In mid-October, Max and I headed to Capitol Reef NP for the Wasatch Mountain Club Canyoneering Rendezvous. There, we led canyons for three days and got to reconnect with old friends and met some new folks as well.
On our first day, we led one of our favorite routes – Fire Canyon and Cassidy Arch. Fire Canyon is not as well-known as many surrounding canyons, mostly due to its location far from any trailhead, which requires a long hike in and out. The route starts at the Cassidy Arch trail, goes all the way up to the top of the trail and continues up the Frying Pan trail until it’s time to descend into the canyon. Fire Canyon is located right in the middle between Cassidy Arch and the Cohab (Wife) canyons. The entire route, car to car, is about 9 miles with 2,500 feet elevation gain for the day. We had a great group consisting of: Shawn Bagci, Maggie Mahoney, Beth Blattenberger and Olga Pyatokha and were able to complete both canyons in about 11 hours.
One of the wonderful things about hiking all the way out to Fire Canyon is the hike itself, featuring unbelievable views of Capitol Reef. The Frying Pan trail is one of my favorite trails in the park and is a highly recommended shuttle hike from the Cassidy Arch parking lot to the parking lot right next to the pie shop. I suggest getting your pies in the morning before the hike, as they sell out pretty quickly and are a perfect treat at the end of the day!
Fire Canyon is a fairly short but very beautiful canyon with a variety of challenges to keep you on your toes. There are seven rappels, some of which can be downclimbed by the skilled. Prior to dropping into the canyon, we explored the upper section that has some small slots that are fun to poke around in. The first rappel is one of my favorites, a 125-foot walk down a red rock face, with a white rim around the top. The white/red sandstone combination persists through most of the canyon and really adds to its beauty.
Fairly soon, we found a rappel down a polished purple chute that took us into the heart of the canyon, and opened to a wide sandstone ramp that plunges down very quickly. Halfway down the slope, we rappelled down into a narrow crack with a rabbit hole going under a large chockstone that emerged into the main wash. The canyon slotted up again, and soon we encountered our first pool of water, located at the bottom of another narrow crack. Shawn Bagci volunteered to belay everyone down before climbing down the crack himself.
We were now at the last and most exciting rappel of the canyon, which involves an elevator downclimb or belay down a very narrow chute to a hanging chockstone, from which you rappel down the same narrow crack about 25 feet into a shallow pool of water. Max Feingold went first and rigged the rappel. Shawn Bagci volunteered to meat belay everyone down to the chockstone and I walked everyone through hanging their packs and getting on this particularly sketchy rappel. I believe everyone’s adrenaline got a good workout here 
.
The exit from the crack is also quite exciting as you have to do some acrobatics to get your backpack through the crack until it opens up into a pool. There’s one last obstacle, a waist deep pool to wade through and then you’re out of the canyon and right back onto the Frying Pan trail.
I might post about Cassidy Arch at a later date as it deserves its own space.
Fire Canyon to Cassidy Arch is definitely one of my favorite loops in the park, combining two gorgeous canyons into one long but very fun day.
Full beta for Fire canyon is available here: Fire Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park) – ropewiki
You will also need to get a free permit from Capitol Reef NP: Canyoneering – Capitol Reef National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
