Canyoneering (rappelling, hiking, waters) from a newbie's view: I've only done Pine Creek (1st time canyoneering) and Mystery (2nd time canyoneering). Both are great but I would do Mystery again if I had to chose between them. Mystery is technical. I went end of May 2012 and it was great! Got there around 9am, and the canyons and downward hike was very cool until getting to really dry outdoor areas then it got hot. Other then that it wasn't really that hot. The weather was great when we went. You end up rappelling off a mini waterfall into Riverside (river knee high at time) and walk into the Temple of Sinawava area at the end. Beginning part is really tricky.....I was basically slide falling the whole time down, so dangerous (this is after the 45min walk to this place). Also, LOGS are very slippery from the rain or water. And there are some shortcut walks and downward climbs you can do around some of the smaller rappels instead of rappelling. Some downward climbs here are tricky, and I slip every time (get spotted!) But there are two big rappels you can't miss! Definitely need daisy chains for those. Came with 2 Trip leaders, 2 experienced canyoneers but 1st time here, and me and bf were newbies. Took us around 8hours to complete? But we were really trucking the beginning through cause the other group got stuck behind people the day before and took them 10hours? But they went with more newbies. Recommend: Some type of thick full gloves cause you'll be trying to grab whatever plants or rocks or items are around when going downhill in the beginning. No need to wear your harness until rappelling areas. If the river isn't too high, doubt you'll really need a dry bag for jackets and such unless you're bringing cameras and such. Water was nice so no jackets were needed. Water/hike (canyoneer) shoes and neoprene socks would be really nice to wear, you can get rentals). Bring at least 1L water per person, I brought 1.5L bottle from REI and that was perfect for a big water drinker. And remember to bring lunch, and your daisy chains! Rope - I'm sure your trip leaders will know what to bring. REQUIRED: A permit is required. Not sure how it works but our trip leaders got them so here's the link to more info: http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/subway-and-mystery-canyon-reservations.htm. Go with professionals, or people that know what they're doing. Canyoneering is no joke. Info about path, tips and more about Mystery Canyon: http://canyoneeringusa.com/utah/zion/mystery.php http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-mystery-canyon.htm read more