Kolob Canyon

[Slot Machine]

On August 10th, 2013, Steph, my brother-in-law Tyler and I ventured through Kolob Canyon. This was Tyler's first canyon since his accident in Sandthrax, ten weeks ago.

Kolob is a spectacular canyoneering adventure, with stunning views around every corner. There was almost no flow going through the canyon, perhaps one gallon per second (or about 0.1 CFS). For our first time through, the sparse amount of water was fine with us.

Please turn your sound ON and maximize your viewing area before playing this video. You'll have a little more fun that way.





















The real challenge came after the last big rappel. We came across 2 rattlesnakes and another unexpected obstacle...

Tyler and I were hiking downstream from the majestic 400 ft spring-fed waterfall when Tyler began swatting at something. I was on the shore of the creek and Tyler was in the main watercourse. Suddenly he started screaming and flailing, sprinting upstream trying to remove his pack and his helmet. As his pack came off his back, 10 bees flew out from underneath. As his helmet came off, 4 more came flying out. Perhaps a dozen more bees were literally chasing him as he retreated up the creek. Quite scary. Unfortunately, Tyler had his wetsuit peeled down to his waist, so he was stung at least a dozen times. Luckily, the bees were not that interested in me or Steph.

Once we retreated upcanyon a bit, we looked around, trying to find the home of the bees. It was difficult to spot, inside of a log that had fallen across the creek. Tyler had stepped on this log, much to the bees annoyance.

Then we realized: While sprinting away Tyler had dropped one of the ropebags directly underneath the doorway of the nest, no more than a foot away. There were about 30 very angry bees attacking it.

It was then I remembered that bees are not too fond of mud. So we proceeded to cover ourselves, like Schwarzenegger in Predator.



Ever since seeing the move back in 1987, I always hoped that the need to copy that method would arrive. Covering yourself with mud for protection is fun. It was even more fun when we realized how well it works. With our wetsuits zipped back up, we covered our faces, necks and hands with mud and proceeded downstream.



The rest of Kolob Creek was continuously beautiful, but also taxing because we underestimated the distance between Kolob and the MIA exit. It was like having 5 helpings of dessert. Even fat kids get annoyed at some point.

And the MIA... oh man. It lives up to the hype. The MIA exit has two halves: The easy half, then the hard half.

The hard half seems as if it were designed by Satan himself. A 5.3 upclimb, 600 feet tall, with dead trees for handholds, covered with a foot of unstable sand. It's pure hell. I've never vomited on a hike before, or from any form of exercise. However, I vomited several times at the top of the MIA.

Amazingly, Tyler carried 400 feet of rope, plus his harness and wetsuit up the MIA, all the way back to the car. :ahnuld: Thank God he did, because we wouldn't have made it up before dark without his Herculean effort. Is Tyler recovered from Sandthrax? You betcha.

Tyler doin' his thing:





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Free advice:

We recommend wearing a 2-piece wetsuit for this adventure. Remove your neoprene top and harness after the second big rappel, then put on a quick-dry shirt. A 7mm top with a 5mm bottom would have been perfect for me. The hike from the last big rap to the final 15 foot rap was quite long, but still in the chilly watercourse. It would have been much more fun if I wasn't fighting my wetsuit the entire way.

Fill up with water at the huge waterfall spring on the LDC wall, just after the last big rappel.

If the longest rappel is 170 feet, then bring two ropes of that length. The rap pulls are very straightforward, as long as you don't twist your ropes. Carefully separate your ropes before your last person commits to each rappel, even if it means floating in the water while you hold them apart.

Be sure to have a good meal and drink plenty of water before the MIA exit. Cramping and vomiting could have been easily avoidable if we had taken a little extra time in this department.

Enjoy,

Bob

[Kuya]

SO JEALOUS!!! I can't wait to do this canyon. Glad to see you had fun and got safely through it.

That deal with the bees is CRAZY!

