canyoneering

Mineral Creek, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA

At the end of July we had the pleasure of hosting our nephew for his first trip to Washington. Aron is an athletic 14 yo who runs competitively at his school in NJ. We were a bit worried we wouldn’t be able to keep up with him! This was also his first trip alone and away from his immediate family, so it was a big week for everyone. Aron was very excited to learn to canyoneer and we had a whole plan to get him started on the rappelling wall at The Mountaineers followed by a trip to Pilot Creek, our favorite training creek. Alas, the weather was not cooperating. We had one nice day right after he flew in, and then it was going to rain for two days after that, so we switched up our plans. The next morning after his delayed flight which got us home [...]

By |2024-09-04T23:49:54+00:00July 30, 2024|canyoneer, washington|0 Comments
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Minaret Canyon to Mineral Gulch

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 [...]

By |2024-09-03T23:42:04+00:00May 12, 2024|canyoneer, hikeaneer, Utah|0 Comments
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Micro Death Hollow, Escalante, Utah

At the beginning of May, our friend Sri came to visit Utah and proposed a weekend in Escalante. We jumped at the chance to take our new RV trailer out for a test run. We drove up on Friday night and found a fantastic dispersed RV camping area right off Hole in the Rock road. There were a number of RVs already there, but we had privacy and it was extremely quiet. The next morning we met up with some friends on a balmy day and headed into Micro Death Hollow, a great canyon with a scary name. This is a short canyon that definitely packs a punch, depending on water levels. Several members of our party did not have wetsuits, so we were hoping that conditions were not too wet but planned for an early exit via the sneak route if needed. No permits are needed and beta [...]

By |2024-07-09T22:22:09+00:00May 5, 2024|canyoneer, remote canyon, Utah|0 Comments
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Averett Canyon and Willis Creek Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante NM, Utah

Water in the desert is a magical occurrence, especially if it’s fresh and flowing. One of our more pleasant local hikes on a lazy spring day is Willis Creek Slot Canyon, located right off Skutumpah Road in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Specific information on how to find the trailhead is available here: Willis Creek Narrows | Easy Slot Canyon Hike | Visit Utah. Unlike most of our adventures, this is a family-friendly hike, appropriate for all ages, walking down a mostly flat, gently flowing creek. There are three sets of narrows to see, spanning a little over a mile each way. If you venture to the end of the third narrows, you will find yourself at the confluence with Averett Canyon, the other subject of this post. Willis Creek holds a special place in our hearts as it was the first slot canyon we ever entered, many years [...]

By |2024-06-06T03:26:41+00:00April 14, 2024|hike, hikeaneer, Utah|0 Comments
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Portal Canyon, Virgin River Gorge, Arizona

The Virgin River Gorge, known as the VRG, is a place of transitions and contradictions. It is the intersection of the Colorado Plateau and the Mojave Desert, between sandstone and limestone, between an incredibly arid climate and the Virgin River flowing through it, between remote wilderness and nearby civilization. Located between St. George and Mesquite, the VRG is accessed through I-15, one of the most expensive highway projects ever constructed. This section of highway is a challenging drive in the best of conditions due to an extremely curvy road, small shoulders and surprisingly high speeds. Add in high winds or darkness and the fact that there is no cell signal in most of the Gorge and the drive can become somewhat nerve-wracking. There are several technical canyons in the VRG, accessible through small pullouts off I-15, if you know where to look. This area is popular in the winter [...]

By |2024-06-05T05:04:10+00:00April 7, 2024|arizona, canyoneer|0 Comments
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Rim Shot, Moab, Utah

It was the last Sunday of March, and we woke up to a blizzard. We were staying in Monticello for the weekend to meet up with friends and run some canyons in Moab. The day before, Mike Bilotta had taken us through the incredible Fiery Furnace. Today, the weather forecast was extremely iffy but supposed to be clearing up around 11am. We ate breakfast and packed up to head to Moab. The canyon we had selected for Sunday, Rim Shot, was short and open, more of a cliffaneering route than a canyon, with very low risk of flash flooding. No permits are required for this canyon and beta is available here: Rim Shot - ropewiki. We convened with our party at 11am in a parking lot along the highly scenic Colorado River corridor. As soon as we arrived, the weather decided to really pick up and give it one [...]

