Carol and I got our start canyoneering in Zion, and it’s always a treat to return. New canyons, familiar canyons, new friends, old friends, no matter – a great day out – assuming little or no rain – is pretty much always guaranteed.
Late fall is an excellent time to see the canyons, with moderate temperatures for comfort and low angle fall sunlight to maximize the results of ones efforts at photography.
Behunin Canyon
Steve L. arrived from SLC, UT on the same afternoon as Bob M. arrived from Spokane, WA. Steve only had one full day to spend with us, and after much discussion we converged on Behunin Canyon as our destination. Bob and Carol had never been through; I had been through once as my fourth canyon 6-7 years ago, but remembered it as beautiful and great fun; Steve was our veteran.
Behunin route description here.
Carrying two 60m ropes and a 60m pull cord, plus sundry rappelling gear, food and water, we met the first shuttle bus up canyon at Canyon Junction and were hea
ded up the West Rim trail around dawn. Those early hours are the best time to make the hump up to the canyon dropin, both because of the comfortable hiking temperatures and because you get to enjoy the early light in the main Zion canyon. Also the best chance of seeing mountain lions or UFO’s, each of which are equally likely.
Descending into Behunin canyon, one immediately feels dwarfed by the huge canyon walls. Proceeding down canyon, we soon found the first drop and geared up.
All went well on the first rap, then after the second, I got engrossed with watching the rope stuffers at work and let the rope drop onto a bush. Oh, oh. Sure enough, it was a rope-eating bush. Fortunately I was able 
to get up to the bush via a mildly sketch free climb and when I got there, I found that the universe hates ropes. It was definitely an “are you kidding me?” moment. Rope freed, I used the bush (sorry, bush!) as a handline anchor to get down. For the rest of the day, I gave rope pulls all the attention they deserved.
Big walls, big, easy rappels, beautiful temperatures and lighting. Steve and Bob set up a guided rappel over one really skanky pothole (thanks, Steve, for taking one for the team and going first – into the skanky pothole – and for being our second anchor for the guided), so we remained pretty much dry.
We took our time and stopped to enjoy along the way. Having started early and being fairly efficient at moving along, we had time to kill. Steve shared Behunin canyon lore with us; we examined plants and rock formations along the way; just a leisurely stroll, really.
At the exit rappels, we took time to admire the creative webbing nests. Backup upon backup with some really gnarly knots (an overhand is not a water knot, people) and a total lack of equalization. Whatever, we jumped on anyway ’cause 24 pieces of we
bbing must equal safe, right?
The last rappel to the deck was awesome – the alcove on canyon left was suffused with golden light from the mid afternoon fall sun. Didn’t want it to end. A few calories, gear stuffed and it was time to scramble down the watershed to the trail and out.
Click here for Behunin Canyon PICTURES. Best viewed as a Slideshow.
Thanks to Bob and Carol for sharing their pictures.
Spry Canyon
A personal favorite. Joined by new friends Diana and Paul, Bob, Carol and I set off on the approach. Diana, Paul and Carol had never been through Spry, so they were in for a treat.
There’s not much not to like about Spry – the approach gets your heart pumping, there are fun down climbing problems and awkward rappels, the canyon is beautiful, the exit is easy – no wonder it’s popular.
We made the trip interesting a couple times – a guided rappel over a water hole (less than knee deep; I think we did if for fun more than for necessity) and a sketchy traverse out on a ledge to find alternate anchors and avoid water at the “fluted rappel”. We put Diana on a belay before she went out to the anchors. 
Communications were a little off, so when I started off to follow her, I put a prussik on the hand line just in case. Someone called it overkill, I call it “living to canyon another day”.
The alternate anchor is – wow – a couple of knot blocks and a piton. Sure, why knot jump on and rappel? I’d say it’s probably not worth it to avoid the water, plus now there are new rope grooves showing up.
On down canyon, into the water course and exit via Pine Creek. Back at the spotted car, a warning from Steve L. is fresh in my mind – “The rangers are bored and looking for something to do” – so I made sure we knew where our permit was before Paul and Bob took off.
Sure enough, within 2-3 minutes (it seems) of their departure, a Parks vehicle with two rangers in it pulled up – “can I see your permit” – sure thing. Five minutes later ANOTHER ranger pulled up – “can I see your permit” – sure, and how many more rangers can we expect to see? Ha. A few minutes later, the original pair came back through, stopped and “can I see your permit – j/k”. Anyway, thanks, Steve, for the tip that helped us avoid some discomfort or a night in Ranger Jail (no showers, said Mr. Ranger, “it’s Pugatory”, smiles).
Great canyon, great people, great day – worth repeating.
Click here for Spry Canyon PICTURES. Best viewed as a Slideshow.
Thanks to Bob, Carol, Diana and Paul for sharing their pictures.
~Rick
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