Arch Canyon 2/16/13

[Jolly Green]

I generally don't post many trip reports, but this canyon provided many firsts- so I couldn't resist. We set off for St George to spend the President's Day weekend with my wife's family. I decided to bring along my gear to see if there were any takers. Thanks to her family, we had some handy babysitters for the little ones and my wife was finally ready to stop hearing about canyons and experience one herself. After the dust settled, my brother-in-law, his wife, and their 13 year old daughter were in for the adventure. It was my niece's first canyon experience too.

After setting up the car shuttle, we started in on the approach. Compared to the northern Utah dreariness, it was nice to feel the 65 degree air and finally see some blue sky without a single cloud to be seen. We soon arrived at the canyon wash and found the first rappel. We were happy to see it was a great one for everyone to practice and get comfortable rapping. Soon, we peered over the 2nd rap only to see a mostly full pothole that included a pretty decent sized rat who apparently couldn't make the lip and met his demise. The girls weren't too thrilled about getting near the "dead rat water", so we bypassed this on the right LDC. We were able to give them a little more practice by rapping the last 10 feet using me as meat. The 3rd rappel is a sweet little gem that tapers as you go and gets you into a cool enclosed area.

The 4th rappel was where the fun began. Thanks to input from a previous post, I knew this canyon had water in a few spots. Thus, the boys came prepared to get wet and prepared to keep the girls dry. I went down first to find the water to be knee deep and decided this would be a perfect spot to try setting up my first guided rappel. This didn't take too long and my wife was sent as the guinea pig. I learned a few things that day. Namely, not many girls like being the guinea pig. Also, this particular 20 foot rap doesn't give you nearly enough pitch to get people down easily. My wife did her best fish-flopping-on-dry-land impression while only a few inches above the water to get to the end of the line dry. I think I still owe her for that one. After a few adjustments, the rest of the group made it easily across. Looking back, I probably should have just given all the girls a piggy back ride across the water, but that's how you learn, right?

We made it through the last 2 big raps- roughly 100 and 200 feet. Luckily the usual lake below the 5th rappel could be walked over- no second chance to redeem myself by setting up a killer second guided rappel. The last rap provided a few tense moments as it was the longest rap everyone in the group but the boys. Because of this it served as a great lesson that no matter how scary it looks from the top, it is important to trust the rope, your equipment, and most importantly yourself. If you persevere and overcome those intrinsic fears, you gain a satisfaction that can only be described by those who have been in your shoes before. All in all, the 5 of us walked out of Johnson Canyon with 5 big smiles at the end of the day. And my wife said she is excited to go through her second canyon. Success!


My niece rocking the first rap of the day



The view looking up the 3rd rap



The fun 100+ foot 5th rap (note the rope bag still about 40 feet up using my 210 foot rope)



My wife getting past the tough spot of the last rap (the first step)



Done! It did take about 10 minutes to get the rope pulled though

[jman]

That's funny - my buddies are doing this tomorrow as well as Island in the Sky. Ill pass the conditions on to him.

Thanks for the report and pics.

[Iceaxe]

Arch Canyon has been on my to-do list for a long time. Thanks for the TR.

[Homeslice]

Nice report. I was surprised to see it that dry. Hopefully it will stay that way, as I am going next week.

[Aj84737]

Nice trip report. I'm surprised it was that dry. That pond at the bottom of that 5th rap has been a full on swim every time Ive done it. That last rap is a lot of fun.

[2065toyota]

Nice report @jolly

Is this arch canyon week. I have permits for Saturday. @jman will you post if you hear how much water. Debating on wetsuits or not. Thanks

[Jolly Green]

If it's anything like last week, leave the wetsuit at home. Although I heard the storm got St George so who knows. We started at noon and had sun shining on us in the canyon most of the day, so that might help if it's cold out.

[Spartacus]

I don't think you'll need wetsuits. We did it without. There's really only two spots to get wet.

[LVRAY]

Thanks for the post. One of my favorite short canyons - and I'll be there in just a few wekks. I also have never seen it that dry.

[moab mark]

If I may ask without starting a beta debate, where is Arch Canyon?

[jman]

If I may ask without starting a beta debate, where is Arch Canyon?

It's located in Snow Canyon State Park, which needs a free permit. The route closes after April until August or September.

If you go Snow Canyon State Park's website it will give you the beta for it and online permit registration as well.

The other canyon In that area is called Island In the Sky.

[2065toyota]

It's located in Snow Canyon State Park, which needs a free permit. The route closes after April until August or September.

If you go Snow Canyon State Park's website it will give you the beta for it and online permit registration as well.

The other canyon In that area is called Island In the Sky.

It is not free. It costs $8.00 for the permit. Can be done online through State Park website. The route closes this year on March 14 for Raptor nesting.

http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/sno...eering-permits

[jman]

It is not free. It costs $8.00 for the permit. Can be done online through State Park website. The route closes this year on March 15 for Raptor nesting.

Whoops, that was either 4 or 5 years ago information. I guess it's time me for me to update it. $8 huh? It was free a while ago, except of the course the State Park admission.

[2065toyota]

Whoops, that was either 4 or 5 years ago information. I guess it's time me for me to update it. $8 huh? It was free a while ago, except of the course the State Park admission.

Maybe this is one that can be added to the Canditions site?

[jman]

Great idea! I have a list of about 100+ canyons to add to Candition. Along with the Canyoneering 101 file I'm working on (thought it would be done way sooner) and gotta create the list for candition all this weekend. Thanks for using it!

[2065toyota]

Great idea! I have a list of about 100+ canyons to add to Candition. Along with the Canyoneering 101 file I'm working on (thought it would be done way sooner) and gotta create the list for candition all this weekend. Thanks for using it!

If you didn't play so much maybe you could get some work done.
Let me know if I can help with anything

[arnellfam]

Great TR and nice pics. Well done introducing the fam to the sport!

[Mountaineer]

Great TR. I really enjoy reading on how others get family and kids through some tough conditions. I've mostly done the piggy back method. Thanks for posting.