WorkBad
04-19-2013, 09:22 PM
On 11 April 2013, Natalie and I took a hop-skip-jump through Undercover. We brought a 215ft rope and 200ft pull cord and all the usual accoutrements to survive. I found the GPS useful but not really necessary if one studies their beta really well before departing. We got a late start this day because it snowed on us during the night. We woke up to a small blizzard and were forced out of our truck bed to hurry and cover all our camp gear left out. April weather can be so damn fickle. The snow was completely gone by the time we got our act together and started hiking. We really liked this canyon and it will probably go on the repeat list.
Here is an overview from Google Earth of the entire path
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These two photos are from the trailhead, one facing the parked truck and the other is of the direction of the hike.
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The route on my Google Earth pic shows the path taking the first available drainage. We actually went beyond the first and into the second. It really doesn't matter which one is chosen because they all lead to the main Undercover drainage.
Natalie about to jump into the main drainage
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Just before the first downclimb/slide we were greeted by the park boundary sign.
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Just after the sign we found a log wedged in between the sandstone walls. I tried to go up and over and climb down (LDC) but the exposure was too great and I chickened out and went under. Actually going under was kinda fun as it was more like a slippery slide.
Picture of the first obstacle described above
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We worked our way deeper into the canyon and found small avoidable pools here and there that were easily stemmed over.
Natalie about to cross a small pool
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~10-15 minutes after the first obstacle we came to the first rappel. This is anchored high on the wall RDC and is a little tricky to get to. I hiked back up the canyon a bit to find a place to start and worked my way up high to the anchor. This anchor is from a single bolt with a small amount of webbing attached.
Me starting my climb to the anchor and moving slowly over to inspect the webbing.
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This rap is through a smallish hole formed by a natural bridge, pretty cool! The drop is about 40 feet from the anchor to the bottom.
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The canyon stays wide after the first rap and continues with a sandy bottom with interesting features to look at
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10 minutes after the first rap we encountered the second rap. This was anchored from two bolts RDC and is probably 90-100 feet. This anchor should have a proper amount of webbing attached to it to avoid rope pull groves. Bring plenty of webbing to rig this rap so as to avoid these grooves, I'd say about 25 feet just for this anchor alone.
Natalie dropping in
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Immediately after this rap there was a small upclimb over some debris and a short elevator down.
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Once past this elevator the canyon eventually narrows a bit compared to the first part of this adventure. We then stummbled into a small amount of debris that wasn't hard to get over but actually looked inviting underneath. I tried going up on top of this debris but soon found myself cliffed out with no further passage forward. Backtracking I found an inviting hole in the mess to climb down into.
This is the hole we used to go "undercover".
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When we came out into the clearing on the other side we were greeted with an amazing view high on a cliff ledge. This is the top of the third and final rappel. Rap 3 is estimated to be about 130ft, anchored from two bolts with chains attached. Here is the view after exiting the undercover section.
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And a look from the bottom back to the top
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The canyon system below is really beautiful. It was fun to think that I was in Arches National Park, in such a beautiful place and hadn't seen another person!
We hiked down canyon enjoying the scenery like this seemingly out of place, amazingly huge tree tunnel.
65398
Now it was time for the exit! So I had read about this exit and knew it was going to be a little exposed and real slabby. I had also heard that it was difficult to protect, and to not attempt it if wet or icy. All of this is true. This exit made Natalie really nervous when she first saw it and she stayed nervous until we reached the upper rim. It isn't hard, it's just that a tumbling fall would mean serious injury for sure.
Here is a few pics to help anyone who is interested in completing this canyon. I included a diagram of the path of where we walked.
First the Google Earth overview.
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Here is a pic starting up the approach
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Halfway up the exposed part looking across.
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A short 30 minute hike across the desert (avoiding the Cryptobiotic soil) landed us back to our vehicle. Dinner, beer (Epic's Hopulent Mosaic, delicious!) and much deserved rest.
Here is an overview from Google Earth of the entire path
65402
These two photos are from the trailhead, one facing the parked truck and the other is of the direction of the hike.
65403
The route on my Google Earth pic shows the path taking the first available drainage. We actually went beyond the first and into the second. It really doesn't matter which one is chosen because they all lead to the main Undercover drainage.
Natalie about to jump into the main drainage
65404
Just before the first downclimb/slide we were greeted by the park boundary sign.
65405
Just after the sign we found a log wedged in between the sandstone walls. I tried to go up and over and climb down (LDC) but the exposure was too great and I chickened out and went under. Actually going under was kinda fun as it was more like a slippery slide.
Picture of the first obstacle described above
65406
We worked our way deeper into the canyon and found small avoidable pools here and there that were easily stemmed over.
Natalie about to cross a small pool
65407
~10-15 minutes after the first obstacle we came to the first rappel. This is anchored high on the wall RDC and is a little tricky to get to. I hiked back up the canyon a bit to find a place to start and worked my way up high to the anchor. This anchor is from a single bolt with a small amount of webbing attached.
Me starting my climb to the anchor and moving slowly over to inspect the webbing.
65390
This rap is through a smallish hole formed by a natural bridge, pretty cool! The drop is about 40 feet from the anchor to the bottom.
65391
The canyon stays wide after the first rap and continues with a sandy bottom with interesting features to look at
65392
10 minutes after the first rap we encountered the second rap. This was anchored from two bolts RDC and is probably 90-100 feet. This anchor should have a proper amount of webbing attached to it to avoid rope pull groves. Bring plenty of webbing to rig this rap so as to avoid these grooves, I'd say about 25 feet just for this anchor alone.
Natalie dropping in
65393
Immediately after this rap there was a small upclimb over some debris and a short elevator down.
65394
Once past this elevator the canyon eventually narrows a bit compared to the first part of this adventure. We then stummbled into a small amount of debris that wasn't hard to get over but actually looked inviting underneath. I tried going up on top of this debris but soon found myself cliffed out with no further passage forward. Backtracking I found an inviting hole in the mess to climb down into.
This is the hole we used to go "undercover".
65395
When we came out into the clearing on the other side we were greeted with an amazing view high on a cliff ledge. This is the top of the third and final rappel. Rap 3 is estimated to be about 130ft, anchored from two bolts with chains attached. Here is the view after exiting the undercover section.
65396
And a look from the bottom back to the top
65397
The canyon system below is really beautiful. It was fun to think that I was in Arches National Park, in such a beautiful place and hadn't seen another person!
We hiked down canyon enjoying the scenery like this seemingly out of place, amazingly huge tree tunnel.
65398
Now it was time for the exit! So I had read about this exit and knew it was going to be a little exposed and real slabby. I had also heard that it was difficult to protect, and to not attempt it if wet or icy. All of this is true. This exit made Natalie really nervous when she first saw it and she stayed nervous until we reached the upper rim. It isn't hard, it's just that a tumbling fall would mean serious injury for sure.
Here is a few pics to help anyone who is interested in completing this canyon. I included a diagram of the path of where we walked.
First the Google Earth overview.
65416
Here is a pic starting up the approach
65399
Halfway up the exposed part looking across.
65401
A short 30 minute hike across the desert (avoiding the Cryptobiotic soil) landed us back to our vehicle. Dinner, beer (Epic's Hopulent Mosaic, delicious!) and much deserved rest.