Upper Black Box - San Rafael Swell

[Iceaxe]

This canyon has been on my to-do list forever, but for some reason I just never got around to doing it. But last weekend my family teamed up with Mr. and Mrs. Slot Machine and we had a great Saturday. I'd say the canyon is in prime condition right now. The river is warm enough those who can tolorate some cold will not want a wetsuit, and all others will only require a lightweight or shortie wetsuit. There is a reasonable amount of flow through the box right now, but not enough to make it dangerous, just enough to make it fun. The bugs were a non-issue doing the day and only a minor issue in the early morning or late evening (sunrise and sunset).

Here is the video from our trip. Enjoy the show. :popcorn:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNB1EtrZ7NA

Here is the route information for those that want it.

Upper Black Box Route Description

(http://climb-utah.com/SRS/ubb.htm)This canyon will certainly be on my repeat list. It's really good and packs a lot of bang for the buck.

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[WorkBad]

Very nice.:2thumbs: Looked like a great day. Are you going to put the details of this trip on your site? I'm too lazy to check right now.

[Kuya]

I LOVE this canyon. This was also the canyon where I experienced my first Epic! (wouldn't have been an Epic if we would have only had our headlamps!) It was also this very canyon that sparked my LOVE for technical canyoneering!

TRIP REPORT HERE (http://canyoneeringutah.blogspot.com/2012/09/upper-black-box-epic-version.html)

[Iceaxe]

Are you going to put the details of this trip on your site? I'm too lazy to check right now.

Already up... Upper Black Box Route Description

(http://climb-utah.com/SRS/ubb.htm)

[Spiderzak]

Can an outgoing driver of a non high clearance vehicle make it to the trailhead? Thank you.

[Kuya]

Can an outgoing driver of a non high clearance vehicle make it to the trailhead? Thank you.

yes, the road does get a little rough in some spots. But a good driver can easily navigate a car along those rough sections.

[Iceaxe]

Can an outgoing driver of a non high clearance vehicle make it to the trailhead? Thank you.

I'd say it depends on the car. The road was recently graded so right now it's in really good condition, but there are still a couple of rough places.

No way in hell I'm taking MY car down that road, but if I'm driving YOUR car or a RENTAL car I'd give it a go.

Rental cars can go where Jeeps fear to tread. :haha:

[oldno7]

Nice Video, Shane

[oldno7]

am I seeing a boyfriend showing up?

Have you given the fatherly(I'll kill) you lecture:lol8:

[Slot Machine]

am I seeing a boyfriend showing up?

The dude in the video? That would be Mrs. Slot Machine's husband. Her dad already gave him that talk. :haha:

Here are a few extra pics from the hike:

The bolted anchor is down the gulley to the left, hidden from view.
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Shane on rappel.
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Looking upcanyon before wading into the water.
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Shauna, Shane, Sierra and Steph roasting at the top of the rappel.
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Thank you Shane for inviting us along on this hike! We had a blast with you and your family. :2thumbs:

[oldno7]

Well, I guess as long as someone got the fatherly talk, it's all good.:lol8:

[mferl]

Thanks for the report and the great video. Would love to do a canyon with your "team" some day.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Fantastic TR! :2thumbs: I too love this canyon and enjoyed reminiscing with the video and pics.

Did you pull your rope or did you come back and retrieve it?

[Iceaxe]

Did you pull your rope or did you come back and retrieve it?

We pulled our rope.

We were going to leave a rope but found the beta we were using was poor. It listed the rappel at something like 190' and it's not. The rappel is only 115' so with some webbing we just pulled the rope because none of use wanted to hike back out and climb down and retrieve the rope in the heat of the day. Carrying the rope out is not a big deal, the route is just not that long.

[Kuya]

We pulled our rope.

We were going to leave a rope but found the beta we were using was poor. It listed the rappel at something like 190' and it's not.

Interesting, when I did that rappel, we found a different set of bolts. We rigged our rappel above those bolts and our rap ended up being 220'. It was awesome!

[Iceaxe]

There is a set of bolts up top without a chain that looked like a really long and crappy rappel.

What you want to do is downclimb the wash you were originally hiking in as far as possible. The downclimbing is easy. About halfway down the gully you will encounter a large flat area with bolts and chain on the west wall. That rap is 120'.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[Sandstone Addiction]

Has anyone downclimbed the whole gully from top to bottom? We met some guys from Price that claim they had.

[Kuya]

I remember the first time I went there as a young college freshman, thinking that I could downclimb that section. I probably feel differently now, but then it looked possible :crazycobasa:

[Udink]

Nice running in to you guys out there, Slot Machine and Iceaxe. I talked to the group who hiked out after you and they said they only did an 85' rappel. I'm not sure precisely where they dropped into the canyon, but they parked a Jeep near the head of the side-canyon about 1.6 miles before the end of the road (39

[Iceaxe]

There is a longer approach hike that can be done with a shorter rappel.

We used what some call "the short cut" and it drops you in on top of the rock pile that signals the start of the really good stuff. The short cut provides a big bang for the buck. That is the route detailed on my website.

There is also two hikers entrance further to the west, you probably saw the TH signs for those driving in. No rope needed when doing the hiker entrance, but it creates a long day. I'm guessing the epic Kuya described above used one of the hiker entrances.

[Slot Machine]

Has anyone downclimbed the whole gully from top to bottom? We met some guys from Price that claim they had.

I bet they are telling the truth. It would be fun to try that downclimb.

The rock in the gully is a little loose so a slip there could be fatal. I'd recommend a belay even for the highly skilled.


Nice running in to you guys out there, @Slot Machine (http://www.bogley.com/forum/member.php?u=20293) and @Iceaxe (http://www.bogley.com/forum/member.php?u=36) .

It was nice to meet you too Dennis! It was crazy that I recognized your dog from 300 feet away. He's famous!

[Scott P]

Has anyone downclimbed the whole gully from top to bottom?

Mike Kesley has upclimbed (first time doing the (Upper Black Box) and downclimbed (scouting for entry exit points when the log jam was in there) the route. It wasn't until the later editions of his book that he suggested rappelling it and using it as an entrance route.

Personally, I don't think the route should be done without a rope.

[qedcook]

I like the route suggested by AverageJoe's website. Fun side canyon, rappelling kept under 100 feet, get to see all the good stuff.

[Kuya]

There is also two hikers entrance further to the west, you probably saw the TH signs for those driving in. No rope needed when doing the hiker entrance, but it creates a long day. I'm guessing the epic @Kuya (http://www.bogley.com/forum/member.php?u=21873) described above used one of the hiker entrances.

You are correct. the time we got stuck in the canyon overnight was because we underestimated the time it would take to hike from the hiker trail head. We didn't have headlamps and didn't feel it to be safe to try and exit the last mile in the complete dark.

[tcmault]

Just did this Saturday. Not a living soul around. We just rapped from the big juniper at the top. I saw no reason to risk a down climb when we had never done it before. Rapped down the platform saw what was going on and just kept going all the way down on rappel. Nice safe and fast. Left the rope and just came back and pulled it up when done. There was practically no flow what so ever. The water was like bath water. I would have roasted in a wetsuit of any thickness.

Way too much post holing in knee deep mud and just slogging through ankle deep muck. BUT, overall pretty fun. Going the direct route is the way to go. 6-7 hours of that without a fun rap would not have been enjoyable.