DingDang loop with kids! 4/21/08

[Jaxx]

We went down to enjoy some free skin care exfoliating in the Swell on 4/18 to 4/21. It was very windy and sand blowing in every nook and cranny. We went with Caccc and his family. We did the mandatory exploration in Goblin Valley on Saturday and had plans for Ding on Sunday.

We get to where we think the TH is for Ding and head up the wash. We were on the right trail but things went wrong. We get to a drainage coming from the north after about 5-10 minutes of walking. We can see some slickrock behind the dirt hill a ways and think that this must be the entry for ding. I will be the first to admit that I suck at map reading and it has gotten us in trouble before. We head up the drainage and it winds its way north then west-ish. Eventually we get to some sandstone and it isn't ding. We keep heading west and make our way over a big sandstone hill and down into the next drainage. "This can't be ding canyon". Well I had to make sure so while the others stop and rest for lunch I run to the top of the drainage and get to a bowl that doesn't look like any canyons are in the close area behind us. I run around a little and decide we need to go farther west. I get back to the group and tell them the bad news.
We almost went back the way we came but we decide to head down the canyon and see if we can find the right TH for Ding.
On our way down we check a spot that looks like the head of a canyon and Caccc and I are sure it is Ding. We don't have time to do the hike today so we keep going down the wash. We get to a spot that is pretty obvious that it is the correct "Y" for the ding dang loop.
We hike back to the cars and head back to camp for a nice sandy dinner. The next day, Sunday, we are heading home. Being a man I discuss with Caccc about not being beat by Ding and wanting to go back and do it. He agrees and we tell the women folk how it is.

Here is a link the the trail we off trail loop we made on sunday: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1867246

Sunday we get to the TH and hike in and bypass our previous days wash. We put alot of rocks in the way of the drainage hoping that others won't make the same mistake that we did. There were alot of footprints heading up that drainage.
We make it to the Y and head right for Ding. We climb the 30ft steep slickrock and we can see the canyon. The first part of the canyon is some awesome narrows. We quickly got to the first obstacle. Most of this canyon is pretty easy. In my family I had me, carrying our 21 month old baby, my wife, carrying our 8 month old and our two daughters 5 and 7 yrs old. Cacc had his 2 year old on his back with his wife a 4 year old hiker and a 3 month old lab.
The way up ding was fun and the kids were having a blast and we were making good time. We got to some potholes that were about 1/2 mile from the top of the canyon and stop for lunch in the shade. This was about where the canyon really starts to widen. We make our way through a short boulder field and then it is an easy hike out. We decided that since the kids were doing so well we would go down Dang instead of heading back down Ding. The trail over to Dang was windy and hot, but not too long.
We head down the first canyon to the right and hope it's Dang. With my navigational skills we can never be sure. The first obstacle come pretty quick. It is a 10 footish downclimb. I just headed down and the kids were handed to me. Wifey and Caccc went the the left for an easier downclimbing spot. There are a bunch of dryfalls like this where we just go down then hand the kids and dog down. Some of them we had one person stop half way down so the kids would be handed to them then there would be a person at the bottom. This worked for all but one are that was almost to the end. Normally people rappel down this spot but Caccc downclimbed down with his kid on his back. He took of his backpack and came back for the other kids. There was a bolt on the left (ldc) when you get to the drop you have to climb down a little way to get to the bolt. The kids would climb down to me and I would put a boline on them and they would scoot on their butts down to Caccc and he would help them to the bottom. He could stand on a ledge that was only about 5ft tall and when the kids would get to the bottom of the scoot butt slab he would just pick them up. Then I used the rope for a handline down. The last real obstacle we ran into was a narrow section with water in the pothole. Cacc was first and made it most of the way without getting wet but slipped right at the end and got a foot wet. So he just took off his pack and walked throught the ankle deep water and ferried the kids and dog and his wife. My and canyongirl(my wife) stemmed across. I made it across without getting wet but the weight of the pack was too much and she started slipping and couldn't stop and she fell in and got her feet wet.
The rest of the canyon was just sand slogging back out the the cars. It took us 6 hours to get through the loop. We were home by midnight. Wifey hurried and gave the two older kids a bath so they could be ready for school in the morning while I unloaded the trailer. Everyone was happy to have a comfy bed to sleep in.
I have pictures but I lost the cable for the camera so I will post as soon as I find it. Oh and also I am taking a class on map reading/compass stuff so hopefully I won't get my group lost again. This is kindof our thing now though see here: http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8371

[rockgremlin]

Thanks for admitt.....errr....sharing.

We're looking at doing the Ding/Dang loop later this summer with the kiddies -- thanks for the insight.

[ratagonia]

Cool trip report - thanks for sharing.

Maps are good. Follow map.

As a rule of thumb, it takes adults (in the desert, not on a trail) 20 to 30 minutes to walk a mile. With kids... well, slower. So that .95 miles from the carpark to the Y should take at the LEAST 20 minutes.

Tom

[Jaxx]

The sad thing is is that I looked at the map. That is why I am taking the class . We were hiking at about 1 mile an hour. So to the y took us about 30 minutes on our way out the first day.

