Smiling Cricket Canyon, also known as Poe Canyon and even L Canyon, was first descended by Mike Bogart and Jenny Hall in 1981 and called Poe Their bold descent went unrepeated and more or less unknown for almost 30 years In 2007, Jason Pease wandered the area looking for canyons and re-found Poe, naming it Smiling Cricket He descended it in the summer of 2008 with Mark Fleck Of the three canyons in the area Happy Dog, Laughing Baboon, and Smiling Cricket, Jason and Mark ended up in the biggest of the three He and M...

Austin, Nevada was founded in the 1860's when silver was found nearby This was the first such discovery in the area, and though not terribly productive, spurred development and a mining boom in the region When visiting Austin today, it is hard to imagine that the sleepy town of less than 200 was a thriving mining city with over 10,000 people in and surrounding Austin Steeped in history, one of the more interesting attractions in Austin today is Stokes Castle This three story stone tower was built by Anson Phelps St...

Tezctlipoca, although a very short tower at about 15 m tall, is very unique in it's shape The climb is short, but the approach hike is delightful with expansive views of the La Sal mountains, San Rafael Swell, Abajo mountains, and even the Henry mountains in the far distance on a clear day Don't expect to see anyone in this area Although close to the highways, it is infrequently visited

Looking at the Sentinel satellite image from 2021-04-19 in Caltopo I don't see any snow in the area There was snow a month earlier on 3/19 but it looks like it had all melted by 4/9 BUT every year is different Post your question again in April outside of 4/9 to 4/16 when I'll be in Kanab Creek and I'll check the latest imagePS You need the "Pro" level on Caltopo $50/year to see the weekly Sentinel satellite images But they are invaluable in the shoulder seasons as the newest is never more that a week old So you can...

I took a look today The view from 4/19 is obscured by clouds 4/14 looks free of snow The 4/4 view showed small patches of snow at high elevations above the road and at the pass between the Bears Ears You may be able to view the different dates using the link I posted on 4/6 Over on the right side where it says "Base Layer" click on the pull-down labeled "Latest" and pick a date

Still dry after latest rain storm Soloed, car to car in 15 hours There is also a low 5th class exit across from the junction with Constrychnine

Descended 5/21/2022 Group of 2 took 4 hours with a visit to the ruins A bad foot cramp slowed one of us down in a lot of the sand/gravel walking, but it was well worth it This canyon feels especially adventurous, even for how technically straightforward and physically easy it was The narrows and technical section were short, but one of the most beautiful slot chambers I've visited The adventurous exit and visit to the ruins all made this well worth it! We even encountered a gopher snake drinking from a small seep a...

I find the Great Salt Lake a fascinating place The scenery and uniqueness of the lake are interesting, but the history and stories of the people who have tried to live and make a life there I find even more fascinating Fremont Island is one of those places on the lake that is steeped in history I had wanted to visit for several years, but visiting requires quite an effort At about 18 miles round-trip from Antelope Island and across the sandbar just to REACH the island, this is an outing for experienced outdoors peo...

Completed on February 16th, 2020 and the 2nd rap was snow/ice free Rangers told us someone had fallen at this point while being belayed out to the anchor and was badly hurt She was able to complete the canyon and is okay There is no place to add additional protection while traversing to the anchors Belaying is a good idea, but you can still get seriously hurt from a huge swingGood news is you can check the condition of the 2nd anchor before committing See my photo for what to look for from the topSuper fun canyon -...

For anyone pondering this, the final dryfall on the descent that "yields easily with a spot" does yield easily But if you make a mistake it has serious/potentially fatal consequences We had our large dog along due to the pic showing it was possible, and the thought of working him over that move was terrifying He wanted nothinng to do with it and neither did I High odds that one of us would have taken a 30' or more tumble over a few ledgesThe good news: You can totally bypass that move if you head up the side canyon...