Enjoying the Va,IEWS

Enjoying Shenandoah Va views with us this week were folks from VA, MD, NC, NH, CO, S. Africa, Southern Living mag and probably a few more. Good times had by all.

What's better?

If anyone knows a better way to bring in the summer than going out with good folks and canyoneering, please let us know, we want to lead those trips, too.

Skunk in the Meadow with you

6-20-07
After Search and Rescue training a relaxed walk in the Meadow is sweet. Watch out for this family of five skunks, they might be cute but momma can spray you from 10 feet.

6 - 17 - 07

Spent some time looking at the wildflowers in the morning, saw this guy in the afternoon. It's amazing what you find when you're looking.

Fresh Air

A lot like this bear, we spent the day enjoying the fresh mountain air. We spent some quality time hanging out above a lot of that fresh air on the side of a hundred foot rock. Once finished climbing and rappelling with the group I decided to go bouldering alone. While I climbed, a bear lingered nearby. I'm not sure which one of us was more interested in the other, with me climbing rocks and the bear searching for grubs. But as with the earlier part of the day, I think everyone enjoyed the company.

Blue Ridge Bounty

June 7-9 07

Our second day hiking revealed Shenandoah’s diverse wildlife. First we watched Peregrine Falcons in flight then we headed to the water. In a pool near the first waterslide we watched this common water snake eat tadpoles as a frog enjoyed a dip. More waterslides, good company and rock climbing were also enjoyed.

Guides go Big

Before the summer rush a couple guides managed to slip out for vacation. It started with some deep water soloing in West Va. before hopping a plane for the Zion canyon lands in Utah and some rock climbing at Red Rocks Nevada.



The rock in Zion is incredible! The sheer walls of Zion form immense mountains of Navajo sandstone. Here are some pictures of the stone on a small scale.



The canyons we chose to descend were mostly technical and included rappelling, wet or dry suits and some canyoneering specific techniques. We descended Keyhole, Das Boot, The Subway, Kolob, part of the Narrows and Imlay.



Even in the above 90 degree temps it can be very cold while descending the beautiful but dark canyons. In the picture above Brian shivers in his dry suit while Jeremy starts a long chained rappel. The picture below shows one of us doing push-ups to warm up after a swim.



We rounded out the trip with some bouldering and some hot climbing in Red Rocks, the home of the Horned Lizard pictured below. It was an unforgettable trip.