Monday, June 11, 2007

Zion - Behunin and Englestead Canyons



Zion National Park is one of the most spectacular sites I have ever seen. It is located in Southern Utah, near the town of St. George. The monstrous walls carved by the Virgin River tower thousands of feet above you as you drive along the river up Zion Canyon. The views are absolutely amazing. Memorial Day weekend is the busiest weekend for the park. Swarms of people from all over flock to Zion to take pictures and wade in The Narrows, yet this Memorial Day weekend I was there and spent the majority of the time in peaceful solitude. We lucked out and snagged backcountry permits (almost impossible to get on Memorial Day weekend the day of) for Englestead Canyon and Behunin Canyon. Both are technical slot canyons requiring advanced rapelling and rope skills.


Englestead Canyon starts out with a breathe taking 300 ft. rappel and is followed by many other rappels up to 80 ft. After several hours in the tight slot canyon we dropped into the Orderville Canyon. Orderville is much wider than Englestead requiring less technical skills yet incredibly gorgoues. The 10 hour canyon adventure ends up heading out the Narrows at the Temple of Sinawa. The best part of the whole day was that we never saw a single soul the entire day! This Canyon is a must for any Canyoneering enthusiasts out there.

The next day we ran Behunin Canyon. This is a much more popular canyon yet again, we went seven hours in the canyon and didn't see a single person. Behunin is a much wider canyon yet drops rapidely, offering several long rappels, many of which are free hanging, and surreal scenery. This canyon is another must for anyone into canyoneering. Don't let the holiday crowds scare you away either. Take a few steps off the main trail and you're completely alone.

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