Herm Pollock Slot | Paria

Canyoneering Herm Pollock Slot - Paria Canyoneering Herm Pollock Slot

Paria

Overview

Tue Sunny. High near 60, with temperatures falling to around 58 in the afternoon. South southwest wind around 13 mph.
60° | na°
Wed Partly sunny. High near 60, with temperatures falling to around 58 in the afternoon. Northwest wind 1 to 10 mph.
60° | 39°
Thu Partly sunny, with a high near 59. East northeast wind 0 to 8 mph.
59° | 39°
Fri Isolated rain and snow showers before 9am, then isolated showers and thunderstorms between 9am and noon, then scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 56.
56° | 42°
Sat A chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 54.
54° | 41°
RATING: 3A
SEASON: Fall, Winter, Spring
RAPPELS: 3 to 11 m ( 37 ft. )
WATER: Generally little or none.
FLASHFLOOD: Moderate to high in a short section
Tue Sunny. High near 60, with temperatures falling to around 58 in the afternoon. South southwest wind around 13 mph.
60° | na°
Wed Partly sunny. High near 60, with temperatures falling to around 58 in the afternoon. Northwest wind 1 to 10 mph.
60° | 39°
Thu Partly sunny, with a high near 59. East northeast wind 0 to 8 mph.
59° | 39°
Fri Isolated rain and snow showers before 9am, then isolated showers and thunderstorms between 9am and noon, then scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 56.
56° | 42°
Sat A chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 54.
54° | 41°
Team effort building an anchor in Herm Pollock.
Team effort building an anchor in Herm Pollock.

Herm Pollock Slot is an interesting, short slot canyon with a big approach! The canyon is unique in that I have never seen such a slot so completely sand-floored. It is like a day at the beach!

A couple of notes about this outing. First, it is a bit of an approach requiring some route finding for a short section of technical slot canyon. If you are an adrenaline-fueled canyoneer looking for a hardcore adventure, pass on this one. If you like a long amble in the desert punctuated by a bit of technical slot, this is a lovely day out.

Second, this canyon, though short, requires good natural anchor skills. The sandy floor doesn't leave much to work with. We used a sand trap for the first rappel, and it worked really well. Without a sand trap, rock mining from outside the canyon would be needed. The other anchors can be chockstones, but if flooding happens to change or remove them, there isn't much else to work with.

The slot section of Herm Poillock
The slot section of Herm Poillock
Diane checking out the sandtrap configuration.
Diane checking out the sandtrap configuration.

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