The hike in was a pleasant, very gradual ascent, class 1 most of the time, some bushwhacking but no catsclaw. Ran into water on schedule, then ran out of it - not on schedule - and, to our growing dismay, the further in we hiked, the drier the canyon seemed to get. This went on for nearly two hours before the stream surfaced again, and we were home free. Camped in a splendid area - sandy, plenty of wood and water. Sunday was spent exploring further up the canyon - can't compete with John's excellent description. One intriguing feature was the condition of some of the palm trees - many of them had the dead fronds completely burnt away with no apparent harm to the trees. It hadn't been a fire as the phenomenon was spotty, the ground showed no sign of fire, and the condition existed even among isolated trees high on the canyon walls. Some reading disclosed that probably the extremely dry fronds, blown by the wind and rubbing against each other, set up static electricity with resultant sparks and ignition Nature's way of keeping an area clean. This proved to be a pleasant weekend in an infrequently visited area - leisurely, suitable for family-style back pack trips. We were in there perhaps a little late. February might be a better time - the weather was warm and the snakes were starting to pop out although they were still pretty lethargic.
SCHEDULED OUTLAW TRIP
SOUTH GUARDIAN ANGEL	Gordon MacLeod - John Vitz
OBJECTIVE*: To EXPLORE and ENJOY a selected portion of Zion National Park. METHOD: Traverse Russell Gulch and a portion of the Left Fork of North Creek; bag South Guardian Angel and North Guardian Angel (since they happen to be in the vicinity - J. Vitz). LEADERS: ART DE GOEDE, HARVEY HICKMAN, BARBARA and ROY MAGNUSON, BILL SANDERS, GRAHAM STEPHENSON, JOHN VITZ and 5 VITZIANS (and that, John, is an example of a Vitzism). PARTICIPANTS: GORDON MACLEOD, ERIC SCHUMACHER and ANDY SMATKO (and any of the above leaders who would complete their lists with South Guardian Angel). MEET: In the little cross-road town of Virgin, Utah, some 23 miles to the east of St. George on Hwy. 15 after breakfast at 9:00 a.m. L.A. time on Saturday, 28 October 1972. (St. George would be a good place for breakfast.) __________________   *REAL OBJECTIVE: (as suggested by J. Vitz) To put GORDON MACLEOD, ERIC SCHUMACHER, ANDY SMATKO, ET.AL. on top of South Guardian Angel, thereby completing their DPS Lists.

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