help calming nerves

[goofball]

all my ideas for desert fun have my partners nerves twitching i think. she is not as "step into the void" as i am comfy w/. my risk tolerance is much higher. one idea was wander around north wash between 95 and teh rim of the dirty devil. great scenery up there, miles and miles of rollign rock and benches and canyons. then i wanted to come down marinus from its head but unsure if it slots or not. i would just go prepareed for possibilities but she needs something more substantive i think. does marinus slot at its heads ? keepers ? water ? too tight to pass low so stay high anywhere ? anchors ? rap lengths ? if anyone is willign to share any beta its much appreciated.

[shaggy125]

There is a description of the canyon from the road in the Falcon Guide "Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & The Glen Canyon Region." It basically says the left fork has a large boulder jam that makes travel up-canyon very difficult and gives no more description of it. The Right Fork it says has some nice Wingate "narrows" that end in a pouroff and grotto that can be bypassed to a shallow slot above the pouroff, so sounds possibly doable from the top without ropes, but I've never been so I really have no idea. Doesn't say anything about being able to follow the upper slot all the way to the mesa top.

Eric.

[Scott P]

Mainus does slot up, but whenever I have brought up that fact, no one seems to believe me for some reason and no one has ever wanted to try it with me. I don't know how long the slot in the left fork is since I've only went up from the bottom. Marinus has been on my list for years now. I don't know how good it is, but since it has been on my list for 15 or so years, I wouldn't mind doing it. Might be a dud, might be good, or probably somewhere in between.

Personally, if your friends are nervous, you would probably want to get some beta first before doing it, just in case.

[stefan]

Marinus has been on my list for years now. Might be a dud, might be good, or probably somewhere in between.



maybe a dud as far as slots go, but it's likely to be a nice, wild canyon ... no?

[Scott P]

maybe a dud as far as slots go, but it's likely to be a nice, wild canyon ... no?

Probably so, but I tend to think that most canyons are nice. Some that I think are nice, others think are slogs. I'm guessing Marinus might be between slog and good, but there is only one way to find out. I have to admit I've totally ignored North Wash since the 90's due to the crowds and proximity to the highway.

[goofball]

thanks all.

marinus is a nice canyon from its mouth up. i didn't go far but it was steep and deep and oh so red. very nice.