Zion Conditions Report for 6/7 - 6/15
Hey all,
Finally was able to get a conditions report put together from my recent Zion trip. (Didn't even get a chance to unpack my vehicle until five days after I got back...) Trip Report and photos to follow hopefully within a week...
Conditions Report:
Saturday 6/7:
Pine Creek - water up to chest deep in two spots. One in Cathedral is mandatory, one farther down is optional (can rappel past it on right LDC.) Not necessary to have a wetsuit if you keep moving.
Keyhole - water in several spots, with one corridor being a swim. You can stem above the swim, but it has some exposure and a decent effort to return to ground level. Many in our group went without wetsuits, but the one that wore one was happy he did.
Sunday 6/8:
Full Left Fork - (Little Blue, Wildcat, Upper Upper Left, Upper Left, Das Boot and Subway) - Wildcat spring was flowing. Some decent bushwhacking and some poison ivy (avoidable) in Little Blue. Decent bushwhacking in Wildcat. The spring at the head of Upper Left had some flow so there was LOTS of water in the canyon. There was a little flow through Upper Upper Left all the way through Subway, so everything was tippy top full. There were lots of swims with cold water. Good thermal protection is highly recommended. I went with a 4/3 full suit and was comfy; but I run pretty warm. Others may want even more cold water protection. It looked like I was the first person down the two upper sections as there were drops with no anchors. There are some new logjam sections in the upper section of Left Fork; with a log soup section. Nothing extremely difficult though. There was also a few spots of quicksand; again, nothing extremely difficult though. There was a little poison ivy in Little Blue and in the canyon sections of Wildcat nearing the Left Fork.
Monday 6/9:
Boundary - Flowing at 1cfs, although most of the drops keep you out of the water. There were a few wades, but no swims. I wore a drysuit and that was overkill. A wetsuit would have been fine; likely a 3/4 full would be more than enough. Some could likely even go without a wetsuit if they were going to keep moving. There was some snow in Boundary, but nothing causing any issues. Definitely recommend getting out of the wet/drysuits after hitting the last rappel in Boundary. It's a moderately long and very dry hike out to the intersection with the main Kolob canyon. Main Kolob was running around 5cfs; and had a couple of spots that were chest deep wades with cold water. Most of the time you were out of the water though, so many folks would be fine doing this part without thermal protection. There were two snow spots that went wall to wall in the main Kolob section, but they weren't very tough to climb over.
Tuesday 6/10:
Scouting Day. Heaps had no flow. Emerald pools had small flow. Scouted upper Echo; some spicy downclimbs and some swims. Got stopped at second rappel in Middle Echo as I didn't bring a rope since I was just scouting. Hiked up from the bottom of Middle Echo. I didn't have a wetsuit, and the water got REALLY cold, with some ice floating in it just before the Echo Chamber. Was stopped at the Echo Chamber by an overhanging ledge of snow.
Wednesday 6/11:
Imlay - Snow on Left Sneak Route, but easy to avoid. Also had some poison ivy, but also easy to avoid. The narrows before the extreme narrows had some log jams and some log soup. Nothing too difficult though. There was also some snow, but it was easy to climb over it. The water in the narrows was low and not very clean; and the extreme narrows had six pothole escapes. I hooked out of one, was able to climb out of three (sometimes using my fingers in the hook holes), and set up two guided rappels to avoid two potholes. I had a 4/3mm full wetsuit and was a little chilled, but I did have to swim a couple of the potholes twice to make sure I could exit them before pulling the ropes since I was solo. I do run pretty hot though, so many may want more thermal protection.
