4/30/10 - UT, North Wash and Trachyte Canyons

Photos:  http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3890823007/a=38054161

 

    I was hoping to get out to Capitol Reef, to do one of the canyons that has been on my list for a long time - Pandora's Box.  Unfortunately, the weather forecast was not looking good, with highs in the 40's and 40 percent chance of rain and snow.  Capitol Reef canyons also hold more water, so there would likely be swims in the canyons.  The forecast looked a little better around North Wash.  My good friends Tom and Synthia were joining me for the weekend, and Synthia hadn't been feeling well this week.  Since the North Wash canyons are much shorter than the big plans I had for the Reef, we decided en-route that we'd head to the North Wash and Trachyte canyons this trip instead of the Reef.

    It was a pretty drive out there; including being able to see the deep contrasts of snow on the red mountains near Glenwood.  We got there pretty late, so we quickly set up camp and tried to get as much sleep as we could.

 

Friday 4/30:

    We woke up as twilight was just starting, and had some breakfast.  We quickly packed up and drove out to the the trailhead for Yellow Brick Road.  Tom's Subaru had to be driven carefully on the road out there; especially at two wash crossings.  Made it out there okay though; with only a little rub on one of the crossings.

    We started hiking around 7:45am; and passed across the head of Witches Cauldron.  We wanted to see the view from the top of a Butte, so we followed a old faint road up to the top.  Beautiful views.  We then dropped into what we thought was the Yellow Brick Road drainage.  The beta said that most people skip the head of the canyon; but it was a pretty fun canyon.  Had some challenging downclimbs; and then we got to a pretty big rappel. 

    Hmmm.  Well, maybe this was bypassed by others.  The land seemed to allow a bypass; but we were here to go down the watercourse.  Looked like a big water filled pothole after the rap.  Maybe we would be getting wet early (and we didn't bring wetsuits, as the canyon is supposed to be pretty open and the Trachyte area is generally fairly dry.  At least, compared to many other canyon areas.)  I did the rap; which was around 80 ft, and saw that we could easily get around the pothole.  It was now around 9:30am; and I called for Tom and Synthia to follow.

    We bypassed the water filled pothole, and continued downcanyon to another sculpted slot.  This one had a 30 foot rappel, that went through another layer.  Hmmm.  Nothing about this in the description.  Now I'm beginning to wonder if we are in the right canyon.  There has been plenty of possible exits though; so I figured we would just continue downcanyon (and we had plenty of rope with us, so no concerns there either.)  We did the rap, and then came to another water filled pothole.  This one had a shelf on the right; but it got pretty thin in a spot.  None of us wanted to swim, so we took the shelf.  Wasn't too difficult.  Then we came to another pool that looked like another swim.

    This one was going to be a challenge.  There were some sparse features on the left wall; which looked like maybe, just maybe, we could traverse across to the shore.  I went first, and it was definitely challenging.  Not only were the features quite small; but there wasn't really good handholds and you also had to battle a bush near the end.  I ended up making it across though; so next was Synthia.

    She made good progress, but started to slip when she was nearing the shore.  I tried my best to help; but she ended up pulling me.  I tried to grab the bush, but the small branch broke off in my hand and both she and I went into the water.  Fortunately, it was only up to her thigh, and I only got one foot wet.  Tom was able to make the climb across.

    We came to another slot section, which then had another rappel into water; and this is where my thoughts that we were in a different canyon were confirmed.  It was now around 10am and this was the canyon's final drop; the rest of the canyon was open and riparian.  I figured we were in another branch of the same canyon system as Yellow Brick Road.  I had been watching, and there were many possible exits.  We took one that was direct; and had some pretty good upclimbing.  Turns out that we should have taken the mellow one, as we had to do an equally stiff downclimb to get to where we would have gotten to with our other mellow alternative. 

    It worked out fine though, and sure enough; when we crested the ridge, there was the Tik Tok bridge of Yellow Brick Road.  Whoops.  Might be a good idea to pay attention to the map.  All went well though; and we got to the start of Yellow Brick Road; and came down it.  The rap through Tik Tok bridge was definitely cool.  We then did close to our same initial escape route, and made our way back to the car.  Stopped and had lunch on the way back to the car, and ended up getting back to the car around 12:30pm.  Overall, our mistake actually paid off big; as it added another nice canyon to tack on to the long hike for the short Yellow Brick Road canyon.  Since we didn't know if the canyon had a name; we decided we would name it.

    We decided to name it Kansas; as it wasn't where we really wanted to be; but it was a nice canyon to visit once.  No real need to go back there; so the name fit well.  (Kind of how I feel about the state.)  It also fit within the Land of Oz theme of the area.  (Those wanting to extend the day with more slot could start in Kansas, before hitting the Yellow Brick Road...)

    Synthia was now feeling a little tired; but Tom and I were up for more.  We had plenty of time, but I wanted Synthia to experience Witches Cauldron, as it's a fun canyon; the best one in this Trachyte area in my opinion.  So Tom and I decided we would do one or possibly two of the Hogs.  There was also a possibility that Carol, or another couple friends, might meet us tomorrow as well; so we decided we'd start with Hog 4, and then do Hog 3 if we had time.  Those two canyons are the more technical canyons of the Hogs; and aren't really as pretty as Hog 1 and 2.

    This would let Tom and I do the more challenging downclimbing in Hog 4 and 3; and then leave Witches Cauldron and possibly the prettier Hogs (1 and 2) for the day with the gals tomorrow.  We drove to the Hog trailhead, and started hiking in around 1:30pm.  It had been a while since I had done the Hogs, and I didn't have any maps for them (since I was originally planning on heading to Capitol Reef.)  We made it to the head of Hog 4; but it didn't really look familiar.  We dropped in to take a closer look, and then it came back to me.  I definitely remembered it, so we dropped in around 2:15pm and worked our way down.

    The canyon has some stiff downclimbs; but it's really pretty short.  We were at the final rappel around 2:30pm, and then was at the confluence with Hog 1.  We went down the rest of Hog 1, and were at the shortcut upclimb just after 3pm.  We took a short break for some food and drink, and then upclimbed to the rim between Hog 1 and Hog 2.  We contoured around Hog 2, and then started overland.  Things weren't looking right to me; so we decided to head back to Hog 2 and hug the slickrock rather than go overland.  Sure enough; it was as I thought and Hog 3 was a shorter distance (since I remembered it dropping really quickly, just like Hog 4.)  It still didn't look too familiar right at the start (there was more than one possible start for one of the canyons.)  However, after a little scouting, it looked familiar; so we dropped in around 4:30pm.  Like Hog 4, Hog 3 is pretty steep and has some spicy downclimbs.  It's a little bit longer though; but we were still at the final rappel around 5pm.  From there, it's some open canyon but then some bushwhacking.

    Luckily, I was paying attention, as the watercourse started to have a lot of poison ivy.  We went high on a loose slope, but then had to do some scrambling.  Making our way back upcanyon was less than fun; with a lot of bushwhacking and dodging of poison ivy.  Now I see why people usually go downcanyon after completing Hog 3.  We pushed through though, and was back at the shortcut upclimb at 5:45pm.  We took a break, had a snack and some water; and then made the climb back up to the rim.  We were back at the rim around 6:15pm; and we talked about possibly doing another Hog.  We decided we would leave the other two Hogs for the next day; and headed back to the car.  Got to the car around 7pm, and drove back to camp.

    Turns out that in the high winds of today, Tom and Synthia's tent had blown down into the gully.  Synthia had to go retrieve it, and fix the tear that had happened because of it.  They thought they had enough gear in the tent, but apparently did not.  They added some rocks, to make sure it didn't happen again.  We had dinner, talked about the days adventures, laid out the plan for tomorrow, and headed to bed.

 

Saturday 5/1:

    Saturday morning, we again woke up at first light.  Had breakfast and then again drove carefully down the road to the Witches Cauldron trailhead.  We started hiking around 8:15am, and were in the slot by 8:30am.  There's some fun stems over and traverses around potholes, and some good downclimbs.  We got to the Pothole with the Pedestal just before 9am.

    We continued downcanyon through a sculpted section and got to the head of the first narrows around 9:30am.  This section of narrows is really tight.  Jen didn't like it last year; especially since I went high.  The high route was challenging though; so she was better off down low.  This year, I figured I'd try to make it through down low; partially to see what I put Jen through last year and partially to see if I could make it.  There were definitely some tight spots where I had to work my way a little up or down.  Tom and Synthia are really thin, so they didn't have too much trouble.  We all made it fine though, and came to the next open section. 

    I noted the exit, and then we got to the first rappel around 10:30am.  Since I hadn't done the canyon in over a year, and we did it right after a rain storm last year so the keeper pothole wasn't that challenging of an exit, we decided to play it safe.  I figured the keeper might give us more trouble this year, as the water levels were lower.  The most challenging scenario would be a swim, with a three or four foot exit climb.  I remembered the pothole not being easy for making a toss, as the exit was around a bend.  Just to make sure we had a way out, Tom and Synthia wanted to leave a rope at the rappel.  I felt it wasn't necessary, as I pretty much knew we could get out of the pothole (it just might take us some time and effort), but it's better to be safe than sorry.  We rapped down, and left a rope at that rappel.

    We were originally thinking we would go back to retrieve the rope after we got past the pothole, but it turned out to be longer than I remembered to the Keeper pothole; including a stiff downclimb.  No worries, we could get the rope afterwards.  When we reached the Keeper pothole around 11am, it looked like it was in the worst of conditions.  That is, the pothole looked like a swim, with a muddy and slick exit of around four or five feet up to a flaring exit crack.  However, it looked like it was possible to do a very exposed stem high above the pothole. 

    The penalty points for failure were too big though, so we switched to plan B.  It looked like the potshot toss would be much easier up high.  Tom and Synthia changed into their wetsuits as I set up the potshot and tossed it.  It went where I wanted to, and it felt solid.  I came up with a plan; and we anchored the back side of the rope.  I went down, and used the rope as a handline to traverse across the muddy wall, above the water.  It was a little interesting as I couldn't see what the potshot was hooked onto, so it was possible it would tear or break free, and I could have a funny backwards splash into the pothole.  (It would be safe though, as the pothole definitely looked like a swim.)  The plan worked though, and I didn't get wet at all.  We then shuttled packs across using the rope, and then Synthia handlined across. 

    We then engineered a retrievable system where Tom could also handline across; and success!  We all made it across without going into the pothole or getting wet; now around 11:40am.  Ironically, there was a steep downclimb, and then a swim.  Quite the short-lived success of staying dry.  A span over the pool looked too wide for me, so I just went for the swim.  It was quite chilly, as I never stopped to put on my wetsuit.  Synthia followed me across, but Tom did a stretching span and made it across without getting wet.  Sure is nice to be tall...  (made me wonder if I could have made the span though.  I'll have to try next time...)

    Soon afterwards was the stemming section of canyon that some rate an X.  It is a traverse across; and while it is definitely a decent height above the ground (sometimes around 50 feet above the deck), it's pretty solid.  You have to go up a little to get to a good height so it definitely requires some effort though.  That section isn't too long though; and we were at the final downclimb or handline around 12:15pm. 

    I think the hard constriction has opened up a little, as the downclimb was easier than I remember it being.  I don't think I had to go out as far as I did last time.  There is a cool final hanging pothole near the bottom of the downclimb; and we were all down before 12:25pm. 

    From there, it's a little more stemming above some water, and then the canyon opens up.  We got to the arch at 12:30pm, and were at a good open spot near the upclimb around 12:45pm.  Here, we stopped and had some lunch.  We relaxed and enjoyed the sun until around 1:15pm, and then started up the exit climb.  Tom broke off to go retrieve the rope; and Synthia and I continued up a little.  Synthia then waited for Tom; and I continued up to check a possible exit to the rim.

    It worked fine, so I waited up on the rim.  Synthia saw Tom on the way back up, so she picked up his pack and carried her pack and his to the rim.  We continued towards the car around 2pm, and were back at the car before 2:30pm.  Plenty of time to do the Hogs.

    Synthia was again feeling a little tired, and was thinking of skipping the Hogs.  We had plenty of time though, so we said we could take an easy pace through.  She could also pass on the second Hog if she got really tired.  She agreed to give it a shot, so we drove to the Hog trailhead, now around 3:15pm.  Here, we saw a note from Brian and Adrianna; and shortly ran across them on the trail.  They had done Hog 2 and were on their way out.  We tried to convince them to come in and do Hog 1 with us, but they had enough and were heading back to camp.  We told them we'd chat with them later, and continued on.

