Granary Canyon

[Slot Machine]

Tony (@Absolute Gravity ) and I checked out Granary Canyon on December 4th, 2012. It was spectacular! It is a longish route for a short winter day, and the navigation was challenging.

The final rappel was intense. It looks much higher than it actually is, partly because the top is so much higher than the surrounding landscape and partly because you can't see your ropes touching the bottom until you are 150 feet into the rappel. Sadly, we have no pics of the final rappel because we were hustling to get down before it was dark.

If you decide to do Granary, be sure to take some extra time plotting your route to the first rappel. Navigating around the plethora of drainages is easy to mess up and the terrain is tough to read. Also, during the middle of the day it is difficult to maintain your eastward bearing (especially while engrossed in quality conversation).

Overall, Granary is my favorite Moab route (so far). It was great day with a great friend.

Bob















http://amazingslots.blogspot.com/201...ry-canyon.html

[Sandstone Addiction]

Excellent TR Bob, beautiful pics, too.

What time did you start the approach?

[moab mark]

I would imagine with only two guys you only had one vehicle how do you work out the shuttle?

[Slot Machine]

We did have a shuttle, Tony just came down for the day and we left his car at the bottom.

My wife dropped us off at the top at 9 AM. We finished at 5 PM, but we wandered a bit. If we had mapped all the little turns in the hike to the first rap, we would have been done by 3:30 or 4. We were pretty tired from crypto-hopping when we finally put on the harnesses.

[moab mark]

Who's beta did you use?

[Slot Machine]

Who's beta did you use?

Shane's, and it is written just fine.

To be clear, our wandering was a result of us not paying attention, not really studying the route before hand, assuming that the trials out there lead to Granary (they don't, for the most part), and the disorienting landscape.

Studying the approach on Google Earth and punching 5 or 6 points (just for the approach) into your GPS will save you lots of time. And probably some crypto.

[ilipichicuma]

Yeah, I remember that approach. Gavin and I had to look at the map a lot and read Shane's instructions several times over to make sure we were going to the right place. It was a fun canyon though! Great report!

[moab mark]

Without a GPS finding the drop in can be tough. Ask Doug At the Moab Fest. :)
They pioneered a whole new route. The only problem was it sucked.

[french_de]

Without a GPS finding the drop in can be tough. Ask Doug At the Moab Fest. :)
They pioneered a whole new route. The only problem was it sucked.

Yes, when we did the canyon we did not have the exact GPS drop in point. It is not obvious from the top and we ended up pioneering a route that took us to the right and down a side drainage with its own rappel but bypassing the first three cool rappels. It wasn't bad after that. I really liked the last big rappel.

Thanks Slot Machine for the great TR and pictures.

[Mountaineer]

Love this canyon! Thanks for the pics and report.

Yes, there are some big drops! Enough to ask myself, "do I really want to try this sport?"

This was my first, and the only one I've done twice (upper & lower make a long day).

[Absolute Gravity]

The views from on top (bottom? You are still on top even though you are at the bottom of the canyon) are amazing! Not the most exciting canyon, kind of easy going, but the views in the 2nd and the last picture (and others along the way) are just fantastic. Sitting at the dry fall looking out over the landscape is one of my favorite canyoneering experiences so far. I thought Zion was the only place to get views that good. Just mesmerizing.

Had a little issue with the last rappel involving a crack, the rope, and a pebble which made it take 45 minutes for me to get down. Nothing harrowing, but definitely a pain in the ass. Kinda nerve wracking (for both of us) trying to communicate with Bob 200ft. below me as the sun is setting that something was wrong, but that it was not an emergency and would take a minute or 30 to fix. Made the beer back in town taste that much better though.

Super good time talking, hiking, mesmerizoring. Would be up for it again any day.