Keyhole Canyon

We couldn't take our camera into the canyon because there was water we had to go through, but here are some pictures of Keyhole that other people have taken.

Ben and I

My mom and dad

Ben loves canyoneering so I promised to try a canyon with him at least once. On Saturday, Ben and I and my parents did Keyhole, a slot canyon in Zion. It included some repelling, which I had never done before, and I was a little bit nervous but mostly curious to see what all the talk is about. The canyon is very narrow and at times there is water that you have to wade/swim through. Because the canyon is very deep, the water is stagnant and smells terrible. It is also very cold. However, it is very beautiful and something you can only see from deep inside the canyon so it is worth it. Halfway down my first repel, my harness broke. You can imagine the panick. I screamed and cried and held onto the rope for dear life (I am not the person you'd want to be with in a crisis). The longer I hung on to the rope, the tighter it wrapped around my chest. I was having a hard time breathing. Luckily, my dad had gone down before me and helped hold the rope steady, and a group behind us had an extra rope and carabiner and were able to belay me down. I was shaking and sick to my stomach when I finally reached the bottom. After that, though, the repels weren't too bad, and I was able to relax. It is kind of interesting that the first time I ever repelled my harness broke, and the first time I went scuba diving for real (not in a pool), my BC broke so I could only inhale water and not air. Apparently I am a magnet for faulty equipment. But, all's well that ends well, right?