Canyoneering in Egypt Trail 2 in Escalante, UT

On a recent business trip to Las Vegas we decided to escape from the mundane humdrum of our wired lives with a side trip to Escalante, UT. I had read on a few blogs about the beauty and ruggedness of this region and decided along with Russell that we needed to explore this area. We chose a local Escalante based canyoneering company called Excursions of Escalante to take us through one of the slot canyons the area was so famous for. We wore clothes that covered our arms and long trousers that would withstand scraping and crawling around narrow canyons. After a rugged and brutal drive in our SUV along the hole-in-the-rock-road and passing several free range cattle in the area we reached our designated trailhead The Egypt trailhead. We were going to explore and canyon through Egypt Canyon 2. Our even keeled guide Jim walked us through the safety basics and we got into our gear which consisted of a helmet, a climbing harness and a pair of leather gloves. As we walked down to the area where the canyon was located, the sheer magnitude of the area gave both Russell and me cold feet and very heavy legs. Battling and trying to overcome our combined insecurities we walked over to where we were going to descend into our canyon.

I was the first one over the edge, I don't know how I picked the short straw but maybe because I had done this before and was still the scaredy-cat between the both of us. My feet trembled, my heart raced, I forgot to breathe and my feet stuck to where I was and I refused to believe the rope and harness would keep me from tumbling head first into the canyon seventy feet below. The still, smooth voice of Jim our guide kept trying to tell me everything was OK but I refused to believe! Then after what seemed like an eternity I gingerly moved one foot a few inches and then the other a few inches and started making my way down. Well, what do you know! The harness and rope were holding me up and I was in control of my descent. After some cold and sweaty moments I made my way to the floor of the canyon, in one piece and without any scrapes or bruises. I took my rope off and said "Off rope" to Jim so he could haul the rope back up and Russell could now make his way down. I stood with adrenaline racing but with a sense of pride and accomplishment as I watched Russell make it over the edge.

Russell was cool, calm and composed or so I thought until he reached the bottom of the canyon and he said that his heart was racing and he had felt fear as well as he stepped off the edge. I was glad to hear that I wasn't the only one :-). Next it was Jim our guide who was descending, we watched in amazement as he descended. He was as dextrous as a mountain goat on an afternoon stroll.

We started making our way through the canyon and we came to our first slot which looked like a narrow impassable descent. Jim made his way thought it like a bendy noodle and then said it was our turn. I didn't think I would fit in it considering my Indian endowments to certain parts of my body and felt that I would get wedged in there. But just listening to Jim on how to let myself through the slot and control my descent helped me get down through a narrow slit in the rock. I was amazed. I felt like I was some sort of a parkour traceuse. I thought, "Well Russell is bigger than me, he's definitely going to get stuck" but he too just slid right through.

The canyon was beautiful, the colors were vivid and with the sun and the clouds in the sky every portion of the canyon displayed different hues. We climbed, slid, crawled and side stepped our way through the bottom of the canyon all the while exhilarated by each new challenge around every turn. Along the way Jim taught us different canyoneering techniques one of which was the body bridge. This is where you have your arms on one wall and your feet on the other wall and you're facing down and you use your arms and legs to move across the canyon floor laterally.

We reached the part of the canyon which was flooded with about knee deep water and at this point there was no way around it but to get wet. The water was cool and refreshing on our legs but the downside was that now we had wet shoes and socks and my water proof boots were flooded. We had to stop at one point and empty the water from my shoes as it felt like I was walking in and with a bucket of water with each step. We reached another part of the canyon where there was water again and our guide said we could try our body bridging technique here and made his way across the water using a body bridge. I stood there after him and tried to extend myself across the canyon, I didn't think my skinny arms were up to the task and had a vision of myself face planting in the water. I decided I was just going to get wet again as it would protect my face and walked through the water. Big, strong Russell behind me had no such trepidations and body bridged his way over the water with ease. I must remember to eat more spinach, he certainly looks like he ate a lot of it as a child.

What a day, we loved the entire experience, the canyons got narrower in places, wider in others but all in all it was a day of fun and a break from the known into the unknown. We exited the canyon as happy scratch-free people. We would both do this again...definitely!