Rattlesnake in Das Boot!; Fun in Englestead & Rock Canyo

[heliski2]

Monday we took a group of three canyoneers through Das Boot. The water levels were fun and mostly clean due to recent thunderstorms and the temperatures made a shorty wetsuit adequate to enjoy the tromp. About 15 minutes into the wet part of the canyon we had a surprising encounter. As the leader was climbing over the tree trunk obstacle at the end of a waist deep section, a branch to the left of his hand started moving. I realized it was a rattlesnake and yelled for him to move FAST! He jumped safely into the water on the other side.

We got a forked stick and tried to lift the 2' diamondback off of the tree stump to a safer location, but he slithered off into the side into the twisted trunk . We quickly moved past the trunk. The snake seemed a little lethargic probably due to the cold in the wet canyon section. We suspect that it was washed in during a recent rainstorm. Be warned if you are heading into Das Boot as anti-venom would be a long time getting it to you!!

I jumped off one of the cliffs into the water after one of my pards checked to make sure it was deep enough. Unfortunately, my jump impacted about two feet past where he said the depth was over 7'. I landed on a sloping hulk of sandstone about 4.5' under the water straining both knees (they look like softballs today) and my right ankle. It made for a long hike out...

On Sunday we did Englestead Hollow which was a thrill. On the dirt road just before parking to go into the canyon we found a strange and amazing sight - there was a dead rattlesnake lying side-by-side with a dead rabbit. It appeared that the snake venom killed the rabbit, but it was after the rabbit clawed into the side of the snake's head. Yes, we have pictures to prove it.

The initial big wall rappel into Engelstead was done in 2 stages - first to the bolt station and then to the bottom. The conditions in the canyon were excellent and each of the stations on the 300' entrance wall were in good condition. Orderville Gulch through to the Virgin was beautiful with more over-the-head swims then usual. We did the whole route in shorts and really enjoyed the swims. The whole route took about 8 hours. We all agreed that we need to do it again!

Our trip started on Friday night when we met at the Buffalo Bistro in Glendale for dinner. Then we drove to Rock Canyon arriving in the dark after missing a turn or two. Most of the trail markers on the dirt roads were missing except for the last one. The dirt roads had a lot of wet mud holes from Thursday's thundershowers which kept the windshield wipers working non-stop. By the time we arrived at the campsite you could hardly see any red paint on the Jeep Grand Cherokee. After setting up camp we had a few uninvited guests (two who had horns) come into camp to try and steal our tortilla chips. It was a funny sight to see grown men chasing cows with their camp chairs flapping in front of them.

Saturday morning started off with a 6:30am thunderstorm which cleared off about 8:15am. There was minimal runoff so we headed into Rock Canyon about 9am. The upper canyon was fun and all of the webbing and rings in good shape. There was quite a few "quicksand" sections. We learned to run fast whenever we felt the jello texture of the sand start to wiggle. Invariably whoever was slowest found themselves up to their crotch struggling to break the suction and climb out. The water flow in the east fork of the Virgin was about ankle to mid-calf depth running reddish brown from all of the silt. This entire section had all of the reeds flattened from recent flashes. We encountered 3 drowned deer carcasses as we hiked downstream, including a fairly large 4 point buck.

We took some great pictures and will post them shortly.

[AFI]

Nice...looking forward to seeing your pics

[Jaxx]

I want to do Englestead. When you did the 2 stage how did you do it. Is there enough room for people at the second ledge or did one person go at a time. did you single or double rope them, how much rope did you need?
Sorry for all the questions. Can't wait for the pics.

[Iceaxe]

Is there enough room for people at the second ledge or did one person go at a time.

The mid station ledge is really small. About like standing on a bar stool. One at a time is the prefered method.

Leave the beginners at home if doing this route and using the mid station. Everyone in the group has to have the abilities to rappel to a small ledge, clip into safety. get off the first rappel and on to the second rappel, unclip your safety teather and continue the rappel. And no one is holding your hand to make certain you don't screw up. Also... while standing on the bar stool ledge you will be required to rig ropes and probably anchors.

That being said.... Englestead is a nice canyon.

[Jaxx]

Is there enough room for people at the second ledge or did one person go at a time.

The mid station ledge is really small. About like standing on a bar stool. One at a time is the prefered method.

Leave the beginners at home if doing this route and using the mid station. Everyone in the group has to have the abilities to rappel to a small ledge, clip into safety. get off the first rappel and on to the second rappel, unclip your safety teather and continue the rappel. Also... while standing on the bar stool ledge you will be required to rig ropes and probably anchors.

