Yankee-Doodle Canyon

On Friday June 4th we took a youth conference group canyoneering for our job at SUU Outdoor Rec. We started the canyon with a short 30' rappel. This the first rappel for most of the kids and leaders so it took a while. I sat at the top helping everyone use their gear correctly and encouraging them to trust the equipment as they walk backwards off of the ledge. This can obviously be scary for a beginner so it tool quite a bit of coaxing from friends, leaders and Jono, who was at the bottom of the rappel to get some people to go down. The mechanics of rappel throw a lot of people off guard. They tend to grab the rope above their rappel device when they feel they are falling instead of below, which would stop them from falling, and they feel more comfortable using their own strength instead of relying on the device and rope. I guess it just takes practice. The next rappel is a good 70' slot. After that there are several areas where you scramble down about 10' or less. Jono lead the group and helped people down these areas. There were two down climbs that ended in small, knee-deep stagnant pools. The kids actually enjoyed walking through these since it was around 90 degrees. The hike from the end of the canyon up a wash to the road was good. The kids got too excited and wanted to stay ahead and would subsequently have to stop and wait when they came to a fork in the trail and wait for us to lead them in the right direction. I stopped at the turn-off to the side trail up to the road and heard the end of the group stop for a rest, so I sat on a near by rock and meditated for a while. I suddenly recognized the sound of rustling behind me and turned to see a rattlesnake coiled beneath a rick no more that two feet behind me. I promptly stood and walked to the other side of the wash and warned those coming up to steer clear of the snake. The snake just sat there with no incident. We made it back to the cars, picked up the gear and headed home. It ended up being a nine hour day including the 45 minute drive both ways. I definitely advocate not traveling in groups larger than 12 for activities like this and also making sure everyone is in fairly good health and strength conditions. Then it won't take nearly that long. I mean the whole canyon and walk back is only a couple of miles. However, everyone seemed to have a great time and all was well.