Monthly Archive for August, 2009

Before being distracted by black books and red leafs, I was talking about slot canyons, and more specifically, the best one I think I’ve ever done – Imlay Canyon in Zion National Park.  I suspect it is other people’s favorite as well, as there is even a Canyoneering company named after it.

Utah has had a fairly wet spring and summer, so I was surprised to see that Imlay was almost completely dry.  I pussed out and wore a 3/4 wet suit, but everyone else was able to survive in t-shirts and shorts, which is unusual as Imlay can have some long, cold swims, even when it is over 100 degrees outside.

The approach to the start of Imlay is long, hot and semi complicated the first time you do it. The suggested roundtrip time is anwhere from 12 hours to two days. Done as an overnighter, this is the suggested bivy spot, which is right near the start of the action.

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After living in Utah for almost twenty years, I was stoked to finally make it out to the  Bonneville Salt Flats over the weekend for the world famous Speed Week.  It is one of those places and events that almost defies words.  When you first get there, the perfectly flat, glistening white landscape is so bizarre and unique that it makes you wonder what planet you are on.  When that thrill subsides, the next thought is “What would be fun to do in a place like this?”  To many thousands of spectators and participants, the answer is strap yourself to a bomb with wheels and see how fast you can go.  And keeeyrist do people go fast!

My perspective was a bit skewed as the first guy off the line on Saturday morning hit something like 376mph in his “streamliner” which turned out to be the fastest time of the day.  After that, 200mph seemed kind of paltry, except when you watched them go by.  In general, the machines are wonderfully specialized and barely capable of doing anything other than going really fast in a straight line.  Because they are geared so high, many of the cars use a “push truck” to get them up to speed (60ish mph?) before the race car takes over.

My friend, Rod Falkner, described the cars and motorcycles as "controlled explosions with only six to eight rounds in the chamber before they self destruct and need to be rebuilt." Hang on tight.

The Paramount Forge Streamliner was an absolute beauty.

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