Frog Hollow. 12/16/12

[2065toyota]

My sister in law had flown in from North Carolina on Saturday and wanted me to take her hiking Sunday. With all the snow the last couple of days Zion was a little on the cold side and the road above Silver Reef sucks when its wet. We had been talking about Frog Hollow for a while but had never actually went. It was a good fit for a little bit of a chilly day. The approach and the canyon would be brutal in the summer so I would save it for a cool day.

We put a quick plan together and 7 of us headed out Sunday morning for a little fun. It took us about 1.5 hours to get to the area where we could hike down into the canyon. We immediately hit the first obstacle which could be downclimbed, but our feet were muddy and the penalty points would be about a 15' drop into a 2' deep pool full of rocks. So to be on the safe side we found a good tie off point and rapped down. While looking for good tie off, I stumbled upon a geocache hidden in some boulders. It was an old army box and inside was full of stuff. The log book was dated back to 2004 with the latest entry being January of 2011. We entered our names and date and returned it to it's hiding place.

A fun little downclimb then the big rap. I had researched a bit and the best info I found was 240' on the drop. I had bought a new 300' rope but hadn't used it yet because Eric's 340' rope just seemed to work so good all the time. And he likes to pack it . So I biner block the 300' and toss it over for it's maiden voyage. I hook up and head over the edge and about 15' I feel something weird in my hand, but I know exactly what it is. A knot in my rope and I'm 230' off the ground. Not sure how it got there, but it was. I bought the rope and I stuffed in the rope silo and it hadn't been out since. I have just recently switched from an ATC to an ATS and places like this make me glad I did. I decide that since I'm only 15' down the easiest would just be to go back up, so Eric lowers me another rope to clip in and he top belays me as I climb back up the vertical face. Stuff like that seems to get your heart beating a little faster, but staying calm and prepared makes it not that big of deal

We get the rest of the group down and continue down the canyon. A few small downclimbs down a long open canyon brings us to the next drop. A two stage, both into pools which we really didn't want to get wet. I get volunteered to go first, since it was my idea to come here. I get down and the first isn't deep at all and you can get around the water. The next pool is 30' wide and looks deep. There is another set of anchors there so I hook up another rope to these anchors to take down with me to try and set up a guided rap. I get down close to the water and am able get across the wall and around the pool without getting wet but it takes me a bit to do so. I drag the rope around the pool and notice some anchors in the wall and use to set up the guided rap.

All the rest goes well as we continue down the remainder of the canyon. Definitely not as scenic and Zion sandstone slots, but so much better than sitting at home.

[Kuya]

Looks like FUN!!!

[2065toyota]

Wish the rope would have looked like this the first time down

[gingerproblems]

I was waiting for this TR when I saw your candition. Sweet stuff man! That big rappel looks like a blast.

[jman]

I was waiting for this TR when I saw your candition. Sweet stuff man! That big rappel looks like a blast.

That's funny - I saw the same thing on candition and was hoping he would post soon. Need to get this off the list

I know it's not a good canyon but one I would like to cross off. Care to share the entrance and exit cords in PM?

[Iceaxe]

Thanks for the TR

[ratagonia]

Sweet. thanks for showing the flag on a snowy Sunday...

[Mountaineer]

Great job on setting up the guided rap. Hopefully I'll get an ATS for Christmas? Looking forward to trying it.

[2065toyota]

Had a couple people ask about the approach