A million thanks to AJ for letting me go down to Southern Utah to get my hikes in. It was awesome to go with two different groups to do two hikes, and I learned a ton from each of them.
On Pine Creek I went with 2 older guys, both of whom were on Ski Patrol, and the other had extensive experience climbing. I'm going to have to take some outdoor sports first aid classes in order to be able to be a first rate guide, as well as some additional mountaineering classes.
On the Subway, I learned that 4 guys who are in shape and have no fear can rip through a canyon in record time. We only used 1 small rope for all our decents, and jumped right in on all the swims. The water was actually really warm and was enjoyable to swim around in due to the fact that it was all spring water. (This is opposed to the water in Pine Creek which was brown, stinky, and had unidentifiable things floating in it.) It was awesomely fun.
Both hikes were done on beautiful days, with no clouds in the sky in the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon. The clouds were especially appreciated during the hike out of each, and I actually got away from both hikes without a sunburn! (Almost unheard of from a white pasty boy like myself.)
While it was a whirlwind tour of the two canyons, things went great, with the biggest injury being a tweaked ankle from Sally on the hike out of Pine Creek. My goals for next year is to learn a bunch of outdoor first aid, get a good rope bag, and finally get some more canyons under my belt.
-Justin
p.s. I'm not sure, but the photos may be cut off on the right - I'll look into it once I'm not so tired.
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