Erik B
05-04-2015, 01:26 PM
We got the PNW crew to assemble once again in the Southwest for 9 days of fun and excitement. The itinerary went as such:
Saturday: Depart Cars at 7:30pm and hike to Escalante River
Sunday: Choprock
Monday: West Baker
Tuesday: Neon...skunked on the addition of Ringtail
Wednesday: Hike out + Egypt 2
Thursday: Headless Hen + Raven
Friday: Coyote Gulch
Saturday: Coyote Gulch
Sunday: Peak-a-boo, Spooky, Brimstone
Headless Hen is a gem I've been trying to visit for some time. The complexities of trips out to Escalante, compounded by Road conditions and the overall remoteness have made it challenging to visit but we were fortunate to have good road conditions, decent weather, and the time to go get them.
Camped near Chimney rock.
We dropped into the Raven only to have the ladies bail out at the escape route. The high stemming and the strenuous nature of Raven just wasnt for t hem for them. The canyon itself is a fantastic place with lots of scultped twists & turns, tight slot, and potholes. It reminded me of Trachyotomy, however, I was prepared this time around as I brought nearly nothing unnecessary in my backpack. The lack of bulk/weight made this canyon SO MUCH MORE enjoyable.
After Raven we met up with the rest of the crew ready to hit up Headless. Water conditions were definitely below their high in the Egypt area and appeared to be similar in Raven. I wasnt sure whether to expect a splash-fest or business time in Keeper-Alley....turns out it was business time. We were a team of 6 with varying degrees of experience. We were expecting a 2 hour jaunt. The canyon is absolutely in difficult mode right now with all but one of the obvious keepers in full on, 10-15 foot deep, mode. Ultimately we worked our way through Keeper after keeper taking 5 hours to complete the canyon. FANTASTIC place. All the potholes were defeated with packtosses/partner stacks, however, the true difficulty (as the beta had suggested) was safe capture of the LAMAR. Fortunately we had several ladies in the 120lbs category that safely completed pack drag after partner capture after pack drag.
Headless was better than I had dreamed it would be and would recommend it to anyone looking for some serious practice with KPHs. The beta recommends a minimum group size of 4....I couldnt agree more. At one point our team was dispersed in three separate keepers at the same time and it was very useful to have multiple people to partner assist/ LAMAR capture.
Headless is the real deal!!! In low water I'd consider it equivalent in difficulty to Imlay (but of course is much shorter)
... More photos/video to follow...
79842798437984479845
Saturday: Depart Cars at 7:30pm and hike to Escalante River
Sunday: Choprock
Monday: West Baker
Tuesday: Neon...skunked on the addition of Ringtail
Wednesday: Hike out + Egypt 2
Thursday: Headless Hen + Raven
Friday: Coyote Gulch
Saturday: Coyote Gulch
Sunday: Peak-a-boo, Spooky, Brimstone
Headless Hen is a gem I've been trying to visit for some time. The complexities of trips out to Escalante, compounded by Road conditions and the overall remoteness have made it challenging to visit but we were fortunate to have good road conditions, decent weather, and the time to go get them.
Camped near Chimney rock.
We dropped into the Raven only to have the ladies bail out at the escape route. The high stemming and the strenuous nature of Raven just wasnt for t hem for them. The canyon itself is a fantastic place with lots of scultped twists & turns, tight slot, and potholes. It reminded me of Trachyotomy, however, I was prepared this time around as I brought nearly nothing unnecessary in my backpack. The lack of bulk/weight made this canyon SO MUCH MORE enjoyable.
After Raven we met up with the rest of the crew ready to hit up Headless. Water conditions were definitely below their high in the Egypt area and appeared to be similar in Raven. I wasnt sure whether to expect a splash-fest or business time in Keeper-Alley....turns out it was business time. We were a team of 6 with varying degrees of experience. We were expecting a 2 hour jaunt. The canyon is absolutely in difficult mode right now with all but one of the obvious keepers in full on, 10-15 foot deep, mode. Ultimately we worked our way through Keeper after keeper taking 5 hours to complete the canyon. FANTASTIC place. All the potholes were defeated with packtosses/partner stacks, however, the true difficulty (as the beta had suggested) was safe capture of the LAMAR. Fortunately we had several ladies in the 120lbs category that safely completed pack drag after partner capture after pack drag.
Headless was better than I had dreamed it would be and would recommend it to anyone looking for some serious practice with KPHs. The beta recommends a minimum group size of 4....I couldnt agree more. At one point our team was dispersed in three separate keepers at the same time and it was very useful to have multiple people to partner assist/ LAMAR capture.
Headless is the real deal!!! In low water I'd consider it equivalent in difficulty to Imlay (but of course is much shorter)
... More photos/video to follow...
79842798437984479845