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1 trip Hogwarts Canyon - North Wash
Date: 02/27/2020
Hogwarts Canyon - 3A II North Wash, Utah. Quick Facts 10-13-12, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4 hours) Relaxed pace and time to look at the alcove on exit. Time Required - 2.5 to 3.5 hours Distance - 1.3 miles Total, 0.3 miles Technical Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet. Elevation Range - 4060 - 4580 Feet Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No Gear Used for Canyon Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 90 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement. General Comments Hogwarts is a short but very fun and scenic canyon worth the trip. Worth future revisits as well! There is one silo to cross but it is not too wide and is more of a galumph than a stem. While relatively easy it is still possible to slip down into the semi keeper pothole below.  Keep a rope handy to help people across if needed. There generally will be little to no water in Hogwarts and the water is generally avoidable. While Hogwarts is rated an A canyon since there are places you may get your feet wet if you fail to avoid water when the canyon is wet. If there is a lot of recent rain you may find a couple spots to bridge / galumph to get over a pool. There are 3 drops near the head of the canyon that can be set as rappels and can add to the rap count. All 3 of these drops are easily bypassed on the RDC side making them completely optional. This route description does not call these rappels but some people may.  Keep this in mind if your rap count differs from this description. Driving Directions To get to the Trailhead From the junction of highways 95 and 276 (about 25 miles south of Hanksville) drive southeast on highway 95 for 7.2 miles to the Hog Springs parking area on the right (pkHogSprings).  This is a large parking area with bathrooms on the right.  Park here to start the route. To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route. Details The Approach: From Hog Springs parking area (pkHogSprings) walk west up Hog Canyon about 650 feet to a side ravine coming in from the left (south). From the side ravine (jHogWarts) look at the left (southeast) side to the large ravine / side canyon. Note a much smaller and more shallow ravine like feature running up the left (north) side of the large ravine.  Leave the Hog Canyon drainage and route find your way up that smaller ravine paralleling the large ravine. The first 300 feet of the ascent is semi steep then it levels off a bit.  About 900 feet from the Hog Canyon drainage the route drops into the large ravine you had been paralleling just above a large drop. From the top of the large drop (Hogwarts01) walk up canyon a little over 100 feet to the bottom of a rubble filled ramp going up the left (northeast) side. From the bottom of the rubble filled ramp (Hogwarts02) go about 200 feet to where it tops out on the next higher level. From the top of the ramp (Hogwarts03) route find your way southeast up the left side and find your way a few hundred feet up to the ridge above. Travel up the LUC side at an angle up away from the drainage and kind of contouring up canyon and up ridge at the same time. Once up on the ridge (Hogwarts04) follow south up the ridge then down to a shallow saddle a few hundred feet away.  From this ridge you have good views down to the Hogwarts drainage about 500 feet to the east. From the shallow saddle (Hogwarts05) route find your way southeast down the ravine about 450 feet down into the Hogwarts drainage (yHogwartsTp). The Canyoneering / Technical Section: Once down in Hogwarts at the head of the canyon (yHogwartsTp) start north down canyon.  Shortly down canyon is a short drop to bypass RDC before getting to a series of 3 drops to bypass on the RDC side. The three drops (Hogwarts06) can be rappelled if desired but all 3 easily bypassed on the RDC side. If rappelled the first drop is about 40 feet. There are rocks, bushes and other options for these drops if you decide to set anchors for rappel. Otherwise bypass and downclimb around each of these on the RDC side. Rap 1 is about 250 feet down canyon. Rap 1 (dHogwartsR1) you can rap down through the water course over a two stage rap using one of many anchor options. We decided to avoid the water at the bottom and used an anchor from a large rock out a ways on the RDC rim to rap about 50 feet down to the canyon floor past the water. Rap 2 is about 150 feet down canyon. Rap 2 (dHogwartsR2) is anchored from a pinch between a large choke stone and the LDC wall and drops about 50 feet to the bottom. This arch is well worth the visit to rap through. From the bottom of rap 3 is a short scramble down to a sandy area that can have water if full from recent rains. Just after rap 2 is some galumphing down to a silo (Hogwarts07) you need to stem over. The stem over the silo is not too wide and is more of a galumph than a stem. While relatively easy it is still possible to slip down into the semi keeper pothole below. Keep a rope handy to help people across if needed. After is short section to galumph down through before getting to a sandy area where you walk out to the next rap. Rap 3 (dHogwartsR3) is anchored from an arch between pockets in the wall on the RDC side back from the drop a bit and about head high then drops about 75 feet and over a couple ledges. From the bottom of rap 3 it is a 300 foot walk out to rap 4. Rap 4 (dHogwartsR4) is anchored from a large flat rock laying on the RDC rim and drops about 90 feet with some free hang on the upper half.  From the bottom of the rap walk the wash about 300 feet out to North Wash and the highway (yHogwartsBt).  The Exit: From the North Wash drainage (yHogwartsBt) You can scramble up to the highway on the other side then turn left to walk northwest about 0.34 miles back to the car. Optionally you can turn left and walk up the drainage of North Wash about 900 feet up to a huge alcove (HogAlcove) up on the bank for a scenic walk through. The alcove / arch is huge and is pretty interesting to check out. After looking at the arch continue up the North Wash drainage back to the cars.
1 trip Blarney Canyon - North Wash
Date: 02/26/2020
The Approach: From where you parked on the dirt road (pkBlarney) you will see the dirt road continue on into the wash that leads up into Blarney. Walk north west across the road and follow a faint path up out of the wash the road was going up. You will find yourself on a high spot between the wash the road was following and another drainage on the right (south west). Continue north west between these two drainages. About 350 feet from the car will be the base of a slick rock slope (wBlarneyRP-01). Scramble north up the sandstone slope to gain access to the ridge running between the two drainages. After about 375 feet the slope levels off a little but still continues climbing. After another 450 feet is a smooth sandstone high point along the ridge (wBlarneyRP-02). From this smooth high point is a view of a huge rock face ahead about 500 feet away. Then another 300 feet is another high point that has more of a rock out cropping look (wBlarneyRP-03). Skirt around the left (west) side of the high point and continue toward the huge rock face. After another 200 feet you will be at the base of the huge rock face (wBlarneyRP-04). Follow a well worn trail around the left (west) side of the rock face. Another 550 feet will be a scramble up a section of slick rock (wBlarneyRP-05). At the top of the slick rock the trail continues north and is still easy to follow. The trail here is following the rim of the canyon on your right which is a side drainage of Blarney. About another 350 feet will be another slick rock slope (wBlarneyRP-06) to scramble up about 50 or 60 feet high. A cairn may be at the top to help guide you. At the top the trail continues still roughly following the rim on the right (east) side. From the junction continue right toward the Left Fork of Blarney. About 0.3 miles along the still easy to follow trail is another trail junction (wBlarneyRP-07). The left is faint and not well traveled. Instead continue right (east) on the still well worn trail following the rim of the Left Fork of Blarney. You will have good views down into Blarney shortly before reaching this trail junction. About 650 feet after the trail junction the trail crosses over a drainage (yBlarneyLtFkTp). This is the drainage you will drop into to start down the Left Fork of Blarney. The Canyon / Technical Section:ical Section: After crossing the wash at the head of the Left Fork of Blarney (yBlarneyLtFkTp) turn right (south) and follow along the rim about 70 feet down canyon to find an easy scramble down to the flat canyon floor. From the bottom of the scramble, walk down canyon about 80 feet to the top of rap 1. Rap 1 for the Left Fork of Blarney (dBlarneyLtFkR1) is anchored from a large boulder about 20 feet back and drops about 40 feet from the lip of the drop. Rap starts down a fluted trough for about half the rap then down a rough wall with a short spot of free hang. At the bottom of Rap 1 you are on the main canyon floor in a wide open area. Note: Rap 1 can be bypassed. To bypass rap 1, walk about 250 feet east to the head of another drainage dropping down to the canyon floor (wBlarneyRP-11). To down climb the drainage, follow a gentle slope down the LDC side then work back up into the drainage. Continue down the drainage to the bottom where you will need to jump down about 3 feet to the canyon floor. If you are a good down climber the rest of Left Fork of Blarney can be down climbed as well. About 100 feet down canyon of rap 1 is the start of a narrow slot (wBlarneyRP-08) with a down climb to get down into the slot. At the top of the down climb is a large boulder choke stone wedged between the walls. Down climb under the choke stone through the hole then chimney down about 20 or 25 feet. It is possible to climb over the choke stone but the start down into the chimney is exposed and has a sketchy start. After the down climb into the slot the canyon stays only a few feet wide most of the way with a couple down climbs along the way. The first down climb is about 10 feet and is an easy straight forward chimney. The second down climb is about 15 feet and can be a bit awkward starting over a rough boulder choke stone. Stemming down LDC next to the choke stone is simple then followed by a reach under the choke stone with your legs for the opposite wall. Another option on this second down climb is to stem between the canyon walls and go up and over the choke stone then stem down to the floor. Shortly after is a drop of about 4 feet just before reaching the top of rap 2. Rap 2 (dBlarneyLtFkR2) is about 500 feet down canyon of the start of the narrow slot after rap 1. Rap 2 is anchored from a choke stone and drops about 35 feet. Rap 2 drops down into a slightly tighter section with a flat soft sandy bottom. The section just below rap 2 is tighter now and the walls twist a little on the way up so there is little light getting into this spot. Down canyon of rap 2 are a few more down climbs. The first and second down climbs are 10 to 12 feet each and are easy. The third is an elevator of about 20 feet. Depending on the skill set of those that came before you, there may be anchors set up for rappels in unexpected places. This is a short fun elevator, so rapping it robs you of some fun. Shortly after the 20 foot elevator the canyon widens slightly but is still a narrow walk between the walls. The junction with the Right Fork of Blarney (jBlarneyLtRt) is about 0.3 miles down canyon of rap 2. Down canyon of the junction the canyon stays wide and is easy walking along sand and slick rock. About 275 feet down canyon of the junction is a side drainage that joins in from RDC (wBlarneyRP-09). Another 0.2 miles down canyon another drainage joins in this time from LDC (wBlarneyRP-10). Another 500 feet down canyon is the start of another narrows that is only about 100 feet long. At the lower end of the narrows is what I have marked as the bottom exit for the Blarney Canyons (yBlarneyBt) since the rest of the route is wide open easy walking in sand. The Exit: After exiting the 100 foot long narrows (yBlarneyBt) continue down canyon about 0.3 miles back to your car.
1 trip Hog Canyons - North Wash
Date: 02/25/2020
Hog 2 first, then hog 1

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