Thursday 6/12:
Echo - No snow in Upper Echo, snow starts after the third drop in Middle Echo. The first sections are avoidable; one had a crawl through a passage on the right. There was one section with a thin bridge, then a downclimb into water. Not too difficult. The real snow started at the Echo Chamber; which means the difficult snow is contained inside the Echo Chamber as I got to the bottom part of the Echo Chamber on the scouting trip on Tuesday. There was a large ramp, which was melted out on the sides. It went down to a thin ridge at the top; and would require either a drop into a possible passage on the sides (right side most likely), or traversing on the sides of the thin ridge. Neither of which was a smart decision for a solo person; so I reversed the canyon. There was a decent amount of water, which got colder as you got closer to the Echo Chamber because of more and more snow. I wore a 4/3mm Full Wetsuit and was fine. I was carrying two ice axes and crampons. Would definitely recommend at least one axe for cutting footsteps for the traverse and possibly a second one for an easy axe belay. Not recommended for solo adventurers, or those without snow travel experience.
Spring - Instead of hiking 150m up the signed trail junction on the East Rim to the spring (which is a trickle); continue towards Deertrap mountain for about 300m, and you will hit a 2cfs flow complete with waterfall and large pool. Nice place to cool down a little too.
Hidden - Long hike up in the heat of the day. The canyon is more open and has loose rock and a lot of vegetation. Never really gets to be a slot canyon. Has some very spicy downclimbs; which most will likely choose to rappel. Look inward at a couple of spots, as there are a few spots that you can climb into the mountain; the best part of the canyon in my opinion. Beware of the belt extension on the webbing; creative, but dangerous. Completely dry; no wetsuit necessary. Carry enough water for the long day.
Friday 6/13:
West Misery - Downclimbs are a little tricky for one person. Quite easy with a partner assist. Upper canyon has alternating slot with open sections, so the open spots are pretty warm during the sunny parts of the day. There was only one puddle in the West Fork, so definitely no wetsuit necessary.
Found a relatively easy route up the ridge between West and East Forks of Misery; so you can hit both forks from the West Misery trailhead. Just follow the ridge up to the point where it gets really steep quickly. Then drop in off the East side and go down the steep dirt slopes. This will drop you right at the start of the first narrows section.
East Misery - Downclimbs are a little tricky for one person. Quite easy with a partner assist. Upper canyon has alternating slot with open sections, so the open spots are pretty warm during the sunny parts of the day. The canyon was dry until close to the confluence with West Fork. Then there was a waist deep section; with bad quality water.
Misery after the confluence of East and West Forks - the rappel can be downclimbed on the right side LDC; around a 5.6 level. Watch for loose rock though. Plenty of water with a spring just before the grotto. Parunaweap canyon was flowing around 2cfs; but a wetsuit still wouldn't be necessary in all but cold temperatures as you never really had to get more than waist deep even if you went all the way down to Labyrinth Falls.
Saturday 6/14:
Rock Canyon - Road to trailhead has some deep sand sections. True 4wd recommended. Shane's directions aren't entirely accurate and it's harder to get to and from the trailhead now. There used to be three intersections but now there is around nine; his GPS coordinates for the trailhead are close enough though; so you can navigate using those. Rock Canyon is mostly dry, and water can be avoided down to the grotto area. From there, water is abundant, but not more than knee deep; so no wetsuit necessary. There is a log jammed in Parunaweap canyon just before French canyon that had a good spring. It's useful for a navigation checkpoint, as well as to fill up on water prior to the hike out French Canyon.
French Canyon has a lot of poison ivy. It can all be avoided, but you need to watch carefully. There are a few trails that go up on the right hand side LUC which take you right through large patches. Better to stay in the watercourse and maybe jump up on the left side here and there.
Sunday 6/15:
Boltergeist - Canyon is open and dry; no need for wetsuits. Just be careful on the pull on the big rappel. The route out has a decent bushwhack, and the possibility for calf deep water if you don't chose your path carefully.
West Prong of Yankee Doodle - Canyon is open and water is easily avoidable; no need for wetsuits.
South Prong of Yankee Doodle - Canyon is open and water is easily avoidable; no need for wetsuits. There is a keeper pothole that could be tricky for a solo adventurer. Easily passed with a partner assist.
