Canyoneering with Kellogg LEX

Canyoneering in Arizona

The Southern Terrain has been offering canyoneering in northern Arizona for several years and this past program with the Kellogg LEX team was one of the best. This group of future leaders are all studying at the prestigious Kellogg School of Management. Each fall this group travels to the southwest to enjoy a weekend in the canyons to push their boundaries by trying something outside their comfort zone.

Rappelling at the Overlook in Sedona

The team arrived into Phoenix late on Friday night and made it to an already set up camp in the wonderful town of Sedona. The following morning the guides at The Southern Terrain prepared a hot breakfast before departing to the spectacular overlook in Oak Creek Canyon. It was very windy at the overlook which made this training day challenging yet effective for the LEX team.  After several rappels and climbs the group loaded up in the vans and began the drive up to the Grand Canyon. The drive gave everyone a chance to catch up on sleep before we began our next day of adventure.

The Famous Horseshoe Bend

Can You See the Person Rappelling?

As we arrived to camp we were greeted by our guides who had camp all set up and amazing snacks ready for us. After an hour of relaxing at camp we were wowed by the magic of the Dutch Oven and fabulous cooking by Josh. We all had a great night's sleep underneath the Vermillion Cliffs with thoughts of what was to come the following day. The next morning we woke up to spectacular weather, and while it took a little to get going, the entire team was up and out of camp by 7:30 AM. As we ventured out of the region we had the chance to look at the famous Horseshoe Bend which is certainly one of nature's true natural wonders.

The hike into the canyon is almost as amazing as the canyon itself. Once we arrived to our canyon everyone was glad we had the opportunity the previous day to practice our technique and be more comfortable being on the rope. The first person down had an uninterrupted view of the canyon and the images we saw were something out of a story book.

Our first rappel was almost 200 feet and the guides at The Southern Terrain were patient and helpful in trying to encourage the group to enjoy the experience.

Final Section of the 200 ft. rappel

After the group was in the canyon we began navigating through the slot with several rappels of various lengths. There is one section where we had to jump into the cold water up to our waist and wade through before making it out to the other end. There is a section just after the water that is extremely picturesque with all the rappels lined up in a row. All this while surrounded by an amazing streaked wall of sandstone soaring a thousand feet up above. 

Tapestry Wall

As we moved through the canyon each person was becoming more and more comfortable with the rappels. The final rappel was special, and even though it was over 150 ft., it is so smooth and fun it was one of the best of the day. 

The final day of the program was a great hike down to the River. The hike traveled through a narrow slot canyon, without any rappels, and made its way out to the River. 

The trip was fantastic and we wanted to thank all the participants for an amazing effort throughout each day. We are looking forward to seeing you all again on a future program.

If you are interested in canyoneering in Los Angeles or canyoneering in the remote canyons of northern Arizona, The Southern Terrain would love to share their passion for this region with you. Please visit our website at www.thesouthernterrain.com or give is a call on our office line + 1 (858) 356-9411. You can also e-mail is directly at info@thesouthernterrain.com. 

Until next time this is TST signing off.

Last Rap

The Kellogg LEX Team

LA County Canyoneering

The Southern Terrain and Epic USA just spent an incredible weekend Canyoneering for two days with a group of great friends from the travel industry.  The most amazing part of the adventure was that we only had to commute less than two hours from our office to have all this fun in some canyons that are located in Southern California just 20 minutes East of Los Angeles.  


We began the adventure on Saturday morning with a group of 7 of us on a beautiful Southern California day with plenty of sunshine.  The steep 2 mile hike up into the canyon quickly rewards us with a view of the surrounding hills and canyons and a glimpse at the city.  As we hike on we begin to see the canyon we will navigate today and the sound of it's many waterfalls.


About an hour into our adventure we cross the main ridge and begin heading down into the canyon and towards the creek that cuts through it.  Everyone is very excited as we put on our harnesses and helmets and begin wading and sliding down through the canyon.  The cool water feels great after working up a sweat hiking to the top of the canyon.  After a bit of hiking, wading, sliding and down climbing we begin the first of many rappels of the day down a running water fall and into a nice pool.



It's great to hear the joyful screams and yells as people slide into pools and lower themselves off of the top of 50 foot drops on a rope descending towards the next obstacle in the canyon.  Everyone is amazed by how beautiful the trees, rocks and water is and even more stunned that we're just a stone's throw from the most popluated area in the U.S.  After about a mile of rappels, waterfalls and pools we find a nice sunny spot to have a great picnic lunch and warm up a bit.

We move on and tackle the second half of this canyon which rewards us with 3 more tall waterfalls and several smaller rappels along with plenty of sliding, splashing and wading.  The day ends with a bit of boulder hopping and a short walk back to our cars.  It certainly was a day full of friends, fun and lots of adventure and now we're ready to tackle the next canyon.   There are many more canyons to explore in this area and we can't wait to have more fun in them.


Thanks for following our adventures,


The Southern Terrain
info@tstadventures.com
858-356-9411

The Ring of Fire Volcanoes via #constantcontact

Volcanoes, Canyons and Rock yup it's all in there, check out the news.

The Ring of Fire Volcanoes via #constantcontact

San Diego County Canyoneering

After some careful reading, heavy analysis of topo maps, looking at pictures and trip reports I planned a two day excursion out into the deserts of Northeastern San Diego County to scout for some local Canyoneering.  Everything in the Anza-Borrego desert East of Julian looked pretty intense and some of the canyons looked very tempting so I talked Joshua into jumping in the car with me and heading out for some exploring.

I'm not sure how many of you have been to this area but wow what a change  you see as you leave the forested mountain ecosystem of Julian  and descend into the desert of Anza-Borrego park.  It's a great drive on the 78 and I highly recommend it as a great 1 or 2 day get away from city life.  You immediate feel very desolate but at the same time you're surrounded by mountains, valleys cliffs and lots and lots of sand.  It's amazing that all of this used to be the ocean floor and if you look in the right areas you can even find seashells and some of the most preserved fossils in the world.

Elephants Knees

So after a short drive out of Julian we headed to our first site we wanted to scout out and were very impressed at what there is to offer.  What's a better way to start your day then a 150 foot rappel off a sandstone cliff?

After a couple mile drive up a very impressive wash where you're passing wind caves, hills and mud cliffs  you come to a canyon that was as awesome as we had hoped.  This unnamed canyon is going to offer us to build an incredible trip with several rappels down into it and a very exciting hike through and out the end.

This was just our first day and I was pretty excited about what this region has to offer.  We explored several more canyons on the second day and will be finalizing this trip by the end of this year.  Beginning in the Spring of 2011 TST will begin offering 1 and 2 day Canyoneering trips to Anza-Borrego Canyons.  We will also be offering an overnight backpacking trip that will start in the highlands near Julian and Lake Cuyamaca and descend into a stunning canyon on the backside of the desert. 

Stay tuned to the website for updates, the Canyoneering of San Diego County will be a great warm up trip for anyone wanting to explore the Grand Canyon with us.  Fun times ahead

-Andrew
andrew.roberts@thesouthernterrain.com
858.880.5220

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings"  John Muir

Grand Canyoneering in Arizona

After a really busy summer for The Southern Terrain with multiple summits of Mt. Whitney, Mt. Kilimanjaro and lots of local rock climbing in San Diego we are all back and ready for a busy Fall.  Our Fall season brings on trips to Catalina Island for kayaking and hiking and trips to Northern Arizona for Canyoneering adventures. 

Since it's a good time to go Canyoneering Adventure 16 has once again graciously invited us into their stores for presentations on this great sport and also to talk about the trips we run.  We've developed an exciting program where we will go through the sport of Canyoneering.  This presentation will highlight several of the great areas in California, Utah and Arizona that are excellent places for canyon exploring.  

The most critical part of Canyoneering is knowing what equipment is required and how to use it safely.  We will go through all the equipment and have a hands on session involved various knots that are used where the audience can learn and practice these knots on pieces of cord and webbing.  The final section of our presentation will go through the itinerary we've created for our trips and conclude with a short video showing the incredible canyons that we are set up to take you to.

Grand Canyoneering via @constantcontact

Check out our August Newsletter, lot's of good stuff in there.


Grand Canyoneering via @constantcontact

Grand Canyoneering

The Southern Terrain recently returned from an amazing adventure through the canyons of northern Arizona. We have some great images to share with everyone. The group enjoyed a beautiful day through Tapestry Canyon with a 200 foot rappel into the heart of the canyon. We continued through the canyon reaching the water section. The group, being very athletic, was able to avoid all the water except for the final section when everyone dipped in and experienced the chill of canyon water.

After making it through the canyon we reached the Colorado River where we had a great lunch set up on the banks in the sand. We loaded into the kayaks and started on our 10 mile paddle. We paddled through the canyon enjoying the scenery aiming to make it all the way back to Lee's Ferry before sunset. The group was strong and paddled the entire length in a record time of 2.5 hours.

We concluded the day with ribs and baked potatoes for dinner at the Cliff Dweller Lodge. The following morning we packed up our gear and headed cross country to South Canyon and the less travelled "UPS" route. This remote trail is the ideal way to see the canyon and find yourself in complete solitude. Congratulations to a wonderful group.

To learn more about this program click on the link below:

Grand Canyoneering Experience

Grand Canyoneering October 2009

We just returned from a great weekend up in the canyons with superb weathern and an even better group of people. Here are a few of the images from the trip:

This program is three days two nights in the remote canyons of northern Arizona. We will hike, kayak, rappel and canyoneer through spectacular slot canyons only few have ever travelled before. This is a great trip for all ages and is great for long weekend getaways with family and friends.

The Southern Terrain's Grand Canyoneering program will be run in the spring for 2010 from late April to early June. These programs are all inclusive from the moment you arrive in Page, AZ and you are escorted with the highest quality guides in the area. The camping on the river's edge is comfortable and accomodating with bathrooms and plenty of space to relax and enjoy the view.

Please check out our website http://www.thesouthernterrain.com/ for specific 2010 program dates.

Grand Canyoneering September 2009

The Southern Terrain recently completed a Grand Canyoneering program exploring the remote canyons of northern Arizona. The program stages out of Page, AZ where The Southern Terrain's guides meet you before beginning the program in Matchbox Canyon.

The second day begins with a hike to Horseshoe Bend before heading off the beaten path into an exclusive canyon known as Tapestry Canyon. Our first rappel drops us 200 feet into the canyon beginning our full day of rappelling all the way to the Colorado River. Our final rappel drops us onto the sand of the river where our kayaks are ready for a short paddle to camp.

Our final day involves a 9 mile float / paddle down the Colorado River with a brief stop for lunch on the beach. It was a privilege to have 3 wonderful ladies who were excited and enthusiastic the entire time. To see the video from this program please go to http://www.thesouthernterrain.com/.