    We were at the head of Hog 1 around 3:45pm, and dropped in.  We set a handline at the awkward drop, and continued downclimbing and enjoying the canyon.  It was much better than I had remembered it.  There were some great tight spots, some beautiful sculpting, some fun stemming and more.  Definitely a great canyon.  It started to get windy and even rained a little.  Not enough to be worried about though (except the shortcut exit would be more challenging if wet.)  Regardless, we had another exit if necessary; so we continued downcanyon.

    We reached the rappel around 4:45pm, and after some more downclimbing, made it to the confluence with Hog 4 before 5:15pm.  From there, it was a known distance; as we just did it the day before.  There is still some good canyon; including a fun elevator.  We made it to the shortcut route; and took a short break for some food and water.

    We then climbed back up to the rim, and made it to the head of Hog 2 around 6:15pm.  I hadn't done the big rappel before, so we decided to go down the watercourse.  There was a small amount of downclimbing, and then we got to the big rappel.  Not many people do the big rappel (there's a bypass), so there was a bit of loose rock.  We carefully made our way down and pulled the line around 6:30pm.

    Not too long after the big rappel, we came across Brian and Adrianna's footprints.  Hog 2 has some fun downclimbs; including some moderate off the deck stems (but pretty safe with good features.)  We got to the second rappel around 7pm.  Since we were running low on daylight left, I went down first and set up the third rappel.  The third rappel (second for most, if you bypass the big drop) was really cool.  You rappel down into a silo chamber; and the sculpting is really beautiful.  We were all on the ground around 7:15pm.

    The canyon then had a pretty long open section, then slotted up again.  There were some more fun downclimbs and a little tight section.  Soon we were at the high exposure section that I thought was the final downclimb to the birthing canal.  I dropped in first, and it was definitely the final drop.  Fun dark section with a challenging bombay at the bottom.  We all were on the ground shortly after 7:30pm, and again hiked to the shortcut upclimb.

    We took one last break for a snack and some water, and then made the upclimb again back to the rim.  We skirted the head of Hog 1, and then hiked back and made it to the car just as it was getting dark at 8:45pm.  Now that was a great day!  Overall, I thought Witches Cauldron was still the best canyon in this area.  Hog 1 was my next favorite.  Hog 2 had some cool rappels, definitely the best of the canyons; but Hog 1 was more sustained and had a lot more variety and cool stuff.  All three canyons of the day were great though.

    We got back to camp, made dinner, and chatted with Brian for a few.  Tried to convince him to join us tomorrow; we were planning on doing the Woodchuck/Woody loop as tomorrow was forecasted to be the best weather with 65 and sunny.  He would see in the morning. 

   

Sunday 4/18:

    Woke up early to high winds; not a good sign.  Upon exiting the tent, the sky was overcast and I saw rain South of us and new snow coming down on the Henries.  Likely not a big weather window here; so I started to pack up my stuff and put it in the car around 6:30am.  Unfortunately, when I had my tent halfway down, the rain started.  I called to Tom and Synthia to stay warm and dry in their tent; and hopefully it would blow over soon.  (Didn't look like it though.)  I hurriedly threw the rest of my stuff in the car; and then got into the car in the only small open area in the back seat; hoping the weather would break soon.

    It didn't, and before long, the rain increased; and then it started to snow.  It snowed harder, and harder; it was really coming down.  The windows were pretty much covered, so I opened the door every once in a while to take a look around.  Snow covered the ground.  Boy, the weather people definitely missed the mark on this one.  This was supposed to be the best of the three days; the whole weekend forecast was flipped.  The days that were supposed to be best were the worst and vice versa.

    I had my netbook with me, so I ended up trying to stay warm in the car and watched a movie while envying Tom and Synthia snug and warm in their tent.  The weather finally broke around 11am; so we finished packing up the car and headed out.  We were all glad that we pushed hard the day before and got the three canyons in; since we no longer had time to do one today.  We made the drive home, and stopped in Glenwood at our favorite Mexican joint.  

    While it was a little disappointing not being able to get any canyons in on Sunday, overall it was still a great trip with a lot of fun canyons; and most importantly, it was great to have spent the weekend with Tom and Synthia as I hadn't seen them in a long time.  Would have been nice to spend more time with Brian and Adrianna too, but I guess that leaves something for next time...

 

   
Hope you enjoy the pics!

A.J.

 

Photos:  http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3890823007/a=38054161

Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish