Cottonwood Wash | Capitol Reef

Canyoneering Cottonwood Wash - Capitol Reef Canyoneering Cottonwood Wash

Capitol Reef

Overview

Sun A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny. High near 88, with temperatures falling to around 85 in the afternoon. South wind 9 to 24 mph.
88° | 62°
Mon A chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny, with a high near 84. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
84° | 60°
Tue A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
83° | 59°
Wed A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny, with a high near 83.
83° | 58°
Thu A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
82° | 57°
RATING: 3B
SEASON: Spring, Summer, Fall
GEAR: Standard Technical Gear. Be sure to have quite a bit (10 m) of webbing.
RAPPELS: 3+ to 20 m ( 66 ft. )
WATER: Some pools. Wetsuit (3mm full) in all but the hottest conditions.
FLASHFLOOD: High
Sun A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny. High near 88, with temperatures falling to around 85 in the afternoon. South wind 9 to 24 mph.
88° | 62°
Mon A chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny, with a high near 84. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
84° | 60°
Tue A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
83° | 59°
Wed A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Sunny, with a high near 83.
83° | 58°
Thu A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
82° | 57°
Mark and Tyler early in Cottonwood.
Mark and Tyler early in Cottonwood.
Mark making the first rappel
Mark making the first rappel

Of the 3 canyons in this area (Burro Wash, Cottonwood Wash, and Five Mile), Cottonwood Wash is by far my favorite. With a shuttle, it is a very casual canyon, though will take a full day by the time the shuttle is done both ways. The narrow section is magnificent, and fairly continuous.

All drops are fairly short, with relatively straightforward anchors. That makes this a good choice for intermediate canyoneers, or even beginner groups with competent leadership. Some groups do 4+ rappels, though 3 seems to be the number of mandatory rappels with a few moderate downclimbs interspersed throughout the canyon as well.

Brrr - move fast!
Brrr - move fast!
Tyler downclimbing just below rappel 3.
Tyler downclimbing just below rappel 3.

Full Details

To help keep the riff-raff out, and encourage participation, you must login to see the details.

Login For Full Details

Registration is free and easy.

Photos

Comments