All of this talk about the awfulness of the MIA exit makes me really think that I am gonna just hike out of the narrows when I do this canyon. Might as well enjoy the adventure and not taint it with a exit like that

[Kuya]

*Duplicate*

[TommyBoy]

The problem with hiking out the narrows is..... you have to hike out the narrows. Also it takes a second day to do it that way. Sounds like you had a great trip. Similar conditions to when I went through last summer, super hot and the dam said 5 CFS release that day but by the time it got to the canyon only a trickle was going through. I will never do that canyon again because of the exit unless someone guarantees that it will be flowing hard and thus more interesting. Not that I hated the canyon, it was beautiful, but without the flow its just a wet canyon and there are others with easier access.

[Absolute Gravity]

Man, the canyons have not been kind to Tyler this summer.

[Iceaxe]

Hiking out The Narrows is really nice... so long as you begin with the mind set of "I'm going to enjoy the hike out The Narrows".

[Mountaineer]

Ya, the MIA has some soft, steep sand without much to grab a hold of. Tricky. Glad you survived those bees! Anti-histamine with you?

Did you get water at the spring after the last rap?

[Slot Machine]

Not that I hated the canyon, it was beautiful, but without the flow its just a wet canyon and there are others with easier access.

We felt the same way. At the end of the hike, we could hardly remember the good parts. Hiking down The Narrows would be a brutal option as well. It's just too much of a good thing.

Anti-histamine with you? Did you get water at the spring after the last rap?

Yes we did have some Benadryl, luckily we did not need it. We did not get water at the giant waterfall spring, but should have. That is a good suggestion that I'll add to the free advice above.

[Brian in SLC]

Great TR!!

[burley]

We also ran into bees (we thought they were wasps but didn't pay great attention) about a month ago in Kolob. The wife got stung 6 times, had several get stuck in her hair and maybe kinda freaked out a bit--it was her first time ever being stung! Sounds like it was about the same location you guys found 'em.

We took the Narrows exit and found that the hike to campsite 11 was an especially long day. Campsite 6 would still have been longer than we anticipated, but not bad. The Narrows is the Narrows.

I will never do that canyon again because of the exit unless someone guarantees that it will be flowing hard and thus more interesting. Not that I hated the canyon, it was beautiful, but without the flow its just a wet canyon and there are others with easier access.

I think I agree. It was flowing alright at the bridge but almost dry in the canyon, more flow would have made it a much better experience methinks.

[mcweyen]

Spectacular shots man! Sooo wanna go through that one!

[Byron]

Nice dude...I wish I would've gotten the message and gone with you. That bee thing sucks. I paint houses for a living and every summer I get tagged quite a bit...sometimes in the face. It hurts, like getting poked with a red hot wire coat hanger.

I love Kolob...the last time I did it, there was no flow whatsoever and the potholes where very low. It didn't matter, that canyon is awesome. Funny, I never thought the MIA was that bad, but then again...I do a lot of off trail backpacking, especially in the Grand Canyon, so that hill is not such a big deal. Notice how no one ever has pictures of it? Too busy gruntin' it, I suppose.

[Aj84737]

Best trip report I've read all summer. Can't wait for the videos. Sounds epic. I got stung on my ankle in Zion the other day too. Didn't do much that day but it swole up a couple days later and was super itchy. What kind of camera did u use the pics looked really good.

[ratagonia]

Great Pics!!!

[Slot Machine]

Thanks for the kind words!

Video added above. It's best seen in 'full screen' mode, in 1080p. And best heard with the volume way up.

Bob

[pikan]

"Best trip report I've read all summer."
I'll second that one!

[Taylor]

Well done. Sorry we couldn't join you but we had a good week at Powell...listening to Filter on the boat. Weird.

[hikster11]

Awesome TR and video. Definitely want to see to Bee video. We are doing this Canyon next month. I cant wait. Maybe a little less talk about MIA. I want to enjoy the trip through instead of thinking about how bad the exit is going to suck

[Doomedty]

The canyon is beautiful. Just expect a long day/trek and you will be fine.

[Doomedty]

Man, the canyons have not been kind to Tyler this summer.

The canyons love me. They just know I like it rough.