Hammerhead, Upper Left Fork, Das Boot, Subway

[Bo_Beck]

Had a great time yesterday with Kip "Bushwacker", Ram, Dave, Dan, Wayne and Jeremy. Wish Jenny could have joined, but not to be. Started hiking just after 6AM from the West Rim TH and finished up at roughly 6:30PM at lower LF TH. First time for me for the Hammerhead and Upper so difficult for me to compare, but Ram stated that it's the most rappels he'd ever done in Upper and Das Boot? What a gorgeous combo platter. The amount of swimming and beautiful slot rivals Heaps in my estimation? Anyway.... I'm sure Jeremy will post pictures eventually?

[Felicia]

Sounds like a great day Bo! I'm looking forward to the pictures. :-). -Felicia

[tanya]

Awesome guys! The beauty compares to Heaps, but not the difficulty? right?

[Bo_Beck]

With my current physical condition......hmmmmmm? Let me think? I'm hobbling a bit today for sure! It is longer mileage, and quite a bit less physical, but stamina counts for sure, and I'm lacking in the stamina dept.

[tanya]

Yeah... something in the comparison to an ultra marathon runner. :lol8:

[deathtointernet]

Give me another day on the pictures, Bo, I'm working on it! Too bad work keeps getting in the way.

[Scott Card]

:popcorn:

[Bo_Beck]

Give me another day on the pictures, Bo, I'm working on it! Too bad work keeps getting in the way.

Yeah...work can do that! Seems like an important piece of the puzzle though?! Wondered why I struggled so much coming out of the ditch??? Blown out left knee!!!!! Need for work to get in the way for a few days now!

[tanya]

Whats wrong with your knee Bo?

[Bo_Beck]

Whats wrong with your knee Bo?

I think just some stretched tendons and or ligaments? Nothing a little rest and ice can't cure!

Some links to some pictures dnally and bshwkr took for now!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102616797533931621805/DasBootViaHammerheadAndLeftFork?authuser=0&feat=directlink&gsessionid=fuym42rLTGmZIjzSJQmCOA


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2330866706321.2131899.1089334907&type=1

[deathtointernet]

48094

Watching the sun rise after about an hour of hiking in the dark along the West Rim Trail, heading towards Potato Hollow.

48095

Bo leading the bushwhack up the slope out of Potato Hollow towards The Hammerhead. Seems like that should be Kip's job...

48096

Looking down into The Hammerhead from the top of the first rappel.

48097

Wayne rappelling third down the first rappel, the longest on the adventure.

48098

After another rappel the canyon takes a big turn to the right. It's extremely deep, straight, and narrow. Ram explained that the canyon had changed quite a bit from last year.

48099

A third and fourth rappel are made, and some fairly straightforward downclimbs.

48100

At the end the canyon begins to widen.

48101

Looking back at The Hammerhead while exiting to the Right Fork.

48102

As long as Bo is in the lead instead of Kip, we felt free to find a nearly-brush free route along the righthand rim of the canyon to a convenient log that allowed us to cross and exit the Right Fork.

48103

North Guardian Angel from the hike to the Left Fork.

48104

Our first glimpse of our destination, the Upper Left Fork.

48105

After a brief break to munch on some food and suit up, we're heading down into the Upper Left Fork.

48106

Ram enjoying a small arch near the beginning of the canyon.

48107

The upper canyon had excellent slot sections, better than I expected, and it was much longer than I expected as well.

48108

The first slot section had a short rappel, and lots of water. The canyon was in perfect condition, full of nice clean, cool but not particularly cold water. I was fine in a 4:3 suit; I usually get cold, but never had to put on the 3mm vest I brought.

48109

Dan swimming out of the first slot section.

48110

A good-sized arch a short ways up a tributary.

48111

Entering another slot section. Ram informed us that this part has great quicksand early in the year.

48112

This slot section had several significant logjams. This large log held as the first several members of the group passed over, but collapsed to the canyon floor as Dan 'The Lumberjack' tried to negotiate it. If he hadn't moved fast could we have had another epic canyon story to tell?

48113

The slot section ended with a longer rappel off a logjam into a pool. Kip rappelled down, and Wayne got on rappel and then had to listen to us discuss the strength of the anchor, which was flexing alarmingly. We changed it to a sturdier log for the rest of the group.

48114

Several long sections of mellow canyon followed, low slots with some small downclimbs and lots of water to wade or swim.

48115

One of my favorite spots, a long swim under a large logjam that felt almost like a cave.

48116

Bo 'kayaking' down the canyon.

48117

The final slot section was dark and narrow, with one final short rappel off a logjam.

48118

Now we're in familiar territory (for me at least), as we start down Das Boot.

48119

Love the green moss on the gray walls, great contrast.

48120

The small 'window' near the beginning of Das Boot.

48121

The usual dark watery narrows of Das Boot. Great to have all the water topped off from the recent storms.

48122

A couple of rappels (though I'm tall enough to cheat on one of them) off logjams take care of most of the technical challenge of Das Boot, followed by lots of downclimbs and swims. Admittedly I'm starting to feel the length of the day.

48123

Near the end Das Boot widens, with the sun just hitting this eerie corridor right. One final rappel into a deep pool of water takes us to...

48124

The Subway! We took a brief rest, removed most of the gear and headed down. We downclimbed the boulder jam and ran into two separate groups of people just starting down the Subway, at 3:30! What were they doing with the rest of their day?!? We were moving fast and were experienced and in the end still barely made it out before dark... these guys asked us if they were in the Subway yet. Hope they had a good evening! :haha:

48125

Downclimbing Keyhole Falls.

48126

Great, crystal clear water... what more can you ask for?

48127

Coming out of the Subway. We got out of our suits and started the long haul out to the trailhead.

48128

Big trout in the pool near the dinosaur tracks.

48129

We made it up the cliffs and to the trailhead just in time to watch the sun set. Long day, but it sure was an adventure! Can't imagine better conditions in the canyons. A big thanks to Kip, Ram, Bo, Dave, Dan, and Wayne for an excellent trip.

[bowjunkie]

:2thumbs: AWESOME !!!!!

[deathtointernet]

Some video from the trip:


https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GwJ933P5BU2y1HyabagVMA?feat=directlink

Bo rappelling down one of the longer rappels in the Upper Left Fork.


https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ix5IaqsOWT55Sr0kehLzKA?feat=directlink

Swimming underneath a logjam in the Upper Left Fork... one of my favorites of the whole adventure.

[Scott Card]

Excellent!!!! Thanks. :2thumbs:

[ilipichicuma]

Great pictures! Looks and sounds like an awesome trip! :cool2:

[ghawk]

Great pictures! Looks and sounds like an awesome trip! :cool2:

Cliff, I'm thinking end of October... lets do it! :cool2:

[Felicia]

Excellent!!!! Thanks. :2thumbs:

X2 :2thumbs:

[Cirrus2000]

Great photos, Jeremy! I like the shot of Bo "kayaking" - and the disembodied head of Ram!

[tcott]

Looks like a great trip! :2thumbs:

[ilipichicuma]

Cliff, I'm thinking end of October... lets do it! :cool2:

I like it.

[canyonguru]

I have always wanted to do the full upper left fork. is there any easier way of doing it with out hammer head. I just don't want to try to tackle all of that my first trip down. unless hammer head is just as easy and the direct rout.

[trackrunner]

I have always wanted to do the full upper left fork. is there any easier way of doing it with out hammer head. I just don't want to try to tackle all of that my first trip down. unless hammer head is just as easy and the direct rout.

there are several options that I believe can be found in Tom book.

[deathtointernet]

I have always wanted to do the full upper left fork. is there any easier way of doing it with out hammer head. I just don't want to try to tackle all of that my first trip down. unless hammer head is just as easy and the direct rout.

