Kolob Out; Right Fork In

[Mark Schnupp]

Well it looks like we are going to be denied Kolob again this year....unbelievable! So on the menu now is Right Fork Direct via the Hammerhead. The plan is to do the RF on Saturday and fight our way through the 14 miles and expected 105 heat. Needless to say, we will be getting a very early start.

My question to you is two fold: Can I take a shorty wetsuit through the direct section? And, has anyone done RF Direct recently and have a condition report?

So what say you: Am I a complete idiot, or should I go for it?

[tanya]

Bummer! Kolob is the BEST! RF sounds fun though!

[canyoncaver]

Why are you denied Kolob? We did Boundary on Saturday and the water levels in Kolob seemed fine. We unscientifically guessed that it was running about 5 cfs at the bridge.

[Mark Schnupp]

Why are you denied Kolob? We did Boundary on Saturday and the water levels in Kolob seemed fine. We unscientifically guessed that it was running about 5 cfs at the bridge.

The WCWCD told me that they are not releasing water, but it is going over the spillway and they will not speculate on the cfs, however they did tell a friend of mine that they estimate the flow at 15 cfs. This seems to be the default line of BS they tell everybody regardless of actual conditions. In my eye's, with their dishonesty, they are encouraging the canyon to be poached. I'm not saying that's what we are going to do, but after three years of this same misinformation, I'm considering it.

That's great to hear that you where in Boundary, that's on the menu for Sunday. Can you give us a quick conditions report?

[ratagonia]

So.... are you denied a permit by Zion Park?

You don't actually go in the Park to do Kolob, if you never touch the right side of the canyon.

Jes sayin...

Tom

[Mark Schnupp]

So.... are you denied a permit by Zion Park?

You don't actually go in the Park to do Kolob, if you never touch the right side of the canyon.

Jes sayin...

Tom

I never got that far. Once I heard 15 cfs I just assumed the Park wouldn't issue a permit. Right side huh, interesting.

[Scott Card]

He's jes sayin'

[ratagonia]

I never got that far. Once I heard 15 cfs I just assumed the Park wouldn't issue a permit. Right side huh, interesting.

Call the Park. Lying to YOU is one thing, lying to the Park is another. (not you, I mean the WCWCD).

Tom

[remoteman45]

I did the Right Fork June 1st and although it wasn't real warm yet, the water felt good when you needed to jump in and cool off. I did the full meal deal 2 night/3 day from Wildcat including swimming the Black Pool w/o a wet suit and it was VERY cold so I could only imagine how cold the Right Fork would be if you did the long slot section w/o a wet suit. If the Black Pool is the only swim, I wouldn't take a wet suit. The Right Fork is now one of my favorites in Zion.

[Mark Schnupp]

He's jes sayin'

While I value and appreciate everybody's advice, I wouldn't blindly go into a canyon like Kolob without verifying conditions for myself. I'm a big fan of personal responsibility.

I'm calling the Park now to see if they will issue me a permit. All keep you posted.

I did the Right Fork June 1st and although it wasn't real warm yet, the water felt good when you needed to jump in and cool off. I did the full meal deal 2 night/3 day from Wildcat including swimming the Black Pool w/o a wet suit and it was VERY cold so I could only imagine how cold the Right Fork would be if you did the long slot section w/o a wet suit. If the Black Pool is the only swim, I wouldn't take a wet suit. The Right Fork is now one of my favorites in Zion.

Thanks for the update. It sounds like I should just error on the side of caution and take the Farmer John. It's just so hard when it's 105 out and your dying because your pack weights a metric ton!

[MSchasch]

I did right fork direct via hammerhead last year. We dragged full wetsuits through it and it was overkill for me. The direct only had a few pools that were chest deep or over, I don't remember any swims. Stupidly we slogged from the direct all the way to the black pool with wetsuits on, so by the time we got there we lounged in the pool to cool down. Hammerhead probably doesn't get done too often, I'd say bring some webbing in there, last time some of the anchors were pretty tattered. Spending the night at the grand alcove lower down in the right fork has got to be in my top 5 camping spots of all time.

