Canyoneering Benign Canyon - Dirty Devil

Overview

Tue

83° | 51°

Wed

71° | 52°

Thu

68° | 41°

Fri

70° | 43°

Sat

70° | 42°

( Rated 3.5 / 24 Ratings )

85 Todo Lists / 20 Ticks

RATING: 3A/B

LENGTH: 3-5 hours (2.5 miles)

MAPS: Angel Cove, UT

SEASON: Spring, Summer, Fall (hot in summer)

GEAR: Standard Technical Gear - Pothole Skills/Tools

RAPPELS: 2+ possibly up to 20 m ( 66 ft. )

WATER: Possibly a pool or two, generally not a lot.

FLASHFLOOD: Moderate, but you can see the whole drainage and skies on the approach.

Tue

83° | 51°

Wed

71° | 52°

Thu

68° | 41°

Fri

70° | 43°

Sat

70° | 42°

Keeper pothole in Benign Canyon - Step around on the left... carefully.

Diane on one of the many downclimbs

Possibly my favorite of the mini-slots in the area, Benign offers a ton of down climbing and partner assist fun. There are a couple of potholes as well, keeping things interesting. This is a good one for intermediate canyoneers looking to practice team work and creative anchors. Many (most) of the small drops can be downclimbed, but the ones that can't will require good and creative natural anchor building. Very fun!

Diane enjoying the sun in the upper part of Benign.

Diane in Benign

Getting There

From Hanksville, travel south on Highway 95. 10.1 miles south of Hanksville, at mile post 10.1, turn east (left) off the highway on the signed Angel Point Trail Road #0100.

Reset your odometer as you turn off Highway 95 12S 530839E 4232060N / 38°14'10"N 110°38'51"W

1.7 miles, stay left 12S 533177E 4232026N / 38°14'08"N 110°37'15"W

2.5 miles, turn right on road #0101 and reset your odometer. 12S 534117E 4232786N / 38°14'33"N 110°36'36"W

0.8 miles, cattle guard 12S 535083E 4231908N / 38°14'04"N 110°35'57"W

3.4 miles, turn left onto road #0103 and reset your odometer 12S 538064E 4230240N / 38°13'10"N 110°33'55"W

1.1 miles, cross slickrock. This is a rough section that will stop low clearance vehicles. 12S 539104E 4231673N / 38°13'56"N 110°33'12"W

2.9 miles, Benign Trailhead. Nondescript parking spot after the road has made a turn. There are likely tire tracks here at a small parking area. 12S 540225E 4234082N / 38°15'14"N 110°32'25"W

The second keeper in Benign

Last downclimb in Benign

Route Description

Approach (10-15 minutes)
From the trailhead, follow the nearest wash as it heads northwest. It soon joins the main wash. This is Benign Canyon, in a quick 10 minutes or so it narrows and drops at a steep chimney downclimb. The anchor for the first rappel is visible just down canyon.

Canyon
Downclimb and do a 7 m ( 23 ft. ) first rappel.

The canyon is open and easy going until a low angle slab (12 m ( 40 ft. )). Many may wish to avoid this on the right, but it is not as hard of a downclimb as it appears.

The canyon now settles into a rhythm. Short, staircase drops that yield well to teamwork. In one of these sections, a keeper pothole presents itself. This one is fairly ominous. A step around on the left is the best option, but be careful, it is exposed. Some are tackling the pothole directly, or backing up and scrambling around/rappelling in from the right looking down canyon.

A few more minor obstacles, and the canyon gets harder as it deepens before Beaver Creek. This final section has a few short drops that many will want to rappel. (we rappelled 3 to about 8 m ( 27 ft. ))

Anchors in this section are generally wedged rocks or deadmen, and can require some skill to place. Teamwork is the best option when possible. Also, a keeper pothole in this section is likely to require a boost, but is not particularly hard.

The final drop is a chimney most will downclimb, but can be rappelled if needed. Very similar in size and height to the last drop in Zero-G.

Exit
Fun is over! Thrash down to the confluence with Beaver canyon. There appeared no easy path through the thick brush. At Beaver, turn left and go upstream a few minutes to where a side canyon comes in steeply on the left. Climb slickrock on the left of the drainage, cross the drainage at the top, then head back across and east to overlook Benign. Stay following Benign up stream until it is possible to climb to the canyon rim and go cross country to the trailhead.