Tom's book says you can route find through cliff bands from the Das Boot route to the Upper Left Fork, but I can't vouch for it. You can also hike down Wildcat Canyon all the way to the Left Fork. The start of Wildcat is unpleasant due to brush and rocky terrain, but it's just a hike and it does get better further down canyon where a trail develops on the bench on the right side. We spotted a sling around a tree on that side of the canyon right at the Seeps, but at the confluence of Wildcat and the Left Fork you can find a path to walk right down. Personally though I found the Hammerhead to be totally worth carrying the extra rope.

[The Good Cop]

I entirely agree with Jeremy's take on it. While I can't vouch for any other approach, this seemed relatively painless, particularly compared to possibly extended work getting through or around Wildcat. Just a short bushwhack out of Potato Hollow and then down into the Hammerhead, no big deal. Still a very long day though, but relaxing the whole time. Technical difficulty seemed very mellow, although contrast with Imlay the day before might have contributed to that impression :lol8: And of course having great, fun and very competent companions helped a lot with that! A big thanks to Kip, Bo, Jeremy, Dave, Ram and Dan for a truly amazing day! And great photos Jeremy, thanks for bringing the good memories flooding back!

Wayne

[Brian in SLC]

Wow, nice pic's!

What's the anchor for the first rappel?

[The Good Cop]

I believe it was a sling on a tree on canyon left?

[ibenick]

Awesome photos and trip report, Jeremy. :2thumbs:

[ratagonia]

I entirely agree with Jeremy's take on it. While I can't vouch for any other approach, this seemed relatively painless, particularly compared to possibly extended work getting through or around Wildcat. Just a short bushwhack out of Potato Hollow and then down into the Hammerhead, no big deal. Still a very long day though, but relaxing the whole time. Technical difficulty seemed very mellow, although contrast with Imlay the day before might have contributed to that impression :lol8: And of course having great, fun and very competent companions helped a lot with that! A big thanks to Kip, Bo, Jeremy, Dave, Ram and Dan for a truly amazing day! And great photos Jeremy, thanks for bringing the good memories flooding back!

Wayne

I disagree. The question was how to make this a reasonable day, rather than a bust-your-derriere day.

The answer is, just go in Wildcat Canyon. Many hours shorter. All of the Left Fork. Kelsey shows traversing from the Das Boot approach, but it would not save any time over hiking a solid trail to Wildcat, and would be a total pain.

Hammerhead start seems a little forced to me, not that there is anything wrong with that. Starts in the Right Fork, crosses to the Left Fork.

Tom :moses:

[nelsonccc]

We've always just traversed across the cliff bands above Das Boot. It's only like another 20 minutes of hiking on the cliff bands to get to the spring. You have to stay high though and not get towards the edge since the closer you get to the spring the more the slopes above the slot steepen. We've been forced in just below the start of the slot due to not staying high enough. We've always done it this way since when looking down Wildcat it looks like a total bushwhack fest.

[ratagonia]

We've always just traversed across the cliff bands above Das Boot. It's only like another 20 minutes of hiking on the cliff bands to get to the spring. You have to stay high though and not get towards the edge since the closer you get to the spring the more the slopes above the slot steepen. We've been forced in just below the start of the slot due to not staying high enough. We've always done it this way since when looking down Wildcat it looks like a total bushwhack fest.

In most years, the upper mile in Wildcat is overgrown with roses and is quite unpleasant. Can be avoided by going down "Little Blue", but if coming from the Wildcat Canyon trailhead this would add extra mileage.

After the first, "over-grown" section, there is generally open walking on the right hand bench. But, this year, lots of growth in places in Zion where stuff has not grown before, so...

Tom

[canyonguru]

So it sounds like the quickest time is going down Wildcat but will be unpleasant due to the rose bushes, but doing Hammerhead takes more time but you have longer ropes to carry.

Does Hammerhead drop straight into Left Fork or do you have to traverse over to it. I like the all down hill approach that Wildcat sounds like it is. They both sound like a great hike i pretty country.

[ratagonia]

So it sounds like the quickest time is going down Wildcat but will be unpleasant due to the rose bushes, but doing Hammerhead takes more time but you have longer ropes to carry.

