Group of 5
Neon - Great time of year to do Neon. The first half of the canyon was completely dry. At the first pothole we suited up in our wetsuits, gloves, & booties & dropped in to the water which we were very glad we had. The water was cold but fun. First pothole was waist deep & passed by a 2 man shoulder/hand stand. We are both 6 feet tall. Pack toss would have worked good but i'd rather save my pack. The rest of the canyon was fairly wet including one part of swimming. The next pothole was waste high and was easily climbed out. Someone left a 70 meter dynamic rope with 3 core shots hanging from the 2nd hold in the cathedral. Poor ethics leaving your ruined rope hanging. We hiked around and pulled it out. The hike out is in pure sun so bring plenty of water. All the water was fairly clean & could have easily pumped water in the cathedral. A fair amount of foot traffic from people hiking just for the cathedral. Total time 10 hours from start to finish. We took our time & hung out in the cathedral.
Egypt 1 - I would not try and down climb anything in this canyon. It only takes 1 member to mess there ankle up and ruin your trip and or weekend. We brought a short rope and rappeled everything. Don't try and be a hero lol. Short canyon that took us exactly 2 hours to complete. We did this canyon after Neon on the same day. We were exhausted & probably should have sat around and relaxed. Canyon was completely dry.
Egypt 2 - We backed my car up 30 ft away from the mouth of the canyon. Put on the emergency brake, car in park, wedged rocks behind the tires lol (a little over kill). We used a figure 8 & tied the rope off to my hitch bar which on my car is fat & easy on your rope. Make sure your not tying off to an edge or using the ball hitch on your car (the rope could jump off the ball hitch). Stepping over the lip was the scarriest part but honestly a great beutiful rappel. The approach & big wall made this canyon a MUST do. The rest of the canyon has 1 short rappel and we used a short 80 ft rope. Canyon gets narrow so be ready to side climb through the narrow slot. The canyon seamed a little long, but could be our exhaustion for the day before doing neon & E1 in the same day. I would do this canyon again for sure, but the only way to do it is with the big wall rappel. Another group came down after us & had used the shorter route. Total time 3 hours from start to finish. Canyon was completely dry.
Have fun be safe !!!