Cayonneering & Birthday Post #1

This year is the year that I turned 30. I wanted to do something really amazing, different and adventurous, but after moving to a new state and not knowing many people I was unsure of doing anything. Well I was randomly invited to go on a canyonneering trip by a friend the week before my birthday. Hmmmm yes, yes, yes. Just the kind of adventure I needed to end my 20's and welcome 30.

Below are just a few of the photos from our trip to Escalante, Utah. We started our trip by leaving my house at 6am Monday morning and then made it to our campsite around 7pm after some off-roading lessons.

Setting up camp was easy for me. My Rav4 has seats that fold down to make making the bed easy. So I went around and documented everyone else's sleeping arrangements.

Let me introduce you to the group. From left to right we have: Taylor our leader/guide, Matt (a fellow photographer) and Matt/Matder (Matt and Ladder). Next for the girls are: Ana Marie, Laurel Lynn, me and Erin.

Day #1 // Egypt 3

...and it begins

I realized when preparing for the trip and telling friends how excited I was that a lot of people have no clue what canyonneering is. So I'm sure some of the photos above will give you a better clue, but let me give you a few more tips and info about canyonneering.

1. Water is the most important no matter what.

2. Next would be good shoes! Canyonneering with blisters is not fun.

3. Knowing basic climbing moves like 'steming' or 'bridge' are very helpful. (meaning: you do not have to be ballerina or a gymnast... but it helps)

4. Small backpacks or day packs for going through slot canyons. Bigger backpacks can supply shade in times of need, but getting stuck is never fun.

So that is the end of Day #1 // Egypt 3 of the canyonneering trip. I'll try to get more photos edited and posted soon so you can see what we did on Day #2 // Neon.