May Canyon Suggestions

[dweaver2130]

Hey everybody, Happy New Year! Anna and I are planning a Utah trip during the first two weeks of May. We were hoping for good suggestions for some May canyons. We have only done a few North Wash canyons at FF this year in Utah, so there are a huge amount of canyons on our to do list, just don't know conditions that time of year up there that well.

[penmartens]

Without knowing what your skill levels or experiences are, or what is on your list, SE UT is wonderful in May. Just about everything is good:
Roost, Swell, Ticaboo, North Wash, Cedar Mesa.
Dave and I once did Gravel on Cedar Mesa about mid May. Not only was the canyon wonderful with plenty of fresh water, we counted 37 different flowering plants and shrubs. The cliff rose was so abundant we couldn't get away from the aroma; not that we wanted to.
The no-see-ums can start to be bothersome depending on the year.
It can be quite windy in the spring, as well as days of rain if a storm blows through.
I think you can feel pretty confident in making big plans keeping in mind its pretty far in advance and you might want to have a couple backup plans in case it is a rainy spring.
Hope this helps some.
Penny

[jman]

X2 to what penny said.

May is a great time for canyons in my opinion, especially Zion and Escalante.

Are you looking for multi-day canyons/ routes? Or 1 canyon a day? Are you fast hikers or do you take your time and enjoy the scenery. Are you planning a "as-many-canyons-as-I-can-do (AMCAICA) mentality? Etc.

Hopefully we can answer your questions for ya.

[dweaver2130]

Well, we tend to take our time, but we can really move when we need to. I would much rather do several one day trips than one or two multiday excursions.

As far as our wants...

Choprock, ringtail, and neon are up there, but probably for fall or next spring.

Would love to do little blue John, the arches canyons, pine creek, mystery, englestead, Egypts, not mind bender, gravel, Larry, white roost....list could go on.

As far as experience, we are still beginners, just did our first 6 Utah canyons at FF. So maybe the on the grid Zion stuff would be better for us. Though I figure if we could get a good group together we could easily fit in to some good intermediate stuff.

[ratagonia]

May is a highly variable month in Utah. Sometimes it is still winter, in places; sometimes it is too darn hot.

Zion on a heavy snow year will not be very good in May, with limited canyons available. So Zion is hard to count on for May, but it may end up being good. North Wash tends to be a bit hot in May. Escalante too, but maybe less so.

In any case, Don and Anna, welcome to the obsession.

Tom

[Iceaxe]

What the others have said.... Zion is more summer canyons..... Swell, Roost, posion springs, north wash, lake powell & cedar mesa are where you go in May.

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[jman]

Here's why I say Zion in May. First, it's a good transition from Spring to Summer. Second, it's not "peak" season so there are more permits available and a little more camping. Third, it's roughly Spring so wildflowers are in bloom, fresh smells, more active wildlife, potholes are clean and somewhat in a pure state as main-canyon snow has mostly melted. Plus, I like when all the potholes are full. Good times. Example: You know how beautiful it is when Russell Gulch or Mystery or Key Hole or Pine Creek are when they are flowing (even a small trickle)? To me, it greatly enhances the experience. Of course, this is all subjective.

True, North Wash, Powell, and even Escalante is hell itself in the summer. SO HOT!! And I get why those canyons are busy in the summer - seeking water (except for North Wash). But in my experience, I've been burned out of too many canyons due to "monsoon season". In contrast however, Fall in Zion is quite spectacular and the crowds are mostly gone and permits are readily available. However, it's butt cold water in most canyons where little sunshine goes, and days are short.

Way off topic now...I still heartily recommend Zion or Escalante (like Neon) for May. March and October are great for North Wash and Powell. Summer is good for...wet areas...like, again Zion (but you gotta deal with more crowds and less permits) or some canyons in Escalante. And September is great for Escalante.

So you said, you have two weeks available. Would a Escalante one week, and Zion the other week work? Or Roost one week, etc.? Or do you want to plan for 2 weeks in one area?

[Slot Machine]

Choprock, ringtail, and neon are up there, but probably for fall or next spring.

Would love to do little blue John, the arches canyons, pine creek, mystery, englestead, Egypts, not mind bender, gravel, Larry, white roost....list could go on.

As far as experience, we are still beginners, just did our first 6 Utah canyons at FF. So maybe the on the grid Zion stuff would be better for us. Though I figure if we could get a good group together we could easily fit in to some good intermediate stuff.

D&A,

Main Blue John is really good, and pretty easy. I'd choose it over Little Blue John, becaue LBJ is kind of short. However, there are several good loops to choose from in that complex.

If you choose Zion in May, shoot for the end of the month to avoid snow.

If you choose the NW, Roost or Escalante in May, shoot for the begining of the month and hope to miss the bugs.

I'd probably wait a little bit before taking on Choprock (and maybe Englestead). They seem like a big step up from the others, though I haven't done either yet.

One challenge with Neon is logistics. I might do Egypt 1 and Egypt 3 first, so you can get to know the roads and terrain a little before tackling Neon. Being an underprepared navigator on that terrain will drive you crazy. (been there, done that :haha:)

Bob

[tcott]

If you end up in Zion and want some company in the canyons let me know, I can round up a group for a couple of days fairly easily.

[Iceaxe]

FWIW: if doing Zion canyons in May I'd suggest Fat Man's Misery as a good choice. It's a great canyon and it's seasons don't really sync with most of the other Zion canyons because of it's mostly southern exposure.

[MPH]

Load the car up and spend a week in the roost...white roost area, then over to blue john area...then over to Alcatraz area...then over to the high spur area...then down to the maze and out poison springs to some canyons...

that would be killer IMO! Some of the best solitude in Utah!

[iflycr500]

Here is a pic of the subway hike we did on May 12 last year. The weather was perfect. We are going back May 9th this year to try again. But it could be full of snow also. in 2011 we went in June and the top down was closed due to to much water.
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[dweaver2130]

So I think we will be doing the Moab canyons the first week we are up there, and then moving along to the North Wash for our second week. There were so many we didn't get a chance to do at FF, and we will be bringing our friends that are even newer to this than us, so I figure there were some good spots in there for us to cut our teeth, why not them too. If anyone wants to join us we plan to be up there from the 6-16 of May arriving in Moab the 6th, and North Wash the 11th or 12th. Of course depending on the weather we might change up and do the roost instead of North Wash.

Looking at the schedule, it looks like we will have two weeks off again at the end of October that we will be heading to Zion. Not in stone yet, but open for partners.

[Erik B]

Good conversation...

Last year I came to Zion in Late May and was able to do the whole gamut of canyons including those that ended in The Narrows. From what I hear, Virgin River flow rates have to be under 100-150cfs to allow foot traffic. Anybody want to confirm/deny this? I was told the snowpack last year as absolutely terrible (very low) compared to normal and it was very unusual to be able to enter the Narrows in May.

Locals: How is the Zion area/Utah snowpack this year?

I've been watching Snotel: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/ut_swepctnormal.pdf Anybody have another reference?

I'm planning to come down in Late May and Mid-June again and trying to decide which area to visit. BTW: the old canyoneeringusa website used to have this terrific map that shows where each zone (swell, North Wash, Escalante, Roost, etc) was in within the state of Utah, however, it is nowhere to be seen. Tom: do you still have this laying around? It was helpful for us Washington folk who are still getting acquainted with Utah.

[Nordschleife]

Its right on the homepage

[ratagonia]

Its right on the homepage

Meaning THIS page: http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/

Yeah, maybe we should work that onto the Canyoneering Guide homepage.

T

[Erik B]

....whoops.....I'd like to take my mulligan on that one

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