With Castleton Tower under our belts, it was time for another tower. Andrea had told us of a fun, adventure tower across the Colorado River. She offered us their truck, canoe, and told us where to park for the launch. We were intrigued! Kyle Brian and I loaded up the truck with our climbing gear as well a paddles and life jackets. I had never packed for a climb quite like this.
We found the pullout to park the truck and hauled the canoe and gear down a steep bank to the Colorado River. The current was strong so Brian held onto the canoe while Kyle and I ferried gear down. Down river and across to the other bank we floated and on the second try we found the landing spot. To our surprise two kayaks were also landed here. Kyle parked the canoe and we all grabbed our climbing gear.
We thought we found the approach trail for the tower so off we went. There was some scrambling over loose rock but we were making progress. We reached a spot on the “trail” that I was uncomfortable doing without climbing gear. Kyle and Brian were more than happy to gear up and help me up this section but I told them to go ahead without me. I had to convince them both that I really didn’t want to climb this tower and that I would be perfectly happy hanging out on the ground. I told them I would meet them back at the canoe whenever they were done. They scrambled up easily and continued the approach to the tower.
I hung out on a nice sandstone ledge and had a snack. Across the river there was a mountain bike trail and I watched as a mountain bikers flew down the terrain. It was a beautiful day. I took my time getting back to the canoe, enjoying finding lizards here and there and exploring the rock formation. I finally found a spot in the shade after a few hours near the canoe and waited. Finally two climbers started rappelling down to me. They were the kayak owners. I asked them if they had seen Kyle and Brian, and they had. Kyle and Brian were behind them on the climb but should be down soon. I hoped the guys had seen where these two rappelled because, it seemed a much easier descent than the way we went up.
Finally they arrived! Kyle and Brian did not see the way the other two climbers came down so they had back tracked the sketchy crumbly terrain on the way down. Once they got to me I showed them where the other climbers came out! I could tell from their faces they had a grand adventure climbing the tower. Climbing complete, we still had a river to cross. We loaded up the canoe again and pushed out into the river. This time we were going against the current. I was in the middle without a paddle so I sat in the canoe and enjoyed the breeze as the guys paddled against the Colorado River.
Eventually we reached the other side and the bank where the truck was parked. I grabbed a load and hauled it up to the truck. Opening the tailgate to throw the gear in, I almost dropped everything I had. The truck bed was empty when we left it. Now, there were 3 cold beers and a bag of chips waiting for us. Andrea had drove by earlier on her way into town and dropped off the presents for us! I yelled down to the guys to hurry up and get up here. They were in disbelief for a minute. We then immediately opened the chips, dug in and opened the beers for a group cheers.
We sat on the tailgate, enjoying ourselves as I listened to how the climb went. The group in front of Kyle and Brian were a little slow moving and the leader freaked out on the last pitch. At one point as Brian was stepping off a large rock to start to climb, the rock crashed down the tower. Nobody got hurt but everyone’s hearts were pounding. Hearing about the climb, I was glad I decided to stay back and enjoy a leisurely afternoon enjoying the sunshine and watching bikers. They were of course glad of their choice to carry on and have another adventure climbing!