water canyon - hi spur

[goofball]

got to git out for the weekend as well. temps were pretty decent. got some rain a couple days and big winds Saturday night for a while.

friday i just wandered and gawked. what a beautiful area ! from hi spur campsite the views out over canyonlands and the green river are really nice. and you can see the whole of the san rafael reef stretching away as well as the bookcliffs, horseshoe canyon, and the henries in the distance from the campsite at the top of kelsey's "sandy dugway" that continues down to teh rim of horseshoe across from the west side standard entry.

and how hard is ti to take your trash w/ you people ? you bring it in, is it magically harder to take back out w/ you when it is lighter and has less mass ? or bury your tp so that shit isn't laying/blowing around ? c'mon. and shame on me for not cleaning up after you. i left camp in a hurry due to crazy hi winds and a storm brewing so i could get to a more sheltered spot. i should have taken the 2 minutes to get all the trash out though.

did the water canyon forks. very nice. been wantng to head in here for a few years, since seeing this whole area on a topo when lookign at bluejohn. the road out to hi spur from hans flat is in decent shape. i drive a hyundai elantra and had no problem. slow where conditions dictate, pick a good line where conditions dictate and i never bottomed out but for one wash that was a little steep and the nose and ass dug in as crossing. also could not make it out to the dh for the lower parking of ne spur fork. 2 spots where deep sand met a steep sloped rock wall. a hcv w/ 4wd will greatly increase the comfort level of driving any of these roads.

so i started out in se water canyon. starts slow but gets nice. opens and closes and has some nice short sections of really sculpted and skinny stuff before reaching the junction w/ e fork water. in se fork i stuck a hook and couldn't get the damn thing to flip ! i flip'd and flip'd and flip'd that stupid hook but it must have liked it up there. i could see the hook lifting up all teh way off the rock but that tip would not let go and drop ! sob... i don't feel too bad though, a couple i met down canyon a little ways did that same thing in e fork, but he climbed out and went back in and got it. i was feeling lazy and did not want to spend the time, so somebody gets a free ibis hook. then up and in again for the e fork. very nice ! has some really cool sections. deep and steep and sculpted. as well as teh section below the confluence of the 2 forks. coooooool. the final rap is really sharp over the edge ! be careful. it was here i caught up w/ the couple and their 2 dogs. yes, 2 dogs. beautiful blue heeler mix girls. so not little dogs. they said they do great in the canyons and this was their first time rappelling and did well. i didn;t ask how they deal w/ dog poo. i hope they pack it out. they were really nice though. they have been coming to this area for years and had seen kelsey's tidwell canyon years before but never descended. i was in the area just after kelseys last non-tech hiking guide came out and ran into a guy then who had been coming to the area for more than a decade and was pissed that now he was gonna start seeing "tons" of people in "his" ( ) canyons. i guess had had bought them form the nps. he also had already been aware of kelsey's ne spur fork and others for some time. but back to water canyon. after the final rap it is a really nice hike down water canyon (sans water, hence the name. ) to horseshoe and then up and out and back to base. had a good rain this day and hi winds started blowing. clouds everywhere, dark and heavy looking in a ring from e to s to w. had one knee deep wade in lower water below the junction of se and e fork. it could be avoided by stemming.

very few pics because i met a rattlesnake on a very crowded ledge during a 2 stage rap (where i stuck the hook). jinkies ! i put my pack over him so he couldn't see me (or strike me unless he moved out from under) and hopefully feel safer due to that fact. i gingerly/quickly got over him and on rap again far side of him, got my pack off him, but no, now he is on my pack. and clinging to it and climbing up for a better hold. well shit. so i drop the pack, rattlesnake nad all. including my camera. rip lil' buddy, rip. lens busted. body insides falling out ( focusing mirror glass and brackets). but the snake was ok. and still pissed. ****er.

so heres a few pics

[Canyonbug]

What, no picture of the snake? Or did you just make him into a new belt for busting your camera?

[trackrunner]

I should have read the post instead of looking at the pics.

Sorry about your camera. I would have no idea what to do if I met a rattle snake in a canyon. Probably the same thing you did.

[tanya]

Very nice

[Canyonbug]

I would have no idea what to do if I met a rattle snake in a canyon. Probably the same thing you did.

I have ran in to two rattlesnakes before during canyoneering trips. One was with Jason (goofball). He wanted to pick it up at the time, but I told him I would leave him in the canyon if he got bit. You must be a rattlesnake magnet Jason. I don't know if I want to go into any more canyons with you.

[goofball]

I would have no idea what to do if I met a rattle snake in a canyon. Probably the same thing you did.

I have ran in to two rattlesnakes before during canyoneering trips. One was with Jason (goofball). He wanted to pick it up at the time, but I told him I would leave him in the canyon if he got bit. You must be a rattlesnake magnet Jason. I don't know if I want to go into any more canyons with you.

and i didn't want to pick it up. u make me sound all crazy. i just wanted ti to be in my grasp. the australian guy did it all the time. how hard can it be ?

it was a little rattler, a little over a foot. but it was a rattler on a very crowded ledge. if it had been adobe swale size i would have been REALLY wigged ! but that is its home, not mine. i am a tourist, it is a resident. no hard feelings even had i got bit.

I should have read the post instead of looking at the pics.

thats all i ever (mostly) do. big many words hurt jason head.

[dandyj]

the only time I have ever saw a rattlesnake was in the roost. One in Larry canyon right after the mandatory rappels. it was a baby that I almost stepped on and another snake same canyon same trip right by the exit crack. I think it is just a roost thing.

[AJ]

Have seen many rattlesnakes. Mostly in the Escalante, but some in the Roost too. Have to be careful with the young ones. They usually haven't developed their rattles yet, so they shake, but no noise. They also haven't learned how to control their poison sacks, so a strike usually injects all the venom (unlike a mature rattler, who may do a dry bite.) The poison of the young ones is generally more potent too. Be careful if you try the Crocodile Hunter routine...

Take care,
A.J.

[Felicia]

Great report!

Poor camera...this year has been hard on cameras.

[AJ]

I hear that. Killed one in Zion in June. Had another one fall 35 feet shortly afterwards. Luckily it was attached to a small bag, and was in a camera bag. Must have landed just right, as that one survived. Was worried, as it was the new one...

[neumannbruce]

For the smokers out there - Cigarette Butts are LITTER

Carry them out.

[stefan]

amen to that bruce

sounds like you found a few in the canyons of the spur?

[neumannbruce]

Affirmative