[Iceaxe]

A GPS is $100 and takes all the guess work out of navigating.... not saying learning to navigate by map is not a good thing... since it is.... but it's always nice to have a GPS to double check your navigational skills against.

[jwurst]

Thanks for posting. Did the 4 year old hiker have any trouble negotiating the ledges to bypass the big dryfall at the top of the canyon? There is that one spot that is really narrow. This is the spot I'm talking about: http://myweb.cableone.net/wuorst/post/dang.jpg. I imagine you just carried the younger ones. I've been thinking of taking my kids (age 4 & 5). I'm trying to decide if its best to try to have them walk the ledges or if its best to attack the dryfall directly with ropes. We've done that sort of thing with them before.

[Jaxx]

I don't recognize that part of the canyon. We just hit all the dryfalls head on. Only used the rope for the bigger drop that had a bolt. On one dryfall it was about 12-15 ft drop. Caccc downclimbed all the way and then I downclimbed half way and one of the wives would hand a kid to me and I would hand them to Caccc. Sorry I can't be more help.

[oldno7]

How can anyone even be certain Jaxx was in Ding or Dang??

[Jaxx]

How can anyone even be certain Jaxx was in Ding or Dang??

I'm still not 100% sure myself

[jwurst]

Its hard to believe that you could have been in the wrong canyon. Your map shows you found the correct junction between Ding & Dang on the first day and it is a long way over to Cistern or Bell canyons. The rest of your description matches what I remember. When I was there I didn't really inspect the big dryfall so I don't remember the details of it. We just did the bypass and went on. Shane Burrows on climb-utah.com describes it as "You will soon reach a 40-foot dryfall with a 20-foot dry fall just below." (http://www.climb-utah.com/SRS/dingdang.htm). Its hard to believe you could miss a 40 foot drop. Maybe there is a slot where that drop can be taken in smaller segments. Anyhow, if we go we'll probably pack a rope and if we don't find an easy way down then we'll use it to go directly over the drop or we'll rig it as a handline/tyrolean across the narrow part of the bypass.

[ratagonia]

I don't recognize that part of the canyon. We just hit all the dryfalls head on. Only used the rope for the bigger drop that had a bolt. On one dryfall it was about 12-15 ft drop. Caccc downclimbed all the way and then I downclimbed half way and one of the wives would hand a kid to me and I would hand them to Caccc. Sorry I can't be more help.

That bolt could disappear AT ANY TIME.

(Just so you know)

Tom

[tanya]

Nice report ... but we are looking for those photos of Roxy and the kids.

[Jaxx]

I am pretty sure we were in the right canyon. The big drop is probably the one with the bolt on it. We had to downclimb a few feet on the left (LDC) to get to the bolt. It was actually placed on the ground at your feet. there was a slickrock slope that dropped to a ledge that Caccc was standing on. After the kids scooted on their bottoms to Caccc he would just pick them up and walk along the ledge to the left(LDC) and then walk them down to the sandy bottom. You could probably just walk the kids down the slope to the person at the edge. I would definitely take a rope though, just in case. The bolt wasn't really needed but since it was there we used it.

While we were putting the rope away and getting packs back on the kids actually climbed up almost to the height of the slope on a ledge to the right (LDC). If you have rope/knot knowledge you should be able to make it through the canyon*. It really helped to have 3 adults to be able to shuttle kids down the downclimbs.

*Jaxx is not responsible for you death even if you use my advice. My advice is purely hear say and has no merit whatsoever. You release me off all liabilities even if I was the direct cause of your demise.
How does that sound Mr. Card?

[Alex]

Jaxx, cool report, thanks a lot! I have a 5 year old canyoneer in training as well, and Ding Dang will be my next target.

Rock, if you ever go down with the fam, let me know, I'd love to hit it together.

[Scott Card]

*Jaxx is not responsible for you death even if you use my advice. My advice is purely hear say and has no merit whatsoever. You release me off all liabilities even if I was the direct cause of your demise.
How does that sound Mr. Card?

For this group, you may need something a bit more powerful. Actually, it just might work. Now for a small fee, I could rewrite that disclaimer into a couple of pages releasing you, your wife, kids, next of kin, political party, church group, Petzl, Imlay canyon gear, ABC, Fox News.... etc. However, I have yet to figure out how to include George Bush and global warming on the list of those relieved of liability since they are the reason for every bad thing in the world today.

[Scott Card]

Oh and I forgot, Tracy McGrady can't be on the list. Everything bad that happens to Houston is his fault.

[chabidiah]

With 6 kids under the age of 7 and a 3 month old puppy I think we did pretty good. Its hard to gauge how far you have traveled by how long you have walking and dragging little people. I blame it all on my wife because thats what husbands do.. right? We had a great time and we went back the second time because we didn't want to go home total losers. And once again Jaxx gave an all too "accurate" trip report.

[Chungy22]

I know these are old trip reports, but they all sound really fun! I have to do more canyons! They all sound way fun! Thanks for all the good trip reports! I look forward to reading your trip reports at work! It gives me something to do on my down time!!!