Birch Hollow

[Bootboy]

I'm heading down to Zion this weekend and I'm planning on doing Birch Hollow with a group of 4. Me (fairly experienced) and three others (all familiar with ropes and rappelling but no canyon experience to speak of). I'm wondering what special challenges will be encountered or if this will be fairly straightforward. I'm also hearing that the longest rap is 110, is that true?. I have a 200' sterling C-IV rope. Do I need to count on using a pull cord for this rap? Any pertinent info you have would be great. I'm comfortable dealing with any of these challenges on my own but it's the lack of experience in my group that prompt's me to ask for advice.

Thanks.

[ghawk]

Birch is pretty easy. Easy rappels with easy starts, and it is a fun one. If you're competent then you can get your group through fairly easily. I don't remember rappel lenghts, someone else can answer that, but if it's just 110 feet you could probably biner block it and tie a 20 foot strand on the other side, maybe even some extra webbing or something. Somebody else might remember better though.

[burley]

X2 the above, short pull cord should be plenty. We did it in August and I have I terrible memory, but it was pretty straightforward and a great canyon. Myself and a (canyon inexperienced) friend have been considering Birch Hollow for this Saturday. If you are interested in meeting up and/or want more specific info, PM me.

[ilipichicuma]

I seem to remember the longest rappel being 100 feet even, but if you don't bypass the first one, as many people suggest (not bipassing the first one, I mean, as in they say not to do it) it could be 110 feet. Other than that, a 200 foot rope reached the bottom of the longest one perfectly. Otherwise Birch is very straightforward and tons of fun. Good luck!

[scubabryan]

I've done Birch about 18 times. Your 200' foot rope will not be long enough for the longest rap. It may only be a 100ft drop but the tree you anchor off too is at least 10 feet back from edge of the canyon. You will need to bring a pull cord and biner block your 200' rope. If you start on the North Fork Rd and stay in the water course, prepare for a hell of a time. Out of the 18 times I have done it, the last time was in September and it was absolute hell going through the brush due to mud and tons of branches and debris. Give yourself a little exta time if you plan to stay in the watercourse off the North Fork. Besides that, canyons don't come easier and more straight forward than Birch.

[Bootboy]

Thanks for all the help guys.

Bryan, what alternative to using the water course would you suggest? Are there any alternatives that would be more time conscious?

[levity]

We used an alternate approach described by Tom Jones. It takes about an hour but avoids bushwhacking the upper drainage: http://www.canyoneeringcentral.com/c...ch-hollow.html

Driving

Birch Hollow is approached using an old logging road off the North Fork Road. Drive north on the North Fork Road 5.4 miles to the entrance of the Zion Ponderosa Resort. Continue on the North Fork Road 2.8 miles to a small dirt road on the left (west), between two fenced ranches, the Gifford and the EZ Acres. Park here (2WD) or drive the small dirt road

[ilipichicuma]

Granted, I've only done it twice, but both times we went down the watercourse and I didn't find the bushwacking too bad. There is a pretty well-established social trail that will keep you out of the worst of the mud and bushes. Plus, staying in the watercourse is better for preventing erosion.

[skiclimb3287]

There was an earlier thread discussing entrances to Birch Hollow. Consensus was that using the watercourse was best.

See here:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...t=birch+hollow


Back to the original question... I agree with scubabryan - the longest rappel is anchored a ways back from the drop. If I recall correctly, my 230' rope (I know, odd size. I was given the end of the spool free) reached doubled, but its been awhile... Enjoy it! It's a great canyon!

[ratagonia]

Granted, I've only done it twice, but both times we went down the watercourse and I didn't find the bushwacking too bad. There is a pretty well-established social trail that will keep you out of the worst of the mud and bushes. Plus, staying in the watercourse is better for preventing erosion.

After that thread, I went down the watercourse for the first time in a couple years. It was not so good. Given all the rain and likely a lot of mud, right now I would definitely go around on the logging roads. The first rappel going down the watercourse is 110 feet. If you use the "go around" route, then you do not need to deal with that one. It has an awkward start and dangerous loose rock on it. Later in the canyon is a 100' rappel anchored off a tree 10' back from the edge. Again, your 200' rope doubled might not cover this one, so use a more robust method here. That CIV rope is quite fast, treat it as an 8mm when setting up.

Tom

[shagdeuce]

The first rappel going down the watercourse is 110 feet. If you use the "go around" route, then you do not need to deal with that one. It has an awkward start and dangerous loose rock on it.

Agreed. My 200' rope didn't work on this one. There is a smaller rap on canyon right that works well though.

Later in the canyon is a 100' rappel anchored off a tree 10' back from the edge. Again, your 200' rope doubled might not cover this one, so use a more robust method here.

I've tried this twice with two different unmeasured 200' ropes. In both cases, we biner blocked it and went down to set the length (you can't see if your rope is down from the top). Once set, both worked. The second rope was about 6 feet off the ground unstretched, but was fine when stretched. Like has been said...a 20' of webbing used as a pull cord (with a block) in case your's doesn't reach would work.

Of course...it would be a good idea to take an extra 100' rope anyway to cover your butt in case the 200' rope gets lost or damaged...

[scubabryan]

The watercourse this year up by the North Fork is so much worse this year than I've seen it in years past due to all the rain. If you haven't been in it yet this summer, you will be in for a surprise. Also, if you plan on hiking back up Orderville, the large hill you have to hike up to get out of Orderville has had considerable slides this year and a lot of the hill has fallen away. Was surprised to see this. Kinda awesome to see nature's power at work!

[ocanler]

Did Birch Hollow twice this year. Once in June with a nice stream going down the canyon. Another time in September after a big storm and the approach through the wash was muddy and very slippery. The North fork road was such a mess we had to walk all the way from the end of the paved road (another 2.5 miles). We did not do the first rap because of the loose rocks. My rope measured 210 ft and it was fine in the "100ft" rappel with the Ponderosa pine. We had a few feet left of ropes so the 200 ft rope should work just fine. I think that rap is more like 90ft from the lip.
Birch is fun, combined with Orderville it's a full day.

[Bootboy]

Is anyone aware of the current conditions of the road and in the canyon?