, but you seriously sound less than enthusiastic about how much fun you had... are you just irritated about the other stuff? I'd want to know what you thought before I considered booking with them. I won't be able to get back to Utah until after the New Year, however. Money issues completely aside, was it great?
I personally prefer a "dryer" rappel, but I see on their websites that they indicate which ones are "wetter." I was surprised to see some trips that had only 2 rappels... at least they say that upfront.
Maybe you're a matter-of-fact kind of guy, but you seriously sound less than enthusiastic about how much fun you had... are you just irritated about the other stuff? I'd want to know what you thought before I considered booking with them. I won't be able to get back to Utah until after the New Year, however. Money issues completely aside, was it great?
Sep 4th, 2007, 01:29 PM
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Yes, I really had fun. I had never rappelled before and thought it was going to be hard. It was really easy. I would have liked to have spent more time just sitting around inside the falls.
Out of the three types on canyoning/conyoneering we've done, My wife liked this one the best. I liked the one in Iceland the best (more jumping in water and sliding down waterfalls). I would recommend them, just don't let them talk you into driving your own vehicle. If they had made me, I would have brought up the e-mail and asked for them to pay for my gas.
We are thinking of doing something similar in Ireland. We leave in a month. Haven't really found canyoning there, but they do something called coasteering.
If you want, I'll have my wife post here about how she felt. I tend to not show much excitement towards things. Rather reserved....
Out of the three types on canyoning/conyoneering we've done, My wife liked this one the best. I liked the one in Iceland the best (more jumping in water and sliding down waterfalls). I would recommend them, just don't let them talk you into driving your own vehicle. If they had made me, I would have brought up the e-mail and asked for them to pay for my gas.
We are thinking of doing something similar in Ireland. We leave in a month. Haven't really found canyoning there, but they do something called coasteering.
If you want, I'll have my wife post here about how she felt. I tend to not show much excitement towards things. Rather reserved....
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