That being said.... Englestead is a nice canyon.

Mostly I asked because of rope. Carrying rope is a bummer. If I can get away without it I would. Sounds like I won't be able to on this one.

When you say rig up anchors on the mid station what do you mean? Aren't there bolts? Or are you saying that the webbing/ring might need to be replaced.

[Iceaxe]

Webbing and rings might need to be replaced.

Its been a while since I did this route. If I recall there are two bolts at the mid station. There are also 4 bolts just downstream of the mid station, but last time I was there the nuts and hangers had been removed.

[fouristhenewone]

where 's that clever "this post is worthless without pictures" when you need it?

[Iceaxe]

I don't have any good pics of the entrance rappel. When we reach it I'm usually either to busy managing the group or the wall is shaded when we reach it and my pics suck. If someone has a couple good pics of the mid station please post them.

[price1869]

Snatch and wife and I just did Englestead. There are good chains and everything you need at the perch. I went first to the perch and then had the two Summers rap down to me and switch. If you only have a couple proficient canyoneers, I would recommend this method. It was not a problem at all.

Shane is correct about the size of the perch. Barstool. Be safe. Englestead is a lot of work, ie, lots of small raps and downclimbs. Tons o' fun.

[heliski2]

You need a minimum of two 60 meter ropes to do this face. It is safer and better to do it with two 300' ropes. We used two 60 meter 8 mm static lines. Two of us were using Petzl Piranha as rappel devices and the third was using a Black Diamond ATC. We discovered the previous day that his ATC did not do well on a single 8mm line as it fed too fast.

We had our most experienced climber who had done this canyon before set it up. He descended using one rope doubled - rappelling down to the bolt station where he locked himself in with webbing and a locking carabiner. He then set the second rope as a single line rappel to the bottom. I came down second while he stayed clipped in to the mid-station. I locked off my belay with three loops around my right leg and clipped securely into the bolt station where I transitioned to the single line then I unclipped from the bolt station and continued to rappel to the bottom.

The third climber with the ATC came down to the mid station where the first climber was waiting to secure him to the bolt station. Then he pulled the upper rope and connected it to the single line to provide a double line rappel from the bolt station ledge to the bottom. They rappelled one-at-a-time to the bottom where we pulled the ropes.

This is not a canyon for a beginner. The descent always seems to pull you to the left of the bolt station, so you must arrest your rappel and push yourself to the right to secure yourself to the bolt station. We have all been canyoneering for many years and the worst of us can confidently free climb at a 5.7 level while the leader is working on 5.11's.

[heliski2]

The majority of the pictures are on a camera which doesn't have access to high-speed internet connection for a couple more days. He is stuck at an oil field job outside of Vernal.[/img]

[price1869]

The third climber with the ATC came down to the mid station where the first climber was waiting to secure him to the bolt station. Then he pulled the upper rope and connected it to the single line to provide a double line rappel from the bolt station ledge to the bottom. They rappelled one-at-a-time to the bottom where we pulled the ropes.

This is not a canyon for a beginner.

Tie the top rope to the 2nd before pulling it.

climbing 5.7-5.14 isn't going to make a lick of difference if you don't know how to handle ropes, your emotions, emergency situations, and so on.

I would be confident doing this canyon with only 2 experienced canyoneers though, and taking beginners down.

I also disagree that 2 300' ropes would be a "safer" option. 300' is a long rappel and there's a lot that can go wrong there. I'm not saying that the way we did it (one 200' rope, one 150' rope, and one 60' rope) is any safer. I just think that safety is all in the mind of the canyoneer. Experience would back me up on that statement.

[heliski2]

Tie the top rope to the 2nd before pulling it.

He did just that after the climber was properly secured to the bolt station.

We originally planned to use three 60 meter ropes, but someone (me) left the 9mm in the shuttle vehicle back at Watchman campground. (Instead I grabbed a 90' rope to use on the short sections later in the canyon.) We were going to set the 9mm rope on the first rappel and use the two 8mm ropes tied together for the second section. Each of us would have been carrying one rope, so no big deal.

The main reason that I like to use a full length rope for any rappel is to have a fireman belay at the bottom just in case it is needed to arrest a rappel. One climber last year banged his head when he flipped upside-down beneath a large overhang and a momentary loss of control on the rope can easily result in a fall.

I'm a big believer in making safety a habit in every aspect of rope handling, but you're correct in what you say. Safety is an attitude that we all need to exhibit.