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Thread: Swell Conditions and Canyons Report

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    Swell Conditions and Canyons Report

    I had a group that went deep into the Swell for the weekend, camping near the top of Cable canyon. Overall, the weekend was quite warm, and much drier than the forecast.

    First off, the roads. Had folks come in from Exit 91 and Exit 99. Reports that exit 91 is better than 99 as Kelsey suggests. I wouldn't drive anything less than at least a mid-clearance vehicle down exit 99; HC recommended. You might have to do some road maintenance; especially at a wash close to the intersection where the roads from exit 91 and 99 meet up; so carry a shovel.

    The road which goes past last chance well (Kelsey's suggested route) is a little better than the Carlyle Wash, but Carlyle wash is likely faster for those with HC. Personally, I'd opt for a HC vehicle before heading in that deep to the Swell; and carrying a full size spare. We had a 4WD HC vehicle get a flat in there; likely from a sharp piece of shale.

    Now on to the canyons:

    Friday we explored the top two forks of Cable canyon. Went down North Fork of Cable to the confluence. This was decent, but quite a bit of wash walking. One good pool to swim in and cool us down. Hiked back up the South Fork of Cable. Much nicer fork with quite a long section of narrows. Nothing too technical on either fork down to the confluence, but to skirt the big drop going upcanyon in South Fork requires some fairly steep slickrock walking. Wouldn't try it if it was wet. There was a decent sized rattlesnake a little downcanyon from the big drop, and before you hit the confluence.

    Saturday we went down South Fork from the head, and went through the large drop as well (rather than skirt.) Did the main Cable canyon, and it was a very nice canyon and had very dry conditions. A few pools here and there that could be avoided, but overall, very dry compared to the water carrying capacity of that canyon (based on the water lines on the walls.) All the potholes were dry. This canyon could be very dangerous with the wrong water levels IMHO. There is one large and deep pothole that would be very problematic if it had about 9 feet of water in it. (Around 12' deep, so would be hard to get out as difficult tosses and booster would be fully underwater. Sand and rock bottom, so that could shift to make the exit even deeper.) Caveat emptor. None of the pots were too bad, as they were all dry for us so made for easy tosses. (Some moderately strenous escapes though.)

    I haven't done Cable from the bottom; would assume that is the best entry since that's the most common way now. Looks like the approach and exit would be much easier. If coming from the top, I'd highly recommend coming in from the South Fork.

    Sunday we went down Corral canyon and up Horse Heaven. This dropped off Kelsey's second edition; but I found both to be pretty canyons. Not super technical, but definitely nice. We went armed to the teeth because we were going to do the technical section in Corral that Kelsey says to bypass. Didn't need most of it. For those wanting to go in, I'd recommend a 80' rope with a pull cord (or just double your long rope that you need for the big drop in Corral), and several potshots for rap anchors (and the knowledge to use them.) Or you could build some deadmen/rockpiles as well. Horse Heaven had a few strenous upclimbs. Made easier with a partner assist, but a good climber can make them solo.

    Monday we packed up and drove over to Zero Gravity. The road to Zero gets a little bumpy around 1.6 miles in. All but the lowest clearance passenger cars should be able to make it in to there. Very carefully driven mid-clearance and higher vehicles should be able to make it to the trailhead at around 2.4 miles in. I'd recommend HC, or just walk the remaining .8 miles if you aren't sure...

    As for the canyon, it's the lowest water conditions I've ever seen in the canyon. There are still a few swims though; and the second swimming hole is still deep enough to jump into the right spot (make sure you scout it first.) The keeper pothole is almost dry, so it's a little more challenging, but a decent climber can get out without an issue. Easily done with a partner assist. The last downclimb/rap doesn't have a R/QL, so if you don't have a skilled climber in your group that feels comfortable downclimbing the bombay, bring one to put on there. While I think Zero is much more fun when it's full of water, it's still a very worthwhile at low water conditions.

    It was mostly sunny and very hot over the weekend. We had a few light rains on Friday night and Saturday. One moderate rain, but short, on Saturday afternoon. Our camp, and the area North of us got heavier rains than we saw, as there was some wash crossings with water and mud on the way out. The road to exit 99 was a little more torn up on our way out; looked like two ATV's got caught in a heavy rain on Saturday and still managed to get out. Mid to high clearance vehicles should still have no issue there.

    Hope it helps!
    A.J.

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