AJ
05-02-2010, 09:42 PM
Hey all,
Back from a fun weekend near North Wash / Trachyte. Here's what we found:
The road all the way to Yellow Brick Road / Bridge Canyon is in okay shape. There is a hill with a sand dune across it, and two washes that are fairly deep. A carefully driven Subaru Outback (higher clearance vehicle) made it with minimal rubbing. Passenger cars need not apply. A true 4wd should have no problems.
As for canyons:
Friday:
Kansas (near Yellow Brick Road / Bridge) - two pools that looked pretty deep - so we climbed around them. Fairly challenging climbing required - 5.9-ish. Lots of open canyon though; so if the weather is warm; no wetsuits required.
Yellow Brick Road / Bridge - Dry.
Hog 4 - Dry; had some crumbly rock - be careful.
Hog 3 - Dry; had some crumbly rock - be careful.
Saturday:
Witches Cauldron / Trachyte - Big pothole was in fairly nasty condition (water 4-ish feet below exit, slimy mud on walls, and it looked like deep water.) Made a potshot toss from high up, geometry is perfect for the shot. We set up a retrievable line so we could handline around the pothole without getting wet; so don't know exactly how deep it was - but again, looked like a swim. Shortly after the keeper, there is a downclimb to another pool. This is a cold swim; or a pretty difficult stem over. Wetsuits recommended for all but the warmest conditions (and even then, recommended if you don't have solid pothole skills or if you run cold in canyons.)
Hog 1 - Dry
Hog 2 - Had some water, but you easily stem over it as part of the route.
Sunday:
Got hit with rain and snow - so canyons are likely wetter than they were in the above reports. ;)
Pics and Trip Report to follow after I get a chance to work on them...
Hope that helps,
A.J.
Back from a fun weekend near North Wash / Trachyte. Here's what we found:
The road all the way to Yellow Brick Road / Bridge Canyon is in okay shape. There is a hill with a sand dune across it, and two washes that are fairly deep. A carefully driven Subaru Outback (higher clearance vehicle) made it with minimal rubbing. Passenger cars need not apply. A true 4wd should have no problems.
As for canyons:
Friday:
Kansas (near Yellow Brick Road / Bridge) - two pools that looked pretty deep - so we climbed around them. Fairly challenging climbing required - 5.9-ish. Lots of open canyon though; so if the weather is warm; no wetsuits required.
Yellow Brick Road / Bridge - Dry.
Hog 4 - Dry; had some crumbly rock - be careful.
Hog 3 - Dry; had some crumbly rock - be careful.
Saturday:
Witches Cauldron / Trachyte - Big pothole was in fairly nasty condition (water 4-ish feet below exit, slimy mud on walls, and it looked like deep water.) Made a potshot toss from high up, geometry is perfect for the shot. We set up a retrievable line so we could handline around the pothole without getting wet; so don't know exactly how deep it was - but again, looked like a swim. Shortly after the keeper, there is a downclimb to another pool. This is a cold swim; or a pretty difficult stem over. Wetsuits recommended for all but the warmest conditions (and even then, recommended if you don't have solid pothole skills or if you run cold in canyons.)
Hog 1 - Dry
Hog 2 - Had some water, but you easily stem over it as part of the route.
Sunday:
Got hit with rain and snow - so canyons are likely wetter than they were in the above reports. ;)
Pics and Trip Report to follow after I get a chance to work on them...
Hope that helps,
A.J.