[Iceaxe]

CANYONEERING: The Northern San Rafael Swell," by Steve Allen and Joe Mitchell, University of Utah Press, $19.95, 252 pages

The updated “Canyoneering: The Northern San Rafael Swell” is an incredible resource and guidebook for anyone who loves Utah and the outdoors.

Steve Allen, co-authoring with Joe Mitchel for this guidebook, says the references in this book both replace and enhance part of Allen’s “Canyoneering: The San Rafael Swell,” which has been one of the standard guidebooks used for exploring the area. The San Rafael Swell is in south central Utah, 30 miles in width and 50 miles in length and about 155 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Updates have been provided to include more detail, greater accuracy and tighter focus on the northern half of the swell. Illustrations include a variety of black and white topographic maps for all routes and roads, elevation profiles and GPS coordinates.

It includes information on 25 hikes, with accessible information on trip length, difficult, elevation, water sources and skill level.

Also included are tips for protecting the San Rafael Swell, camping techniques that are low-impact, historical information and the swell’s influence on state and federal laws, and historical notes.
The guidebook offers historical notes on different areas and past events that help explain the names. A couple of the names of the trails, roads and other areas do include words that are considered mild swearwords.

Allen and Mitchel are both avid hikers of the San Rafael Swell. Allen began hiking the swell in 1972. He is also the author of Canyoneering 2: Technical Loop Hikes in Southern Utah” and Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah’s Escalante,” both published by the University of Utah Press. Mitchel is a fly-fishing guide by trade and has been exploring places, especially the outdoors, since his childhood. He is a co-author of The Hayduke Trail: A Guide to the Backcountry Hiking Trail on the Colorado Plateau.”

http://www.amazon.com/Canyoneering-N.../dp/160781238X

[Udink]

So, yeah, anyone want to do the Mexican Mountain route?

[Scott P]

So, yeah, anyone want to do the Mexican Mountain route?

I did it about 20 years ago. I guess it's time to go back.

[Taylor]

Count me in.

[Kuya]

So, yeah, anyone want to do the Mexican Mountain route?

I would love to!

[Iceaxe]

Since I don't own a copy of this book or the original SA book, what is the Mexican Mountain route?

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[Udink]

It's just a route to the summit of Mexican Mountain, starting from the Black Box TH. One of the few routes in the book that I haven't done (Eagle/Forgotten Canyon being another). @Scott P, is the 30' class 5 climb really that bad? The route description says that most people will want to rappel it on the way down. Any worse than the climb on the way up the San Rafael Knob?

[Scott P]

is the 30' class 5 climb really that bad?

No.

Any worse than the climb on the way up the San Rafael Knob?

It's harder than San Rafael Knob. It's more like Elephant Butte or Junction Butte, if you have done those.

[Iceaxe]

So, yeah, anyone want to do the Mexican Mountain route?

Sounds fun... I would be interested.


Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[ilipichicuma]

Don't bother with the Forgotten/Eagle Canyon Loop. It was my first canyon, and while I'll always remember it fondly as my first canyon, there's not a lot there.