[ratagonia]

While I value and appreciate everybody's advice, I wouldn't blindly go into a canyon like Kolob without verifying conditions for myself. I'm a big fan of personal responsibility.

I'm calling the Park now to see if they will issue me a permit. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the update. It sounds like I should just error on the side of caution and take the Farmer John. It's just so hard when it's 105 out and your dying because your pack weights a metric ton!

Not suggesting you go in "blind". The permit is unrelated to whether conditions are safe or appropriate for you to do the canyon.

Tom

[canyoncaver]

Boundary was great. One of the prettiest canyons I've seen. The water in Boundary was flowing enough to be sporty, but not dangerous. I wore a thin wetsuit and was glad to have it.

We used a 210', 150', and 120' ropes. The 150' is a 8mm that I just brought for backup but we ended up using all three ropes in rotation to keep the group of six moving. After the slot, there are many, many trees down in the wash and it makes for slow going down to Kolob. Once there, we took our wetsuits off on the big flat rock. You don't really need them past that point, although there are pools in Kolob including one swimmer. Considering it hit 107 in Springdale that day we didn't really mind! You could actually just take them off after the final rappel. We kept ours on to Kolob because we were still cold from the canyon. I put two new holes in mine from all the down tree branches in the wash.

The MIA exit lived up to its reputation. We put some good footprints in the trail there for you. Ahead of us, the trail was faint and hard to find in many places. It looked like only one group had been through before us this year? Either that, or the rain really washes away evidence between trips. Tom's MIA directions are right on, bring them. I'm not sure I would attempt the MIA after dark, so get an early start on this trip. Maybe I would try it in the dark now that I've seen it, but definitely wouldn't recommend anyone do it for their first time at night. There are places where you could fall a long way. It's a slog, but the beauty of Boundary Canyon makes it all worth it. We did the trip in 9 hours with 6 people. Considering it was the first technical canyon for three of them, we thought 9 hours was pretty good!

I am no hydrologist, but to me the flow in Kolob looked closer to 5 cfs than 15 cfs. Go look under the bridge and see what you think. I was told at the Backcountry Desk that Echo Canyon is the only currently closed resource. When I asked about how the flow in Kolob might affect our Boundary trip, the ranger told me there was a Boundary conditions thread on Bogley I should check out. Since I had already posted in that thread, and called the WCWCD (where they told me it was a suicide mission), I figured I had exhausted my beta sources and we just went for it. Really glad we did.

[tanya]

Wow! Nice photos Remote Rookie.

[Mark Schnupp]

Not suggesting you go in "blind". The permit is unrelated to whether conditions are safe or appropriate for you to do the canyon.

Tom

What, how's that? I thought the premise behind the permit system was exactly that; to make the decision for me whether it's safe AND appropriate. (End of rant)

[Mark Schnupp]

I did right fork direct via hammerhead last year. We dragged full wetsuits through it and it was overkill for me. The direct only had a few pools that were chest deep or over, I don't remember any swims. Stupidly we slogged from the direct all the way to the black pool with wetsuits on, so by the time we got there we lounged in the pool to cool down. Hammerhead probably doesn't get done too often, I'd say bring some webbing in there, last time some of the anchors were pretty tattered. Spending the night at the grand alcove lower down in the right fork has got to be in my top 5 camping spots of all time.

Boundary was great. One of the prettiest canyons I've seen. The water in Boundary was flowing enough to be sporty, but not dangerous. I wore a thin wetsuit and was glad to have it.

Thanks for the beta MSchasch and Canyoncaver.

[ratagonia]

So.... are you denied a permit by Zion Park?

You don't actually go in the Park to do Kolob, if you never touch the right side of the canyon.

Jes sayin...

Tom

I was up there on July 16th, and drove up to the dam to check the flow. There was water coming out the dam, but not over the spillway. There is a "gauging section" below the dam, and I just happened to have a ruler in my pocket. 4 feet wide x 15" deep x 2.8 feet per second = 14 cfs flow rate.

Over at the viewpoint, looking down into the creek, it looked pretty reasonable. Hard to say what it would look like down at the dropin point.

Tom