Moab and Zion for Canyoneering in August?

[veeravich]

I'm planning an early August trip with 4 boys ages 10-16 to Utah to go canyoneering. We already did the Narrows and Sulfur Creek 2 years ago, and I figured we would go out to Moab to canyoneer around Arches and Canyonlands.

I know it's going to be pretty hot, and the boys love canyoneering thru lots of water. The question is, how much water is there in Arches & Canyonlands in early August? Which slot canyons are the most wet? Or should I just stay in Zion?

Thanks in advance.

[ilipichicuma]

The wettest canyon around Moab would be Pleiades, which is an awesome (if short) one. Most of the other canyons there tend to only have a few pools, and the amounts of water in those vary with rainfall. At least that's what I can think of. I'm sure others will chime in.

[Iceaxe]

Professor Creek (aka Big Dipper) might be the perfect canyon for you. Unfortunately I don't have that one on my website, or at least not at the moment.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[Scott P]

I have Professor Creek written up on Summitpost:

http://www.summitpost.org/professor-creek/182257

It is OK for summer if you get a really early start on the approach. Still, in summer it doesn't make sense to go all the way to Moab if you are already in Zion.

[lucach]

I just went to Moab with 3 girls 15yo, 15yo, 11yo ... it was HOT!
The only flowing water you'll find in a Moab canyon in August is Pleiades, but that may be too much for the kids, 5mm wetsuits are mandatory even in the middle of summer.

We did Medieval Chamber, the easiest of the canyons. The kids did it normal, the grownups simulrapped. Pretty cool.
But it got pretty hot at noon (100F+) and we were getting pretty dehidrated. Girls did not want to do more canyons after that... but boys may be stronger.
I would have loved to take them to Pleiades but we did not have wetsuits for the kids. DesertHighlights would not rent us canyoneering wetsuits, they wanted to charge us $120 per person to take us, but it was just too much. The only place in town that rented wetsuits would not rent for canyoneering. The closest place that rented wetsuits was a dive shop in Grand Junction (CO), and it was out of the way for us coming from California.

Considered to do some packraft canyons, but most of those canyons are INTENSE, too much for kids.
We could still do the short canyons if we started early in the morning, and then done by noon (when the heat comes), but the 11yo got scared in Medieval Chamber and would not want to rappel more than 100ft.
The other canyons I had beta for we never even tried because all the beta said "miserable in summer". The girls would prefer to hike in the morning and swim in the local swimming holes or the Moab swimming center (cool) in afternoons.

We ended up doing some good hikes though: the Devil's Garden and Delicate Arch and a self-guided tour of the Fiery Furnance (need good GPS with external antenna to follow track or reserve in advance with ranger guided tour)

If you send me your email I can forward you all the PDFs and notes I got of fun stuff to do with kids around Moab, there's swimming holes and dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs. We looked into rafting but water level was low so it was more "splashy fun" than "whitewater" for $70-$150, so we passed.

All in all, I think Zion might be better for kids in August... Keyhole, Pine Creek and Mystery [shuttle to the top, DO NOT HIKE 4h UPHILL] are more or less kid friendly if you know what you're doing and have shaded returns. Canyons are less exposed to sun, less desert and more green surroundings than Moab. There's a park at the end of town with swinging ropes and swimming holes in the virgin river. If you have inner tubes you can float down the virgin river (class II) from in front of the Zion Outfitters all the way to the park at end of town and catch free bus to ride back (or pay Zion Outfitters $25 to use one of their tubes)

[lucach]

The other kid friendly canyons I selected in Moab were:
*****Pleiades - Moab Technical Canyoneering, experts only in spring, novice friendly mid summer, 3h, 3CII in June and goes till 3BII October, escapable before final, wetsuits and drysuits
****Lost and Found Canyon - (Arches) 3A, 4h-6h, 3 raps 132ft
***Entrajo Canyon - Moab Technical Slot Canyon, 3BII, 3h, beginner friendly, one swim and some wading, wetsuits advised, max rap 90ft, This short but fun slot canyon packs a big punch into a small package.
***Dragonfly Canyon - Arches National Park Technical Canyoneering, 3-4h 3BII, 2 raps 130ft max, beginner friendly, deep wading and swimming, no wetsuits, water may become putrid, beautiful hidden arch, retraceable route if potholes unescapable
**Repeat Jr. - Arches National Park Technical Canyoneering, easy slot canyon, terrific scenery, 2h, 3AI, best in winter, 1 rap 150ft,
**Tierdrop Canyon - Arches National Park Technical Canyoneering, spectacular red rock, 3h, 3AII, many raps max 100ft, ghosting, MISERABLE IN HOT PART OF THE DAY
***U-Turn - Arches National Park Technical Canyoneering, charming and interesting, 2h, 3AI, 4 raps max 70ft, MISERABLE IN HOT PART OF THE DAY, Combine with Tierdrop
***Big Horn - Arches National Park Technical Canyoneering, 3AII, 4h, several raps 55ft max, scenery is dramatic,combine with visit to Ring Arch (combine w DragonFly)

[ilipichicuma]

We did Pleiades last summer with no wetsuits and even my wife who gets cold ridiculously easy was just fine. It was a warm day, and the flow was low enough that we never really got wet above the knee.

[lucach]

I just checked http://www.candition.com/canyons/pleiades and they say Pleiades was not much flow, no wetsuit not even shorties required. So long for finding some water canyon in Moab in August.

[veeravich]

Thanks for all the input.

I just checked with Desert Highlights, and they said that Pleiades was down to a trickle. It seems like Moab is going to be really, really dry this year. I think I'm going to cut short my trip to Moab and spend more time in Zion.

[yetigonecrazy]

Considered to do some packraft canyons, but most of those canyons are INTENSE, too much for kids.

Packraft canyons near Moab?

[mferl]

You should be able to do Entrajo in August without the wetsuit. The water will still be chilly, but there is plenty of sunlight getting through to warm you up quickly after the swim.

[moab mark]

I'd go to Zion. Moab is brutal in August.

[Scott P]

Packraft canyons near Moab?

I guess you could. We always just swam the river (with lifejackets) when doing canyons that required crossing the river (i.e. Bull Canyon-the one above Moab rather than the Bull Canyon below Moab).


The only flowing water you'll find in a Moab canyon in August is Pleiades

Not true, but I would still say skip Moab if you are already going to the Zion area.