Hard Day Harvey

[peakbaggers]

Four of us negotiated hard Day Harvey on Sunday, April 19. This was after a wet period that left rain & hail around Hanksville and Friday evening it drizzled most of the night where we camped 12 miles down on the road to Bullfrog. We expected wet conditions. We found the canyon very dry. Only one pothole mid way had any water and we were able to avoid getting wet there with a little extra effort. This was overall a long & strenuous day, but a canyon with a lot of variety, very tight, skinny sections, some high stemming and exposed downclimbs.
Some advice about the exit. Some of the beta we used was difficult to follow. So - when you get to the open wash section of the canyon after all the work and come to the drop that overlooks a grove of cottonwoods, do not descend any further. At the drop, there's a trail that takes off on the right with small cairns that contours on a bench well above the canyon bottom and takes you to the "weakness" for the "Good Day Jim" exit. This is on the RDC wall. It will take about 10 - 15 minutes walking to get to this point. Once we figured out the correct exit, which cost us some time, I took these two coordinates on the way up for future reference. The first one was taken maybe 200 yards up the exit. The next one a few more hundred yards. On our way up, near the upper section, we found a beehive in the canyon wall.
Coord 1: 12 S 0537411 4165611 Coord 2: 12 S 0537335 4165736

Hope that helps.
Here's a photo of the exit with approximate ascent route drawn on, plus a couple other photos.

[Mountaineer]

Great canyon! Thanks for the exit tip.