Most worthless canyon routes?

[shaggy125]

So I did the right fork of Blarney a few weeks ago... I don't see myself ever doing it again, made me think to ask what the most worthless canyoneering route you've ever done is? My number one, and probably others number one, is Lucky Charms... wow was that disappointing. I guess if we knew what it really was before we did it we might have enjoyed it more, but we were expecting at least somewhat of a slot, I don't think it got deeper than 20 feet at any point. Second most worthless was Shillelagh, I guess it had a nice entry rappel (if you like rappelling) but after that it's pretty much done. Right Blarney would be third on my list. I'd guess no one would do any of those three if they weren't literally right next to the pavement.

Eric.

P.S. For those who haven't done them all the other Irish Canyons are good, Left Blarney and all three forks of Leprechaun... very nice.

[Iceaxe]

Honestly Shaggy I think the big problem with you and the mentioned routes is your skill set greatly exceeds what is required to do them...... after some of the routes you have done the above mentioned routes would not provide a challege.

Now if you want to add a little spice.... go down Left (west) fork of Blarney and up the right fork, climb up onto the cap (5.9ish).... cross over the top and drop into the left fork of Shill then canyoneer down the RF of Shil to the junction where you will note a small side slot entering between the two forks. Climb up this side slot (5.9ish) to the cap and then drop down the left fork of Shil.... makes for a challenging 1/2 day for the highly skilled. Has a couple of difficult to solve climbing problems (at least for me).

That is also how we orgianally did the slots.

What I'm really saying is if you don't like the game then change the rules.

[ratagonia]

So I did the right fork of Blarney a few weeks ago... I don't see myself ever doing it again, made me think to ask what the most worthless canyoneering route you've ever done is?

I guess it depends on your expectations. I've always had a good time in both Blarney and Shillelagh.

A couple of my worst -

"Not Worth It" - follow the fault line that marks the start of Mystery Canyon (Zion), from Mystery Canyon up over a pass (very ugly bushwhacking) and then down to Orderville. We used a rope in one place, but the last person (as I remember) just slid down. Ugly, dirty, only has one very short nice section. We could have done Mystery!

Camp Creek in Zion - it's in the Green Book, so I thought it would be good. it was a hot day in July, and the no-see-ums were out, so I never stopped for more than 30 seconds. It had a few small bits that were pretty OK, but really, not much.

Corral Hollow, Zion - more than a touch of food poisoning from the fast food on the way down has likely tainted my memory, but the canyon had just a few nice spots. Lack of privacy in the middle section (since I was dropping trou every 15 minutes) did not help. Bivying at Big Bend was the highlight of the trip.

Refrigerator Cyn, Zion: seems like it had potential, but very dirty, ugly, brushy, unpleasant. The lower section is used as a bathroom by people on the Angels Landing Trail.

Like that?

Tom

[Iceaxe]

Gosh Tom, I'm kinda surprised Penitentiary didn't make your list.... must have been your amusing partner that spiced it up.

[Reedus]

Guess I can consider myself lucky... I have yet to do a canyon that blows. All the slots I have done, I have came out exhausted but loved every minute of them.

[ratagonia]

Gosh Tom, I'm kinda surprised Penitentiary didn't make your list.... must have been your amusing partner that spiced it up.

It was neither the best of days, nor the worst of days. Maybe we should go out and do an extremely mediocre canyon again, one of these days...

Tom

[Iceaxe]

mediocre is my middle name.

[mrbrejcha]

I did one in the San Juans that looked great on a map and even better from scouting trips, then sucked. LOTS of bush wacking through thorny bushes and only a little (but super fun) slot, and I forgot my wetsuit so it sucked even more. It had some fun raps, but they definatley weren't worth the effort.

[snatch]

Well then... it looks like Refrigerator Canyon is definitely on the to do list. What's your thoughts on Red Hollow?

[ratagonia]

Well then... it looks like Refrigerator Canyon is definitely on the to do list. What's your thoughts on Red Hollow?

Well, since I did it with Shane, it fit the (secondary) theme - mediocrity. A decent half-day close to my house. Dramatic start (270' rappel) could be good, but alas, we only had a 200'er, so we did a 199' rappel down the side a bit. The rest of the canyon was OK, had a couple fun downclimbs and a few short rappels, but was nothing special.

The gate may be locked during hunting season. It is on private land that might be locked at posted at times.

Tom

[Scott Card]

I'm not a big fan of Blue John. Too much sand sloging and not enough bang for the buck. Pretty once and nice to see all the rock art in Horseshoe Canyon once. But oh what a slog. I also am not a fan of Eardly or Not Mindbender. Just when it starts to get good, it dies and is over. That slog out of not mindbender is NASTY. Much worse than Larry imho.

[ratagonia]

I'm not a big fan of Blue John. Too much sand sloging and not enough bang for the buck. Pretty once and nice to see all the rock art in Horseshoe Canyon once. But oh what a slog. I also am not a fan of Eardly or Not Mindbender. Just when it starts to get good, it dies and is over. That slog out of not mindbender is NASTY. Much worse than Larry imho.