Does Hammerhead drop straight into Left Fork or do you have to traverse over to it. I like the all down hill approach that Wildcat sounds like it is. They both sound like a great hike i pretty country.

As much as I am loathe to provide information to those too lazy to do a simple google search, in this case, oh guru, I shall do so nonetheless. Here's a link for you:

http://tinyurl.com/3h3kpad

Tom :moses

[ratagonia]

So it sounds like the quickest time is going down Wildcat but will be unpleasant due to the rose bushes, but doing Hammerhead takes more time but you have longer ropes to carry.

Does Hammerhead drop straight into Left Fork or do you have to traverse over to it. I like the all down hill approach that Wildcat sounds like it is. They both sound like a great hike i pretty country.

Or, even easier, here's the map...

[Sombeech]

I don't think Trip Reports from the Subway will ever get old. Nice work :cool2:

[deathtointernet]

Or, even easier, here's the map...

That map is actually not an accurate representation of the route we took, which might explain some of the negativity towards the Hammerhead. There is no need to go down any part of the Right Fork upon exiting Hammerhead. Instead we worked up canyon on the slopes above the drainage for about five minutes before finding an easy crossing point, then spent another five minutes ascending out. From there we crossed some flat terrain and dropped down a ridge to the Seeps. The terrain was mostly open with little brush or obstacles. Looking back over my photos, it took us about five hours from the West Rim Trailhead to enter the Left Fork via Hammerhead. Earlier this year it took me about three and half hours to hike from the West Rim Trailhead to the Left Fork via Wildcat Canyon. Times will vary; we were moving quickly in Hammerhead but there were seven of us, in Wildcat Canyon I was taking my time but I was solo, had no technical gear, rope, or wetsuit to carry. But the hour and a half difference for me, personally, and carrying the extra rope, was worth it to get in another excellent canyon in its own right. Not to say that Wildcat doesn't have it's moments, but I think it's safe to say that Hammerhead is certainly the more interesting route. Anyway, personal preferences will vary, I think the goal of the trip wasn't to suggest a perfect route, but to get in some nice canyons.

[ratagonia]

That map is actually not an accurate representation of the route we took, which might explain some of the negativity towards the Hammerhead. There is no need to go down any part of the Right Fork upon exiting Hammerhead. Instead we worked up canyon on the slopes above the drainage for about five minutes before finding an easy crossing point, then spent another five minutes ascending out. From there we crossed some flat terrain and dropped down a ridge to the Seeps. The terrain was mostly open with little brush or obstacles. Looking back over my photos, it took us about five hours from the West Rim Trailhead to enter the Left Fork via Hammerhead. Earlier this year it took me about three and half hours to hike from the West Rim Trailhead to the Left Fork via Wildcat Canyon. Times will vary; we were moving quickly in Hammerhead but there were seven of us, in Wildcat Canyon I was taking my time but I was solo, had no technical gear, rope, or wetsuit to carry. But the hour and a half difference for me, personally, and carrying the extra rope, was worth it to get in another excellent canyon in its own right. Not to say that Wildcat doesn't have it's moments, but I think it's safe to say that Hammerhead is certainly the more interesting route. Anyway, personal preferences will vary, I think the goal of the trip wasn't to suggest a perfect route, but to get in some nice canyons.

The map is for the Right Fork via the Hammerhead, thus, it is not expected to show the Left Fork via the Hammerhead explicitly. I would expect the Full Left Adventurer would be capable of reading a topo map and figuring out where to go. Sir.

You Hammerheaded with an extra-competent group, devoted to speed. You did not do the same in Wildcat, thus... as you mention, not an apples to apples comparison.

and, to add some content, not just snarkiness, to this post:

Full Left could be hiked from the Wildcat Trailhead, thus saving perhaps an hour on the car fetch. Yeah, the hike is a little further, maybe even an hour more, but a good tradeoff, I would think.

Tom :moses:

[deathtointernet]

The map is for the Right Fork via the Hammerhead, thus, it is not expected to show the Left Fork via the Hammerhead explicitly. I would expect the Full Left Adventurer would be capable of reading a topo map and figuring out where to go. Sir.

