The next morning we got an early start and went to Bow and Arrow Canyon at the Poison Spider Trailhead off Potash Road. We explored petroglyphs just off the trail and then continued onto Longbow Arch which is about 60' across. From Longbow, you scramble down canyon eventually reaching a long rappel at an overhanging cliff. I set the rappel but was feeling a bit nervous for some reason so I asked Laura to go first. She rappelled and gave me the go ahead. I set my rappel and triple checked all was perfect before weighting the rope and then lowered over the edge onto the free hanging rappel. Across the canyon were more petroglyphs and down canyon were spectacular views of the La Sal Mountains. A bit more hiking and two more short rappels and we were back at the road. The car was parked just a half mile away and we completed canyon #1 for today in about 2 hours.
We headed toward Arches NP and found ourselves waiting in a line of cars to get into the park. While Laura waited, I jumped out and hiked into the visitors center, securing permits for our next canyons and waiting at the road for Laura just as she got through the entrance gate. As always, efficiency is important when you're trying to get a lot done in a single day! We drove to the trailhead that we would use for multiple canyons and chose to do U Turn Canyon first. Since it only requires a single rope, we decided to leave the second behind and pick it up when we came back through on our way to the next canyon. Leaving the car, Laura and I walked across the desert sand and made our way up a gulley to the top of the mesa. Turning right towart U Turn, we saw a group hiking across. They indicated that there was a guided group of 10 in U Turn and that they were headed to Tier Drop Canyon instead. This is the canyon we were planning to do after U Turn and we knew we did not have enough rope to descend so we asked to join them and they were happy to let us. We were not sure what to expect from a group we had never canyoneered with before so I set up the first rappel off of a tree about 50' back from the low angle slab below and lowered first. The group followed as we made our way to the second rappel. The anchor was a rock carin with webbing. We inspected it and Josh set up a biner block and a single line. I inspected his system and determined that this group was competent and would be a fun group to cruise with for the day. The group lowered off the free hanging rappel as we chatted and got to know each other. They were all climbers who had gotten into canyoneering, similar to Laura and myself. The third rappel was another long one off of a single bolt backed up with a rock carin, so we set another single line and off we went. The exit was a bit confusing. A lot of people exit right, and we tried as well, but decided to go hikers left and traverse along a cliff band to an exit gulley. We hiked out to the main trail, chatting and laughing, each of us having fun past experiences to share. At the trailhead, Hazel and Big Momma were there waiting for us. We had lunch and hung out for a while while Hazel played. We once again joined up with the group and this time descended Not Tier Drop Canyon, opting against U Turn for a second time. Not Tier Drop is just to the right of Tier Drop and starts with a short pothole scramble. There are several fun rappels, leading to a long final rappel to the canyon floor. Similar to Tier Drop and with a few fun rappels, Not Tier Drop went smoothly and we all had a good time. We once again hiked out the main trail to the parking lot and exchanged contact info. Parting ways, Laura and I did a short drive through Arches NP and then went back to the hotel to pick up Big Momma and Hazel before heading to dinner. When we pulled into the parking lot at the Moab Brewery, we saw Josh and Tara so I yelled out the window at them to stop stalking us. We ended up with a table for 8 and shared laughs and stories over beers and dinner.
On Sunday we took Hazel to a new national park for her. Canyonlands NP. We went to Island in the Sky area and Hazel did the 1 mile hike to Mesa Arch. She hiked the entire way on her own and did amazing! We continued out to more overlooks and did a bit more hiking before Hazel decided she was too tired to walk anymore. Worn out and ready for sleep, we all went back to the car and loaded up for the long drive home. Hazel played for a while before falling asleep. The hiking was good for her and we had an easy drive home.
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