By |2024-06-03T03:44:25+00:00March 31, 2024|canyoneer, Utah|0 Comments
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Soap Creek, Grand Canyon, Arizona

Soap Creek is a thoroughly delightful canyon, located in Marble Canyon, Arizona. This short and engaging canyon has it all – a fantastic approach (straight off a parking lot), gorgeous views, interesting and beautiful rappels and a challenging scramble back to the car. This canyon requires a short shuttle, with the entry in a large parking lot next to Cliff Dwellers Lodge off Highway 89A. The drainage starts immediately next to the parking lot, with a few minutes’ walk under a bridge that crosses the highway. Beta is available here: Soap Creek Canyon - ropewiki. No permits are required. When we did this canyon in mid-March, there was water flowing all throughout the wash, which made for a very fun day. When we started out that morning, it was cold and windy, so we were very much interested in not getting wet if possible, but we still brought our [...]

By |2024-05-09T04:00:02+00:00March 10, 2024|arizona, canyoneer, grand canyon|0 Comments
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Badger Canyon, Grand Canyon, Arizona

After five posts in a row about Death Valley, it’s time to move on to something completely different. Let’s talk about the Grand Canyon! There are a number of great technical canyons near Page, Arizona that we wanted to visit. The first canyon we explored was the North Fork of Badger Canyon with our niece Mira and our friends Mel Rader and Kieran Corrigan. It was wonderful of Mel and Kieran to take the day off and play with us. Badger is a short canyon that is easily accessible from US 89A in Marble Canyon, Arizona. From a pullout right by the highway, you can drop right into the canyon drainage. There are no permits required and beta is available here: Badger Canyon - ropewiki. To give you a brief overview, the north fork of Badger has four rappels and a short walk to the Colorado River. There are [...]

By |2024-05-09T04:18:47+00:00February 20, 2024|arizona, canyoneer, grand canyon|0 Comments
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Grotto Canyon Layer Fork, Death Valley NP, California

The day after Styx, we thought we would up the ante a bit by making an attempt on Grotto Canyon (Layer Fork), located near Mosaic Canyon in the Stovepipe Wells area. We were waiting for our friends Chelsea and Vyonne at Stovepipe Wells Village when they pulled up with Tom Jones! Tom was at the Death Valley Rendezvous and decided to accept Chelsea’s invitation to join our group. I was secretly wondering if we all knew what we were getting into! Grotto Layer Fork is most definitely one of the best canyons we have been to in Death Valley so far (we have barely scratched the surface) but is a pretty high pay to play proposition. No permits are required, aside from park entry. Beta is found here: Grotto Canyon (South Fork, Death Valley) - ropewiki. The approach is a 3,400 foot climb up and up and up steep [...]

By |2024-04-27T00:25:02+00:00February 18, 2024|california, canyoneer|0 Comments
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Styx Canyon (North Fork), Death Valley NP, California

In mid-February, our niece Mira came to visit us for her “reading week”. The request was for warm weather and a lot of desert. We did our best to oblige, although the weather forecast was uncertain at best. Death Valley was an obvious choice that met both of the requirements, with some caveats. The weekend prior to our trip, a strong storm had come through from California refilling Lake Manly and closing many of the roads in the park, including the road to Dante’s View. In addition, that weekend was the Death Valley Canyoneering Rendezvous, which brought a crowd of canyoneers to the park. Our plan was to do Styx Canyon North Fork, one of the classic canyons starting at Dante’s View and descending 6,000 feet to Badwater Basin. This was a great opportunity to invite our Vegas friends to come play with us along with Rick Kent who [...]

By |2024-03-21T02:18:24+00:00February 17, 2024|california, canyoneer|0 Comments
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