Mystery Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah

Mystery Canyon is one of the premier canyoneering routes in Zion National Park. The East Mesa trailhead approach takes you past a seasonal lake and through open plateau before the canyon commits. A series of beautiful drops through Navajo sandstone narrows leads to the finale — a 120ft last rappel directly into the Virgin River Narrows with hikers below looking up in disbelief. Troy, Derek, Daniel, and the rest of the Chicago crew — all grinning at the bottom in the Narrows river current. This is what Zion canyoneering is all about. October 2015.