Rock Canyon - 6-2-07

[nelsonccc]

A few of us went out to Zion this past weekend to do Icebox. We weren't able to get out of Vegas till late and decided to do Rock. The road out there is quite the adventure itself. I'd been on it once before last year setting up a shuttle for a group doing Misery but I didn't remember it being so freaking sandy. Often the only approach was "MORE PETRO" and a death grip on the wheel. The areas where the road drops down in valleys would require an entrance speed of about 35 mph and that would leave you just barely getting out at about 5 mph. One buddy remarked, while I'm pretty sure we were airborne, that "This would make one hell of a good Ford commercial." Eventually we made it to the trailhead and broke out the cots for a nice, breezy, semi chilled night. Gary got up early and cooked a cabbage/sausage, Russian dish with baked rolls, cream, and cinnamon. Hmmmmm....makes it awfully hard to open a baggie of jerky and Power bars a few hours later.

Rock was very beautiful. Three destinct canyon characters. Rock itself offers little as far as technical challenges go but makes up for it in beauty and solitude. Although we could tell that a group had been through just a day or two before. Paranweep was great except for the 4 wheeler tracks criss crossing the sand bars and stream all the way down to French. We found the exit French canyon easy enough. Did our best limbo technique to avoid the poison ivy and quickly found ourselves grunting up the last 30 minute steep part.

Great canyon with excellent company and fantastic scenery. Enjoy the pics.

[marc olivares]

that's for sharing!
that's a fun route
i especially like the nice sandy camping at the top
very nice camping!

atv tracks in the Pweep would bum me out

[tanya]

Nice! This one is on my to do list!

[oldno7]

nice pics thx-

adding to the ta-do list.

the atv
tracks go probably 4+ miles down Pweap

not against atv's --just against idiots

[Wasatch]

Nice pics, it is also on my list to do shortly.

[oldno7]

do you have any beta on your entry point and the french exit?

is french the drainage downstream?

[Iceaxe]

Complete beta, including maps and GPS waypoints is avaiable here

Rock Canyon - Zion
http://climb-utah.com/Zion/rock.htm

The beta also includes the location of a really nice rock art panel.

Rock is a great canyon in a very remote area that is beginner friendly. If you are looking for a beautiful canyon with solitude this is it. if you are looking for a challenging tech adventure this is not your cup of tea....[/end Sales Pitch]

And FWIW... Dean Kurtz (Kanab local) tells me the sand on the roads gets softer and deeper as the summer wears on.

[oldno7]

I shoulda looked there first Shane

been to the panel a couple weeks ago

just looking for nice local loops.

[oldno7]

went down this weekend checking out rock.

saw where you guys parked and turned around(nasty views)

anyway did you know if you followed the road you where on towards the

river it dead ends about 200yds and a short scramble from where rock

hits the river. Could set up an easy shuttle(4 wheeler) or hike up the road to your camp.

On a side note we saw a huge cougar track walking down the road(I know

the sizes of cougar tracks well) This one was large!

By the way--did you start hiking from camp-due east?

[nelsonccc]

went down this weekend checking out rock.

saw where you guys parked and turned around(nasty views)

anyway did you know if you followed the road you where on towards the

river it dead ends about 200yds and a short scramble from where rock

hits the river. Could set up an easy shuttle(4 wheeler) or hike up the road to your camp.

On a side note we saw a huge cougar track walking down the road(I know

the sizes of cougar tracks well) This one was large!

By the way--did you start hiking from camp-due east?

we simply followed the road till my GPS said to head south. It was only a 15 minute walk, though the sand makes it tough. On the note of wildlife we jumped a big horn sheep that was sleeping in the reeds near the French exit. Exciting.