Neon canyon in end of May'14 - route, and conditions questions

[Suede]

Did short route for Neon on 6/9. We camped about .5 mi down Egypt Road after Hole In Rock Road junction. Excellent campsite. Initially very few bugs. However, two days later I had to retreat to my car until it got dark. Temps are starting to increase as well. Started down at 8am and temps were very reasonable. Be sure to start off left of Fence Canyon. Gnats and flies were present at Fence Camp (and beyond), but not that bad (just keep moving). River level is calf high. Plenty of cairns on the hike up to the drop in. All anchors are in great shape. Water is cool in the canyon. I used a 2mm shorty, but I could have done without honestly. I think from now on temps are going to spike up, so the water in the canyon will feel good. Keeper is full of water, so no problem. Plus I could stand on the sand on the bottom. Canyon took us less than an hour to complete. Hike up can be a death march, if temps get any higher :) Just about everybody used 3L of water, but I suggest 4 for safety. Total trip time was 9 hrs, but we spent at least 1.5 hrs in the golden cathedral eating lunch and snapping photos. Good time had by all. Pic below shows water level of the keeper.

[Michael_WB]

Keeper is full of water, so no problem. Plus I could stand on the sand on the bottom.

Yes, when we were there on June 5th the last keeper was not an issue. However for those doing the "More Fun" or further up entrances, be aware that there is a pothole very much in keeper mode, but bypassable by a bolt high LDC.
On the way in, the bugs didn't bother us much, but walking between Neon and the Fence Camp on the way out, we both got eaten by deer flies. Even keeping moving they would settle and bite pretty much instantly, so once out of the wading sections at Fence Camp, we re-zipped on the long pants extensions, in preparation for the trudge back to the TH in the afternoon heat.



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