That sounds like the start of another great SAR story :haha: The question was asked what the route was, you provided a map with a route marked on it and nothing else. Now I know that the route marked was to the Right Fork and not accurate for the Left, but I'm going to assume not everyone does or the question wouldn't have been asked. Yes, I would hope that anyone trying this one would know better, and if nothing else would be able to adjust accordingly when confronted with reality. But I thought I'd take a little extra time to make sure that the best information is out there.

Anyway, I believe that the whole point was that it was a great trip, a neat way to do it, and something I would repeat again. For me that's pretty much the end of the story.

[ratagonia]

That sounds like the start of another great SAR story :haha: The question was asked what the route was, you provided a map with a route marked on it and nothing else. Now I know that the route marked was to the Right Fork and not accurate for the Left, but I'm going to assume not everyone does or the question wouldn't have been asked. Yes, I would hope that anyone trying this one would know better, and if nothing else would be able to adjust accordingly when confronted with reality. But I thought I'd take a little extra time to make sure that the best information is out there.

Anyway, I believe that the whole point was that it was a great trip, a neat way to do it, and something I would repeat again. For me that's pretty much the end of the story.

Au contraire, cher Jeremy -

The question was:


Does Hammerhead drop straight into Left Fork or do you have to traverse over to it.

- though many would have put a question mark after it, ya know, ye olde grammar thingeemabob.

I provided a handy map titled "Right Fork - Middle", a map with the Hammerhead route marked, and the Left Fork marked. And actually, a valid, though longer than required, route from one to the other...

what was the point you were trying to make again? People are idiots, and when provided even with a map, Canyonguru would have wandered off into the Right Fork and been surprised by??? Or something???? Perhaps Canyonguru could pipe in and tell us whether he can read a topo map or not. With a name like Canyonguru we would HOPE he can!

My belief is that Canyonguru was just lazy, not that he could not read a map - that he was asking an off-hand question in the hope that it would save him 30 seconds of googling... But you may be right.

Tom

[Bo_Beck]

As much as I am loathe to provide information to those too lazy to do a simple google search, in this case, oh guru, I shall do so nonetheless. Here's a link for you:

http://tinyurl.com/3h3kpad

Tom :moses

:lol8::haha::lol8:

[canyonguru]

I will go with Lazy on this one, and yes i can READ a TOPO Map thank you very much. I guess when i read these trip reports my mind thinks of questions to ask and instead of looking them up i figure i will just ask the source for the answer. Thanks you so much, All Mighty :moses: for the information that i asked for, you are super awesome and cool to provide me with Beta on a canyon that i might do in the future. :stud: Thats you Tom cause your buff and awesome. (for some reason my animations aren't working) anyways thanks again for the map i really like hearing about different ways to do the same thing, makes it interesting.

[canyonguru]

looking at the Topo map it looks to me like when you exit Hammerhead that you will have to travel up stream to the seeps to get to the left fork. i think that would be north north west direction. I should probably stop talking and asking questions i don't want to look any dumber than i already am. (not sure if dumber is the right word to put there?)

[ratagonia]

looking at the Topo map it looks to me like when you exit Hammerhead that you will have to travel up stream to the seeps to get to the left fork. i think that would be north north west direction. I should probably stop talking and asking questions i don't want to look any dumber than i already am. (not sure if dumber is the right word to put there?)

Two contours UP to get over the pass (80 foot contours on that map), then DOWN to the seeps/Left Fork, oh reader of Topo maps...

Thank you for appreciating my craft. :crazy:

:moses:

[shaggy125]

Sweet pics, makes me miss Zion... Full Left Fork is on my top 10 list of favorite canyons for sure. Maybe next year I will brave the permit system again... or maybe I'll just go back to the big pond.

[Mudcat]

Just did this trip last week. Long, cold, and awesome! Also, helps a lot to be following someone who knows their way around. I could see myself wandering around while crossing from the RF to the LF. Really, pretty in there.