Best Time for Cedar Mesa and Irish Canyons

After searching for quite a while it appears that 95% of people canyoneer Cedar Mesa in May. And lots of people seem to do the Irish Canyons in November.

It seems as if Cedar Mesa should be fairly nice (not as hot) perhaps by September? Is there a reason that nobody goes here during that time? Biting flies? Can't make it across White Canyon? Annual release of zombies?

The irish canyons seem to be a little lower elevation. Any reason not to hit these in September? Still too hot?

I would appreciate any advice from those more familiar with the area.

I believe the Cedar Mesa canyons are more known for being wet/holding water, so when temps are hotter this is the place to be, but then again they can be done in the spring and fall, just wear alot of rubber. The only Cedar Mesa canyon I've done is The Black Hole (In Jun) and there was tons of water and a full wetsuit was very nice to have on. I've always done the Irish/Poison canyons in the spring (Mar/Apr) and early fall (Sep/Oct), have never encountered water in those canyons that you would need a wet suit. Temps during the day were mostly upper 70s, low 80s, nights got sometimes in the upper 40s (early fall), (early spring) upper teens/low 20s, during the day upper 50s/low 60s.

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Originally Posted by nonot

After searching for quite a while it appears that 95% of people canyoneer Cedar Mesa in May. And lots of people seem to do the Irish Canyons in November.

It seems as if Cedar Mesa should be fairly nice (not as hot) perhaps by September? Is there a reason that nobody goes here during that time? Biting flies? Can't make it across White Canyon? Annual release of zombies?

The irish canyons seem to be a little lower elevation. Any reason not to hit these in September? Still too hot?

I would appreciate any advice from those more familiar with the area.

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The Zombie release was only that one year. The BLM now has that well under control. Besides it is unclear how much brains canyoneers have, anyway...

North Wash tends to be too hot to do much until late October, maybe November. Sometimes too hot, even then. Good in January, Feb, March into April, often too hot by May 1st.

There are lots of really good places to go in September, so Cedar Mesa might not be one's first choice, with only a couple good canyons.

Tom

a few slots and a few hikes to some ruins sound like a good september weekend to me! do it...

September is a good time to go to the White Canyon area slots, if that's the area you are planning on going to.

Usually the water is pleasantly warm (at least compared to spring) then and the worst of the summer heat is gone. Usually no bugs either.

Short, Long (though I've only done the lower 2/3), Gravel, Black Hole and West Fork Cheesebox might be my favorites there and should be good choices for September as long as the weather is good. Keep in mind that September is still flash flood season. The chances of flooding aren't as great as they are in August, but it is still a real danger and because it is such a long complex, White Canyon (especially the Black Hole) is one of the most dangerous drainages to be in during thunderstorms.