User:PMartzen

I grew up in Dinuba, California in the San Joaquin Valley. Caving became a passion starting in 1972, but within a few years I focused mostly on Rock Climbing. I climbed mostly in the Sierra National Forrest, Yosemite, and Sequoia Kings, but occasionally in other areas. I took up whitewater kayaking in 1982 and became fairly proficient, even doing a few first descents, such as the Dinkey Creek Waterfalls section. The combination of skills from caving, climbing and whitewater made exploring side canyons and odd locations fun.

In 1984 while swimming in the NF Kings River in beautiful potholes near an old wrecked car it seemed to me that jumping a waterfall, then swimming and scrambling to see what was around the corner would be really fun. The next year two friends and I ventured downstream with a few slings and 150 foot of rope. I lowered my friends then jumped after them. At what's now called the Black Hole it was clear we had not brought enough gear. I lowered into the Black Hole and swam out to the lip of the big rappel. I gamely tried to stuff a knot into the flaring seams on the right side of the waterfall, without success and knowing full well that we did not have enough rope for the drop, anyway. We retreated back up the canyon, climbing two waterfalls and going around one, vowing to come back. Barry Chambers and I came back a month or so later and bolted the critical rappels to bring the route down to our level. We brought a few friends the next year and a few more the year after that and a few more in each subsequent year till some friends were leading their own trips. We called it Canyoneering as we didn't know what else to call what we were doing. That particular route became known as The Jump Trip. (Lower Jump Trip after we also started doing Upper Jump Trip)

I have not done a lot of canyons compared to many folks these days, but I have been fortunate enough live near and explore some very pretty ones.