EISPIRATEN

A HUGE thanks to Johanna and Kirk who invited me on a very fun adventure yesterday through Lower Eaton Canyon. With my 80's water ski wetsuit, harness, approach shoes, dorky green climbing helmet and a spirit of adventure i was off for my first ever canyoneering experience. Johanna and Kirk graciously set-up and cleaned every rappel we did and provided newbies: me, Taco, Ingrid and Paolo with thousands of cubic feet per second of FUN down Eaton Canyon.

The first rappel caught me trying figure out how to rapp when the surface is slick and the force of the water wouldn't let me put my feet where i wanted. So on that one i pretty much did a seated rapp. With each rapp i became more confident and realized i could baby step down through water and lean back as you do in a dry rappel. On the shorter falls we sometimes could slide, Wheee... like at a waterpark or downclimb. Between falls we hiked down the canyon through the water and enjoyed the views, the trees and the warm rays of sunshine when it graced our chilled bodies. We saw a rattlesnake, a cool water snake that we were able to catch and a deceased millipede, RIP.

Near the end of the canyon Miguel's larger group, that included Tina and Zach, caught up with us and we all stayed together for most of the remaining canyon. It was a long day, 10 hours, 8 miles and we got back to the cars with legs of Jello. I had a great time and would love to go out again and explore some more canyons. Funny, i never thought i would enjoy canyoneering since i tend to get chilled easily in cold water, but with my wetsuit and the excitement of each rapp it kept my heartbeat and body temp up to declare it AWESOME!

Johanna lent me her waterproof camera so i was the photojournalist for the day and she'll be posting a link soon.

Full album:

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... %20061310/

Tough guy footwear:


Confidence!


Eispiraten props:


Colorful Norma:


Rockin the first big rappel:


Too much water in this chute!:


Sketchy downclimb:


The Grotto:


Herps:


(identified by Paulo as Thamnophis hammondii - the Two-Striped Garter snake!)

Hangin out


Taco on one of the awkward start raps:


The rest of the group:


Norma and Tina:


ME ME ME!!!:


Taco on the second to last rappel - this water was STRONG and the rock was super slippery:


Everyone did amazingly well. Eaton is a challenging day. I love it!

I had a crapton of fun. The only thing I didn't like was my choice of footwear. Never EVER wear Vibram Five Fingers for canyoneering. It was awful, but someone had to figure it out.

Classic photos!! Dang... you have all kicked things up a notch with the warm weather, as Emeril would say. And its a Habanero chili! You all definately rocked the weekend, for sure.

This kind of thing could actually motivate me to take some kind of certified course in Rap and Rope stuff. On the shopping list right behind winch.

TracieB wrote:This kind of thing could actually motivate me to take some kind of certified course in Rap and Rope stuff. On the shopping list right behind winch.

Rap and Rope stuff? LOL

Right behind a wench, you say? Oh Tracie! The Ice Pirates might get the wrong impression?

Exazachery... winch, not wench. puleese.

TracieB wrote:Exazachery...no,oops!.

Damn it, I hate when people use my name out of context

Zach wrote:

TracieB wrote:Exazachery...no,oops!.

Damn it, I hate when people use my name out of context

Hi Kyle.

That looks like the place to be on a hot day!
For the experienced Canyoneers: are there any special considerations with rope care when you're repeatedly dunking them in creek water?
Incidentally, I like Johanna's avatar! 8)

Dave G wrote:are there any special considerations with rope care when you're repeatedly dunking them in creek water?

Rope will shrink. Not sure how many "dunkings" it takes to be significant, but most of us have had anywhere from just a little, to maybe 10%. (My 205' rope is now 194' after two years of use, lots of water)

And if you don't rinse it with a hose when you get home and lay it out to dry really well, it will STINK. Like stinky feet that have been rubbed on a wet dog.

For the uninitiated, what size rope is standard?
Are pulleys part of the setup?

TIA.

Being a first timer I don't think i could have gone with a better group of people. Had such a great time-thanks to all for your patience as well.
Stocking up on arnica now for all the bruising....definitely worth it.

That's a great adventure, report, and pictures. Thanks for sharing it. BTW, how were the ticks this time of year along the telephone trail?

Elwood, i wasn't even thinking about tics i was eaten alive by other bugs, thats on top of the bruising.

I didn't notice any ticks. Seems they're not out in force yet. However, there were a ton of light brown biting flies, about 1/2in long.

Elwood, i didn't find any ticks nor did anyone else mention them. i didn't get any bug bites either, but i was wearing sleeves and legs on the TT because of poison oak, unlike fashion forward Tina. i always say i hate ticks worse than rattlesnakes. rattlesnakes let you know they're around, ticks are sneaky. i never find them until i'm home and then get grossed out.

Tina, i did have my fair share of mosquito bites on Olancha and itched for a week.

would i know if these bites were ticks and not other bites?

TacoDelRio wrote:I didn't notice any ticks. Seems they're not out in force yet. However, there were a ton of light brown biting flies, about 1/2in long.

A friend of mine just brought home three of these after spending a weekend in a park in the UK:

i don't want that in me...i would know if it were right? now i am panicking.

How did they get through security and customs?

Tina, a tick will hold on to you for a long time. You'd know.

EManBevHills wrote:How did they get through security and customs?

UK friend.

EManBevHills wrote:For the uninitiated, what size rope is standard?
Are pulleys part of the setup?

TIA.

9mm seems to be most common. A nice balance of light weight and durability. Some use 8mm. The key is static rope though - dynamic climbing rope has too much stretch, and makes rappelling difficult because you can't reliably place your feet anywhere. It's "safe" - you can use it, it just won't be as enjoyable.

Pulleys would typically only be used in a rescue situation, or advanced rigging like a Tyrolean traverse. (Not really necessary in any canyons I've been in so far)

www.canyoneering.net is a good place for information. There are two groups that teach canyoneering in SoCal - one is the ACA (previous link), the other is ATS (Alpine Training Services).

Tina - yes, if you had a tick, you'd see it and feel it. It is just about the grossest thing ever. I hate them!! Good think we don't have leeches around here.

And Taco - I don't know how you did it in those shoes! My feet hurt today, and I had sturdy shoes with extra cushiony insoles. Oh yeah, I also have bruises, and those fly bites are itchy!!! Never had biting flies down there before. A very unpleasant addition to the canyon experience...

I was very surprised that my feet didn't hurt afterwards. It hurt while wearing them, but my feet were fine afterwards. Funny.

Those damn flies...

Thanks, Johanna.

Very kool pics =D

I was cleaning off my camera today and came across this lost footage! Starring Taco, Paulo, and Norma, with guest appearances by Kirk and Ingrid.

Naice! Makes me wanna go back... but it's such a long (15 minute) drive away...

That's a kick ass amphibious adventure

mve wrote:That's a kick ass amphibious adventure

that it was mve! we all walked out of there tired as hell with legs of Jello! pretty much what i would call a Perfect Day!