No one in my close canyoneering circles had done Drill Hole Canyon, except for one person that gave it a mediocre review of "it's ok". Armed with that less than glowing review, I decided to check it out one hot July day. Perhaps it was the heat delirium talking, but I thought the canyon was gorgeous and a lot of fun! It is not as narrow or dramatic as its nearby neighbor Upper Red Breaks, but I think still charming. The cross jointed nature of it makes for a very interesting canyon with some really great sections.

A note on difficulty. I think this is a great canyon that is well suited for beginners WITH COMPETENT LEADERSHIP. The canyon lends itself to fiddlestick and sandtrap anchoring techniques (though not required), which, I think, is a great to exposure beginners to and for intermediates to get practice using. It also requires moderate route finding.

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