Continuing our hikeaneering spree in May, we explored a new route in the remote East Fork of the Virgin River near Zion NP. The goal was to walk down to Mineral Gulch, which is normally accessed via Meadow Creek and is a 16-mile round-trip hike. However, being able to descend Minaret Canyon easily turns this trek into an exciting day trip, well worth the price of admission, which involves a 4WD vehicle with good clearance.
We met very early in the morning at the Elephant Cove trailhead, ready for a long day. Our adventure began with a 10-mile drive down a deep-sand and very sketchy OHV road. With each branching, the trail got more narrow and more sandy if possible. After what felt like a very bumpy eternity, but was probably about 30-40 minutes, we descended a large and very sandy hill and found the small parking pullout. Who needs coffee when you have terrible roads? We agreed we were all very wide awake and slightly concerned about getting back up that hill of sand. But that was a problem for future us.
The approach to Minaret Canyon is an easy 1.7-mile scramble down the Minaret drainage, which starts very close to the parking pullout. The walls deepen and form some interesting obstacles, including a rabbit hole that is nearly blocked by logs and debris piled up by flash floods. As the walls deepen, very pretty narrows appear. The technical section is marked by beautiful sculped sandstone walls. This canyon is very photogenic and would be a great introduction to both technical canyoneering and slot canyons. It appears to be guided for this purpose, as all of the rappels and downclimbs are bolted.
There are only three rappels and the same number of downclimbs, so the technical section is quite short, but makes up for its brevity with real beauty. The sandstone walls are wonderfully fluted and the longest rappel descends a steep dryfall that makes it look like you are descending into a dark subterranean passage. There is a breathtaking arch in the main chamber right after this rappel that is worthy of Antelope Canyon.
After one more rappel and downclimb down a fluted chute, we emerged into a riparian corridor that is apparently popular with a herd of cows. This area is full of springs and seeps and is very damp. We gingerly walked on the soggy ground avoiding cow patties and wet hoof prints. A little ways down is the exit for the canyon that we would take much later on our return. We continued down to the Virgin River, which was blocked off by a barbed wire fence. Fortunately, we were able to locate a small gap where we could step over the fence and enter the river corridor. Here, we left our canyoneering gear and ropes, lightened our packs and enjoyed lunch on the bank.
A relatively short walk up the Virgin (less than a half mile) brought us to the confluence with Mineral Gulch, where the green water of the Virgin met the milky white, cloudy water from Mineral. The ground became very soft and muddy as we struggled through the ankle-deep stream but firmed up fairly quickly.
About a mile up Mineral, we entered the first set of narrows, looking very otherworldly with sandstone walls folding into each other above the milky water. All told, we found three sets of narrows in our two mile walk up the Gulch, each more striking than the last. Large trees wedged horizontally across the canyon walls were a stark reminder of the power of water. Near the end of our trek, we encountered a natural dam made of large logs wedged across the width of the canyon, creating a waterfall and a climbing obstacle. We were able to climb the logs to explore the canyon above for a short while before turning back.
We returned the way we came, picked up our gear and backtracked a little bit to the exit route for Minaret Canyon. The exit involves a scramble up a steep but very manageable sandstone slope, with about 500 feet elevation gain. There is a trail at the top that leads right back into the Minaret drainage we came down and deposited us back near the cars. Overall, this was a 9-mile hike and took us seven hours car to car. Definitely a fun day exploring a remote part of Zion that very few people ever get to see.
