Wondering about road conditions out to hidden splendor

[TommyBoy]

I'm headed out with some friends to do Quandry and the Squeeze and my friend is driving a compact car. I've got a Jeep so getting us the last little bit out to Quandry is fine, I just need to make sure they can get out to the airstrip where we're camping so I was wondering if anyone had been there recently.

[jman]

Heading out this weekend? I have a group headed out on Thursday to segers window and then the squeeze on Saturday. I can report back to ya on Sunday if it's not too late then?

[TommyBoy]

Yeah we're doing Quandry this Fri. and the Squeeze on Sat. Maybe we'll run into each other. You camping at the airstrip?

[jman]

Yeah we're doing Quandry this Fri. and the Squeeze on Sat. Maybe we'll run into each other. You camping at the airstrip?

Yup, at the airstrip.

However, I won't be able to go anymore as I'm flying down to San Diego tomorrow to help my brother drive his truck and trailer (for a new job) to Park City on Friday and Saturday.

I'm guessing from the recent rains up north that a portion hit the swell. Maybe, that's just wishful thinking though...

[ratagonia]

I'm guessing from the recent rains up north that a portion hit the swell. Maybe, that's just wishful thinking though...

The Swell is very spotty on getting hit by storms. Sometimes Quandary is full and the Squeeze is dry.

Jus' sayin'...

:moses:

[jman]

The Swell is very spotty on getting hit by storms. Sometimes Quandary is full and the Squeeze is dry.

Jus' sayin'...

:moses:

Yup, definitely experienced that before.

It's hard to guess exactly which canyons got hit.

I've seen it Zion numerous times too. Keyhole is stanky and low water but nearby Pinecreek is nearly tip-top full.

[PhysWiz]

Bump:
Has anyone been out to Hidden Splendor lately? Are the roads passable in a sedan?
We are thinking of doing Quandary, Knotted rope, and/or Zero G. Is the water too cold this time of year for those canyons? I know they can hold a decent amount of water. All three are high on my to do list.
Thanks

[Bootboy]

Was out at Tomsich butte last month. Roads should be fine.

My recommendation for quandary and knotted rope is to do them from the factory butte road. Go up Quandary, yes, I said up, and down knotted rope.

Go up Quandary, do the bypass backwards, then down the direct, back up the bypass and continue up canyon. The crux is a 5.6 chimney about 20' high. A decent climber can belay from the top. Another 12' drop can be climbed around about 100" down canyon. When exiting quandary, cross the big arch in the kayenta and then continue up the slabs and go up and over into knotted rope.

Sounds hair-brained but it's actually a great way to do these canyons.

From where the factory butte road meets the muddy, it's about a 1 hour walk to the bottom of quandary with about 5 river crossings.

Our group of 6 did it in 12 hours.

[TommyBoy]

+1 to the quandary/KR combo, it was tons of fun. Water levels were quite low when we did it in March so unless a storm hit down there the potholes will be challenging. Even KR had some tricky PH challenges, although we were able to get around them instead of going through, have fun.

[PhysWiz]

That sounds rather interesting. I was looking for Factory Butte road on the map. Is that the one that is labeled Wild Horse Rd. / county road 1013? What about going down Quandary and up KR or vice versa? How was the water when you guys were down there? That is the one thing I'm a little worried about. We have 3mm full suites and I'm a little worried it will be too cold. At the same time it doesn't look like we should be in the water too long and there should be opportunity to get out and get warmed up. What has your experience shown?
Thanks for the reply.

[Iceaxe]

The up Quandary route is not so easy to figure out if you have never done the by-pass before. I would advise against it unless you or someone in your group has done it before (in either direction). The up Quandary route is simple if you're being led [emoji6]

[ratagonia]

The up Quandary route is not so easy to figure out if you have never done the by-pass before. I would advise against it unless you or someone in your group has done it before (in either direction). The up Quandary route is simple if you're being led [emoji6]

What he said. A tough route to figure out on-sight. Requires several "tricks". Plus, the day is long and adventurous that way, perhaps not what the poster was looking for.

Seems like I went out to Hidden Splendor last fall, can't think of specifically when, however. And was surprised to see the road in VERY good shape. The gutter about 1/2 mile back from HS Airstrip, the usual stopping place for low-clearance cars, was nicely graded to the point of barely even slowing down for it.

Both Quandary and Knotted Rope are delightful canyons when done from Hidden Splendor.

Got some rain out there last weekend, so canyons could be full (= more fun!) And I hear someone left some litter in Ramp canyon that you could earn good citizenship points by removing.

Tom :moses: