Right Fork of North Creek (in 1 day)

[jman]

Jeff was invited by Shaun (trackrunner) and a few other guys to do Right Fork of North Creek in Zion last weekend. Thought you would enjoy his TR and video.

Quoted from his youtube page:

"We got to our campsite and went to sleep at about 12:00am Saturday morning. We woke up 2.5 hours later at 2:30am, set up the shuttle and started hiking at exactly 4:00am. We hiked with headlamps from the West Rim Trailhead to just past campsite 8 where we started bushwhacking.

We finally saw into Hammerhead Canyon (about 5 miles from the Trailhead) around 7:00am when the sun was up enough to where we could turn off the headlamps and start using the GoPro. Bushwhack/Route found our way down a super steep area to the first free hanging rappel (130ft--165ft) into Hammerhead hiding from loose falling rocks from the other rappellers in the group (this is we're the fun begins). After a few more short rappels we made it out of Hammerhead and hiked past MANY potholes full of water till we were forced into the water. We put our wetsuits on and had a lot of fun in the canyon that was completely full of water. The water felt great with wetsuits on. We even managed to accidentally dislodge some little dams holding back the water so we got to rappel and slide down a couple of waterfalls which was pretty fun. There would have been some keeper potholes if the water was lower.

We got out of the water and the narrow section of the direct section of the canyon and took the wetsuits halfway off and hiked for a little ways till we got to the Black Pool. We put the wetsuits back on and swam the long distance through the narrow canyon in the really cold water. Hiked some more, and got stuck in a really pretty area called "The Grand Alcove". We climbed down a small 7ft waterfall and swam out.

We got to "Barrier Falls" and did the last rappel (60ft-80ft) right next to a waterfall and into a pretty pool of water, took off the wetsuits and put away the ropes. This is where the fun ends for the most part. By this time we did maybe 20+ rappels and hiked about 13 miles from the trailhead.

The last grueling 6 miles is like the Subway exit but with almost no trails and harder route finding down waterfalls, big boulders, and deep water. I was able to backflip off "Double Falls" which is a 12ft waterfall which was pretty fun. That was the last fun thing in the canyon for the next 5.x miles.

From there I put away the camera and trudged along boulder hopping, bush whacking, route finding, eating a lot of Honey Stinger Energy Gels, filtered water, crossed the stream many many times, and wondering when it's going to end. There is a lot of scenery change which was pretty cool. You start seeing a lot of big blue rocks and then you follow a trail up to some black lava rocks. This is the first time you will see any cairns. It's a steep hike up and out but is quicker than the steep hike out the Subway.

We followed the trail back to the car and were finally done after 16.5 hours and 19 miles just as it was starting to get dark. Most people do this canyon in 2 or 3 days (which is smart). We did it in 1 day :) "





And his video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEzcxW0j6P8&feature=share&list=UUYvUQGglr5 ONJe2qh0h8s5g

PS - Shane, don' t fret - it's not sped up a ton this time :)

[Mountaineer]

Thanks jman! This is a fantastic video, and looks like a great time. What a marathon. Scenery, water, and obstacles all appear to make an incredible trip. I really liked the quick shots of the gps trip meter and map you put at the end. Thanks for sharing.

[New Mexico]

Great TR and video. Thanks for sharing

[Kishkumen]

I have done that canyon several times and doing it in one day is nuts! :crazy:

[tley430]

Awesome video! Love that song too. Thanks for sharing.

[canyonguru]

Not to burst your bubble but there are a couple of guys i know here in las vegas that claim they have done it in 7 hours. There are also several well respected people that can confirm that time. i guess using phone call at the start and finish of the canyon. I am not sure the route they took. i believe it was just down wildcat, but i am not sure. Maybe i will get a hold of them and have them get a user name so they can confirm in person this claim. I still however think that is impossible but i very much respect the couple of guys that are confirming this claim.

Anyways good video sweet TR.

[ratagonia]

Not to burst your bubble but there are a couple of guys i know here in las vegas that claim they have done it in 7 hours. There are also several well respected people that can confirm that time. i guess using phone call at the start and finish of the canyon. I am not sure the route they took. i believe it was just down wildcat, but i am not sure. Maybe i will get a hold of them and have them get a user name so they can confirm in person this claim. I still however think that is impossible but i very much respect the couple of guys that are confirming this claim.

Anyways good video sweet TR.

I don't see any boasting that their time was particularly notable. Do you?

And, doing the real thing, Hammerhead and Direct, is considerably more sports action than doing the route normale.

Jus' sayin'...

T

[Kishkumen]

Not to burst your bubble but there are a couple of guys i know here in las vegas that claim they have done it in 7 hours. There are also several well respected people that can confirm that time. i guess using phone call at the start and finish of the canyon. I am not sure the route they took. i believe it was just down wildcat, but i am not sure. Maybe i will get a hold of them and have them get a user name so they can confirm in person this claim. I still however think that is impossible but i very much respect the couple of guys that are confirming this claim.

Anyways good video sweet TR.

I don't think it is possible to do it in seven hours...I was amazed that someone had did it in one day. :crazy:

[jman]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll send it Jeff's way. He likes the feedback as it gives him motivation. You can subscribe to his youtube channel if you want to see all of his 60+ videos, and get updated when new videos come out (not just canyoneering, but river rafting, kayaking, how-to vids, and kitesurfing, and soon snowboarding).

I know that they were not pushing for a record at all - rather just to do it all in one day.

[canyonguru]

yeah like i said i don't think it was possible either but thats wjat i have been told. and like Tom said doing Hammerhead is a bigger trip than the normal route. I just wanted to see if anyone have heard of a time like that before.

[trackrunner]

I just wanted to see if anyone have heard of a time like that before.

I know of a 9.5 hours lava to hammer to direct all the way out to right fork trail end.

I wonder how long it took Jared, Matt & Dakota. I know they spent 14 hours but that involved tagging a couple north gate peaks, north gaurdian angel, south gaurdian angel, a few other peaks, and then right fork canyon out to the trailhead. There time from entering the slot to exit was just over 4 hours.

I was in no way trying to set a record or move fast. I was hoping to get out before dark for my first time through. I can set a faster pace once I know the route.

[Jammer]

Good stuff!

Glad that flood that hit the Barracks that day didn't hit you guys! (I realize the capture basin is much different!)

Thanks for sharing.

- Jamal

[spinesnaper]

16.5 hours sounds pretty good to us schleppers. At a distance of say 20 miles, it should be possible for a serious individual to do this route in 5 to 6 hours by running and using minimal gear, and prior route knowledge. But it sure won't be me. The shame is that the last few miles below the double falls is actually beautiful but at that point you are just racing through there.

Ken