A few years ago, just after moving to Toquerville, we heard of some hikes in Zion that required rappelling. We got some ropes and harnesses and went through Spry Canyon and loved it. We got online and read about Pine Creek and Behunin and The Subway, and started checking other slot canyons off our list. We bought gear and more gear. We read about Heaps and Imlay Canyons and I thought all I would ever do was read about them. I distinctly remember thinking that I loved this new sport we had discovered, but the cold water swims weren't my favorite, and I never wanted to do a canyon that required a full wetsuit. Before I knew it, we were planning a trip through Heaps, then we were in Heaps and I was vowing never to return if I ever got out, then I was going through Heaps again. Two weeks ago we assembled the ultimate canyoneering team and set out for Imlay Canyon in Zion.
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| Matthew, me, Ross, Dad, & Chris at West Rim trailhead |
Imlay has been described as "difficult, dangerous, physically demanding and technically challenging. The beauty of this canyon is spectacular; the narrows are extremely long, dramatic, unrelenting and hazardous. The route is difficult and should be considered for advanced and highly skilled canyoneers only. Descent requires icy cold swimming and a multitude of rappels. The biggest hazards in Imlay are the "keeper potholes" that require hooking to exit. The keeper potholes could prove deadly for the unskilled and unprepared."
We have all been through a number of slot canyons, but this was the first trip that all of us were together. Dad, Uncle Chris, and I went through Heaps last year and Dad, Matthew, Ross, and I went through Heaps two years ago.
We planned on doing the full Imlay route which would take us two days. We left late Friday morning because we knew we were camping the first night at The Crossroads and figured we'd get there in plenty of time to set up camp and rest and relax. Maybe we overestimated our speed just a tad, but it worked out!
We turned off the West Rim Trail at Potato Hollow and found the mouth of Imlay Canyon. There were a few other hikers up there who took a picture for us before we dropped in.
The first rappel was gorgeous, down a long, steep slab of white slickrock.
A few more rappels and we reached the beginning of the water. Then the canyon flattened out for a bit and we had to bushwack for a while.
Next was a huge drop where we staged three rappels that finally dropped us into the canyon for real.
Imlay Canyon is long, about 12 miles total. We didn't know what we'd find around each corner. There were long stretches of hiking through brush, then slots that we chimneyed through, trying to stay dry at least for the first day.
Sometimes we could stay above the water, and sometimes we couldn't!
I loved looking around a corner of sandstone and seeing the canyon drop away. We leapfrogged each other from one rappel to the next. We took turns setting up rappels and pulling and bagging the ropes.
As the light faded, we hoped we were near the crossroads, but since this was our first time through, we weren't sure. When the sun set we were in a flat section with a sandy bar, so we decided to camp for the night. We filtered some water and boiled it and ate a hot meal. We laid out our sleeping bags and emergency blankets and tried to get some sleep.
After a breakfast of oatmeal, we suited up in our neoprene socks, gloves and wetsuits. It was nice to put them on instead of carrying them in our packs. I had a full wetsuit along with a longsleeve with shorts style that I put on top. I could hardly move, but I was warm. I didn't even feel the first few dips in the icy cold water.
This is where the canyon really got good. Long sections of narrows with the sun filtering through, deep pools, the walls rising about us like waves turned to stone.
Rap, swim, hike, repeat.
And then a open area full of sunlight and green before narrowing into darkness again.
This was a particularly fun part, a section lovingly referred to as log soup. Picture the trash compactor in Star Wars. It smelled about like that too.
Rappel, swim, hike, repeat.
We stopped for lunch in a sunny spot in good spirits. The last, and most difficult section of narrows was before us. Pothole after pothole with knee to waist deep water at the bottom and walls 10-12 feet high of smooth sandstone. This was challenging, but so rewarding. Whoever was in front would look down into the next pothole and call back, more often than not, "It's a keeper!" Then together, we'd work out a plan of how to get in (the easy part) and out. Chris and Ross were invaluable as the tall guy and the light weight. We'd send those two in, Chris would lift Ross and he'd climb out and anchor a rope at the other side for the rest of us. Matthew and my Dad supplied muscle and brain power for hoisting and lifting and solving each obstacle. I was there for affirmative action.
There was one pothole I dropped into first that Matthew was going to follow and help me climb out of. When I walked to the other side, it was only a few feet tall - funny how your depth perception can play tricks on you. We used hooks, ropes, packs, and each other to get out of the keepers. Some we climbed out of, some we flopped out of. We were working hard, working together and having a great time as the day wore on.
One of the neatest rappels was this one. Matthew & I went together - one on each end of the rope.
Of course, my camera ran out of batteries before I took any good pictures of the infamous keeper potholes.
We worked late into the evening. I was so impressed with everyone's strength and fortitude as the canyon went on and on. It is neat to be a part of a group that works so well together, shares the loads, helps each other, and encourages each other. That's one of my favorite things about these canyons, being in there with such special people. When I was tired and couldn't lift myself and my heavy pack out up and out of a steep keeper, Matthew lifted me up. When Ross was trying to climb out of a wet, slippery slope, Chris treaded water like mad and was able to give Ross the boost he needed. Dad was there with the rope or webbing or a hand when the way out was hard to reach. Always, everyone's safety was our first priority. It was really an incredible experience. We looked at the cliffs ahead of us and wondered how close we were to The Narrows. Imlay Canyon empties into the main canyon in Zion, The Virgin River Narrows.
The pools got colder and deeper towards the end and I was so grateful for my multiple layers of neoprene. It was very good news when Matthew dropped into a pool, swam to the other side out of sight and called back that it was NOT a keeper and that he could see the Narrows! We had reached the end of the canyon! The last rap of Imlay is a gorgeous 130 foot drop into The Narrows about 3 miles up from the sidewalk where the Riverside Walk ends. It was a mostly free-hanging rappel, and the view was incredible looking down into the river that shaped this country that I love so much. We all touched down at about 9:30, maybe 9:45 P.M. Saturday night.
We had a three mile hike down the Narrows to a one mile hike on the Riverside Walk trail to the buses. The buses run until 10:15. Fours miles hiking/swimming down the river in the dark with our heavy packs took us a little longer than 1/2 an hour. We missed the buses. Chris was our hero that night, offering to jog down to the Lodge and call home and get a ride to the Visitors center where our car was parked. We all wanted to go with him, but we knew we'd just slow him down, so he left his pack, took the car keys and ran off with his headlamp into the night. We dozed and waited. He showed up an hour or so later with the car, we loaded up, drove home, showered, and crashed.
It was a grand adventure and I hope enough time has passed for me to say that I want to do it again! Thank you for giving me another once-in-a-lifetime experience. Dad, Ross, Chris, and Matthew are salt of the earth people and I feel blessed to have spent time with them exploring God's creations. Thanks Dad & Mom Lowe for watching our kiddos.
