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Thread: Down Blue John and out Horseshoe

  1. #1

    Down Blue John and out Horseshoe

    Saturday, with my son and five friends, I did Blue John Canyon and exited out Horseshoe Canyon past the Grand Gallery. It was my first time in Blue John so to see where Aaron Ralston was trapped was fascinating. It's pretty amazing to think of Ralston doing what he did and then making his way into Horseshoe canyon to finally find help. Friday night we camped at the Horseshoe Canyon trailhead and shuttled down to the west approach of Blue John in the morning. We started the hike at 9:00am and arrived at the Horseshoe Canyon trailhead at 6:00pm. Weather was near perfect for the day with great hiking temps. And what a beautiful canyon especially the lower section leading up to the last rappel. The slot was totally dry and the pool at the bottom of the final rappel was frozen solid. The slot below Ralton's choke stone was awesome and the light was pretty good for snapping a few shots. Other than a lot of sandy wash walking, it was a great day with some cool people. Next time, I'd like to do the East canyon and exit the main and miss that long slog out past the Grand Gallery. I've seen that twice now and I think that'll do. Enjoy the pics
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  3. #2
    Nice, missed ya by just a couple of days. Those are some nice pics, what camera are you using? We went down East up Middle on Monday. Middle must be popular, we were surprised how many tracks had come down Middle.

  4. #3
    Yeah Mark, I read your TR with great interest since I was headed down there too. I shoot with an Olympus E3, on a tripod, with mirror lock-up, bracketed w/ 5 exposures for HDR and tonemapping, ISO 100, with a 12-22mm 2.8 lens at F-16-22. Some of my exposures were 20-30 seconds long. I could have easily spent a couple hours in the slot section but alas, I had people with me and a long hike ahead of us. I took a bunch of pics with my GoPro helmet hero HD and I'm anxious to see how those turned out. Here's a couple from the helmet cam of where Ralston was trapped. The first one is the "S" log at the the beginning of the slot and the second is looking back up canyon at the spot where he stood for 127 hours
    Attached Images Attached Images   

  5. #4
    Good photos and nice report.

    I'm thinking of a trip down east up main in a week or two. Conditions?

    I'd heard the sand hallways section of main got washed out, is this true? If so, what's it like now?

  6. #5
    I do not know about the sand being washed out? Last week East had lots of butt freezin water and middle was bone dry.

  7. #6
    I took a a couple of buddies down main and out the west fork back in November and the sand is gone. We ended stemming from the first big down climb until the nifty s-turn. Not that that's a bad thing--it made it a more fun adventure for the new folks (including me).

  8. #7
    Thanks for the feedback. The new plan is to just do the main fork (enter/exit west fork). Just want to keep this trip light and easy.

    Then either go see the panels in Horseshoe or drive down to do Leprechaun.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by KanyonKris View Post
    I'm thinking of a trip down east up main in a week or two. Conditions?
    Dude! eight years ago last weekend we did the east/west combo. Doesn't seem like that long ago. That water was frickin' cold!

    FWIW: Kris is in the brown shirt.


  10. #9
    Awesome post. Looking to do west fork blue john to horseshoe with a couple buddies next month. I haven't found a whole lot of info on how long this could reasonably take. Essentially, we really want to hit the big drop and a major plus would be the gallery. We won't have a shuttle so would need to hike back. Is there an alternative route to see both other than west to main to horseshoe? Does anyone know approximately how long it would take to get back to the vehicle? Am I correct in assuming once you commit to the drop you are in it until the horseshoe trailhead exit or are there other ways out? Thats looking like a 15 mile trip and im not sure I want to go for that in one day since I am unfamiliar with the area and don't like sleeping in the sand. Any input on a good route to accomplish all/some of this would be very much appreciated!!!

  11. #10
    You gotta have a shuttle. That walk back after the Blue John / Horseshoe hike would be brutal and I'm not sure you could do it all in daylight. Some do the shuttle with bikes. We started at 9:00am at the Blue John West Trailhead and finished at the Horseshoe trailhead at 6:00pm. I couldn't imagine having to hoof it 14-15 miles after all that.
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  12. #11

    Rappeling equipment necessary?

    My girlfriend and I are from Toronto. We're planning on going to Utah this May for a couple of weeks Hiking, Mountain Biking and off roading in:

    Our Itinerary:

    -Vegas
    -Hoover Dam
    -Valley of Fire
    -Zion
    -Bryce
    -Capitol Reef Cedar Mesa - Cathedral Valley
    -Bluejohn Canyon
    -Arches
    -Dead Horse Valley
    -Canyonlands White Rim
    -Valley of the Gods
    -Goosenecks, Muley Point
    -Monument Valley
    -Glen Canyon Dam
    -Horseshoe Bend
    -Water Holes Canyon
    -South Canyon UPS Route - Grand Canyon
    -Toroweap Lava Falls Route
    -Vegas

    We're thinking of going down the main fork all the way to the big drop and then back up the west fork. I heard it is possible to hike down without rappeling equipment.

    Is it possible to downclimb/stem the main fork without a harness? If not would a 50 foot rope with knotted steps do? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

  13. #12
    the main fork is possible without a harness, but you will need to negotiate a few drops that depending on your climbing skill, may be a bit of work.

    http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/...st/pages/day2/

  14. #13
    Content Provider Emeritus ratagonia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CarpeyBiggs View Post
    the main fork is possible without a harness, but you will need to negotiate a few drops that depending on your climbing skill, may be a bit of work.

    http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/...st/pages/day2/
    I think it might be easier to go down the West Fork, then UP the main fork. Up is easier than down in this case (but I have not done it down). That way, if it gets to hairy, you can turn around and go back the way you came, without it ruining your day.

    T

  15. #14
    Content Provider Emeritus ratagonia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by aussie1213 View Post
    Awesome post. Looking to do west fork blue john to horseshoe with a couple buddies next month. I haven't found a whole lot of info on how long this could reasonably take. Essentially, we really want to hit the big drop and a major plus would be the gallery. We won't have a shuttle so would need to hike back. Is there an alternative route to see both other than west to main to horseshoe? Does anyone know approximately how long it would take to get back to the vehicle? Am I correct in assuming once you commit to the drop you are in it until the horseshoe trailhead exit or are there other ways out? Thats looking like a 15 mile trip and im not sure I want to go for that in one day since I am unfamiliar with the area and don't like sleeping in the sand. Any input on a good route to accomplish all/some of this would be very much appreciated!!!
    You could always fix a rope at the "big" rap, hike to the gallery, then back, jug the rope, return the way you came. Eliminates the need for a car shuttle.

    T

  16. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by ratagonia View Post
    I think it might be easier to go down the West Fork, then UP the main fork. Up is easier than down in this case (but I have not done it down). That way, if it gets to hairy, you can turn around and go back the way you came, without it ruining your day.

    T
    Actually, I have done it both ways on several occasions, and it is a LOT easier going down main fork than up. Down is a pretty easy slither stem and slide. Up is is a real bear. If going up, tether your pack so it hangs below you and doesn't get in the way. I've gone down east fork and up main a few times, and down main and up west a few times. Of course, west is the least interesting, so you see the best of all if you go down east and up main, but going up main is a pain.

    Nat

  17. #16
    Thanks for all the feedback. Probably going to take the main fork down to the big drop and back via West Fork. East fork might be to technical for us without rappeling equipment.

    Remoteman45 Great trip report, great shots!! How did you get the picture running over the ice? Did you use 20 sec exposure with ND filter, F22 on a tripod?

  18. #17
    That running on the ice shot is done with the camera in burst mode (best if done on a tripod but I handheld that one) then a little work in Photoshop with layers. Here's my best one to date - same kid-my son
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  19. #18
    Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated! How were those bolts on the big drop? Do I need to be prepared to build an anchor or were they pretty solid?

  20. #19
    Content Provider Emeritus ratagonia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by aussie1213 View Post
    Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated! How were those bolts on the big drop? Do I need to be prepared to build an anchor or were they pretty solid?
    Bolts at the big drop? Uh oh, I should go pull those out! Thanks for the heads up!!!

    Yes, you need to be prepared to build an anchor. Who knows what has happened to them recently - not I!

    (Only half kidding) Tom

  21. #20
    The bolts were bomber. Since they were there I didn't look around to see what natural anchors were available

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