Canyon Country Guides

This review is actually about a year overdue, since we did our canyoneering trip in August 2011. But I have to come back and talk about it because of the wonderful experience we had. It is definitely something I’ll never forget, because I always enjoy doing outdoor activities and the canyoneering sounded like a great way to take in the beautiful Utah scenery and try something new like rappelling.
First we met the guides, Tyler and Bruce, at the lodge where we were staying just outside of Zion National Park. They told us a little bit about where we were going and what we were going to do that day and then we took off for an interesting drive with lots of off-​road terrain in the bumpy desert. The four people in my family were paired up with a mom and two relatively young daughters, and I was a little bit worried about how they were going to do on this seemingly difficult trip. Tyler and Bruce instructed us on how to put on our harnesses and our helmets, then told us to follow them and we walked straight off into the desert brush. Along the walk they acted as our nature guides, pointing out the local plants, even offering a sniff of desert pine needles, which had an amazing scent. They also showed us this «living soil» stuff and told us to step around it because if we stepped on this black-​looking crust on the ground it would kill all the microorganisms that were in it. They were obviously really passionate about nature and I really appreciated the extra knowledge that we got just on the short walk that we took.
But enough about the walk, let’s get to the rappelling, which I’d actually been anxiously waiting for. We came to the first site and we couldn’t even see the landing spot about 70 ft. below. Tyler and Bruce gave us a thorough talk and Bruce went down first to demonstrate and also to help us at the bottom. The most important thing is that they keep talking to you, all the way down. Sometimes a person would get nervous and stop on the way down, but I always felt very safe, even while walking horizontally down a frickin’ cliff!
We stopped for sandwiches on the canyon floor and endured some smaller descents without ropes. I learned on every slope that there is the normal way down, and then there is Bruce’s way down. Tyler made fun of him because Bruce always chose a different, and more daring path than the rest of us, but he is the expert for a reason! We even started calling him Spider-​Bruce because he could grip the rock like nobody else.
Everyone in our group, even the younger girls, made it through the trip just fine. I was even toting my huge digital camera the whole time! Kudos to Tyler and Bruce for making it probably the best day of our entire vacation. I felt a real high of adrenaline after conquering that canyon, and came out of it knowing what cryptobiotic soil is! They really deserve all five stars for their skills as guides, and the quality of the whole experience. I would 100% recommend these guys to anyone who wants an outdoor experience they will remember, and even brag about.

On our most recent trip to Springdale, I booked a canyoneering trip with Tyler, not doing any research at all. I had no prior knowledge about rappelling and did not know that I would be descending down 100+ goddam feet of canyon cliffs.
On the day of our trip, not caring to read the confirmation e-​mail, our party drove from Springdale to Hurricane, the address on their web page only to discover that the coordinates were incorrect. Calling Tyler and finding out the meeting place was in Springdale, I told him if he could wait and that I would be there in 25 minutest tops. That 25 minutes turned into an hour as the meeting place is at the opposite side of Zion National Park’s entrance. You have to drive through the park, and because you are driving up canyons, you can only go 10 – 15 mph tops. In addition, the park rangers halt traffic for the dumbest things, aka a little dust cloud that was most likely kicked up by two kids. When we finally got to the meeting site, I expected Tyler and the waiting party to leave without us or stomp us out. However, they were extremely patient and friendly, and if they hated us, hid it quite well. After accepting our profuse rounds of apologies, we got into the car and drove to the hiking point. We had two tour guides that day, Tyler and Bruce. Bruce, driving the SUV, was extremely friendly and you could immediately see his passion for the great outdoors. He pointed out historic places along the drive and made us feel immediately at home. We quickly became friends with the guides and the other party.
To be quite honest, I am not a hiker or even a lover of the outdoors. I like it in small doses but I am in now way a tree hugger. However, Tyler and Bruce made this 10 hour excursion really fun. The hike was strenuous and casualties were suffered — a mother suffered a strained calf and her two kids were too scared after rappel #3 and had to hike back. The weather was beautiful and the canyons were just majestic. The scenery was beautiful however, 10 hours of anything will make you despise it. Haha. The main part of the tour were the 10 rappels with the first being a 60 ft. drop. When I saw that, I nearly shat a brick. I am scared of heights, however, love the thrill of the feeling when you finish. However, the scariest part was just walking over the ledge. Tyler and Bruce were extremely patient and encouraged us and gave us the will. Let me tell you one thing — the will to survive is very strong. There were some thoughts of throwing in the white flag, however, once you are able to conquer the initial steps, the rest gets easy. Kudos to Bruce and Tyler enduring #1 rappel… it literally took an hour to get all of us down. The full tour has 10 rappels with the shortest being 20 – 30 ft. and the longest 100 ft. When you go down, you are literally shuffling down like a cockroach inch by inch. It is pretty pathetic when you re-​watch your vides you shot. However, Tyler and Bruce just bound down the lines. Goddam them for showing us up. They make you feel very safe, however, this is not a sport for the high maintenance. You will get cut and scraped, muddied and have wet socks. Oh yah, Tyler has these cookies that will make you revert to cookie monster form. They were delicious and I hogged a bag of them, refusing to share which almost caused a debacle with KDer.
Tyler had to hike the two kids and their mom back, leaving us with only Bruce. If they had reservations or concerns, they certainly hid it and even with one guide, we were able to complete our excursion. It actually got a lot easier. Our tour lasted about 10 hours and if you bring up my name, they will gleefully tell you the tale of woe. Tyler and Bruce’s words exactly: «we never guided a tour like this… you guys were the slowest». Hahaha. After, we got dinner with them at Zion Pizza and Noodle and were able to dine as chums. Tyler owns the company while Bruce helps out. The first thing you will see is their passion. Bruce is more vocal about it and you can tell and will find that he lives, breathes, shits the outdoors. Tyler is more muted but it is a joy to see two individuals making a living of what they love. They both relish passing on their passion to you, explaining the wonders of Zion, taking 100+ pics of everyone, saving lives. They will also allow themselves to be used as a foothold in case you are in a precarious position and need footing. I am glad that I can call them friends and definitely recommend you book with them. They will become your friends and you and your party will bond in ways you cannot imagine. In addition, if you are a tourist, they will answer questions you have about Mormons, questions you have inside but are scared to ask in fear of being ignorant.
cliffs:
–most exhilarating, death defying, raddest trip ever
–all you can eat (for me) cookies baked by Tyler’s mother-​in-​law
–all you can eat Gardettos
–one chicken pasta sandwich
–5 STARS