Hold yer horses there, ScottCard. Bluejohn? Have you done the East/Main Loop? Or just the "search for blood" Rolling Stone section? The East/Main Loop ROCKS!

Eardly - eh? yeah, gotta agree.

Not Mindbender - obviously, the subtleties of the canyon escaped your grasp (sniff, sniff).

Tom

[stefan]

I'm ...

Hold yer horses there, ScottCard. Bluejohn? Have you done the East/Main Loop? Or just the "search for blood" Rolling Stone section? The East/Main Loop ROCKS!

Eardly - eh? yeah, gotta agree.

Not Mindbender - obviously, the subtleties of the canyon escaped your grasp (sniff, sniff).

... not to mention the fact that afta the rappel you're in one of the prettiest parts of robbers roost canyon.

[shaggy125]

Honestly Shaggy I think the big problem with you and the mentioned routes is your skill set greatly exceeds what is required to do them...... after some of the routes you have done the above mentioned routes would not provide a challege.

Maybe that is true for Right Blarney, since I just did it, but I will never back down on Lucky Charms, that one just blows I did it back when I was pretty new, with a bunch of really new newbies, and everyone agreed that it was a major dissapointment, probably because we expected a deep slot like belfast blvd or something, not a shallow little crack that went to the top of the plateau.

What I'm really saying is if you don't like the game then change the rules.

Thanks for the suggestions, maybe I will try that route sometime to renew my faith in those canyons .

[oldno7]

I think "music" down then back has to make the list

[Scott Card]

I'm not a big fan of Blue John. Too much sand sloging and not enough bang for the buck. Pretty once and nice to see all the rock art in Horseshoe Canyon once. But oh what a slog. I also am not a fan of Eardly or Not Mindbender. Just when it starts to get good, it dies and is over. That slog out of not mindbender is NASTY. Much worse than Larry imho.

Hold yer horses there, ScottCard. Bluejohn? Have you done the East/Main Loop? Or just the "search for blood" Rolling Stone section? The East/Main Loop ROCKS!

Eardly - eh? yeah, gotta agree.

Not Mindbender - obviously, the subtleties of the canyon escaped your grasp (sniff, sniff).

Tom

OK, Ok, Let me put it this way about Blue John. I went in when the Raulston furor was at its peak and the legends of the difficulty were exaggerated. The media had pumped this canyon up to be THE beastly death trap that it is not. Perhaps a bit of unrealistic expectations? Probably. The canyon is beautiful and the rock art in Horseshoe is just about as good as it gets. I rescind my contempt for Blue John as a beautiful gem. Adventure??? No, at least not what I was expecting. Fun, ya probably.

As for Not Mindbender, maybe it was lugging the wet suit through and after a very short section of narrows and one pool of waist deep water we thought we might get our wet suits on cause it looked like it might be getting good. That was until someone peaked around the corner and announced that we were at the last rap. HUH? Yep, the subtleties escaped me. What were they again? Oh ya, it was probably the funky anchor at the last rap. Give me Larry Canyon any day, including the hike out.

[CarpeyBiggs]

I'll add Mindbender to the list. Did it with Alusul earlier this year. Won't do it again.

Oh yeah, and Lomatium. Talk about a sleeper.

[shaggy125]

OK, Ok, Let me put it this way about Blue John. I went in when the Raulston furor was at its peak and the legends of the difficulty were exaggerated. The media had pumped this canyon up to be THE beastly death trap that it is not. Perhaps a bit of unrealistic expectations? Probably. The canyon is beautiful and the rock art in Horseshoe is just about as good as it gets. I rescind my contempt for Blue John as a beautiful gem. Adventure??? No, at least not what I was expecting. Fun, ya probably.

As for Not Mindbender, maybe it was lugging the wet suit through and after a very short section of narrows and one pool of waist deep water we thought we might get our wet suits on cause it looked like it might be getting good. That was until someone peaked around the corner and announced that we were at the last rap. HUH? Yep, the subtleties escaped me. What were they again? Oh ya, it was probably the funky anchor at the last rap. Give me Larry Canyon any day, including the hike out.

Yea, I've heard a few people say that main bluejohn to Horseshoe is a little slot with a LONG slog out, East - Main loop sounds much more appealing. I liked Not Mind Bender because it was pretty, but it really isn't anything more than hiking with ropes. The exit canyon to the Moki steps is nice too.

[Jaxx]

I really enjoyed Blue John. We did the main fork out horse shoe. Blue John was alot of fun with a variety of slottiness. Wide (as far as slots go) and tall, short and twisty with some scrambles in the middle. The hike after the big rap into Horseshoe was a slog but a very beautiful one. I will probably not do Horse shoe for a long time but Blue John is high on my list for prettiness.

Narrows in Main fork of Blue John. My favorite part of the canyon.


twisty narrow part. Dark and fun. both pics in the same spot, one has flash



YMMV