6/20/15 - Willard - Pearsons Canyon

[jman]

7/5/15 Update: Video is finished: Here you go:



A few friends and I had Pearsons Canyon on our radar since 2011, since @Bootboy posted his TR about it back then. This last week we talked about, assembled a crew and did it yesterday.



What a trip! You start nearly at 9500 ft at Inspiration Point (we did a shuttle) and drop to around 4600 ft at the end of Pearsons. If you have bad knees or ankles - I would skip this canyon. The rappels are super slippery with moss, you will need to avoid poison ivy in the lower section (I have one small bump forming on my left calf ) and have either a hour shuttle setup or hike for probably 2 hours+ from the bottom starting at "Copper Canyon" and crossing into Pearsons.

Bootboy mentioned that there 6 rappels total (4 wet and 2 dry). On this trip, we only came across 4 mandatory raps. There could be some spots where you add more rappels but if we can safely downclimb, we will do that to 1) save time 2) not create ropegrooves 3) practice and enhance our downclimbing abilities 4)save a LOT of time! Your mileage may vary. But four manadatory rappels for sure.










On this adventure, for some reason, we were expecting much more water. Probably from all of the recent rain I suppose. I believe there is water flowing in this canyon 24/7 365, but it continually appears at the bedrock level and disappears into the gravel. We didn't run into the first spring until 100feet from the first rappel. And by that time, you are very much wanting to be in the water. The approach will take you anywhere from 1 hr 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours to reach the first rappel depending on your knee and feet condition and how many people are in your group. We had 5 (including me) and it was about 2 hours to reach it.

Here's a few pics of our journey from the top:


























And down you still go. (Like BootBoy mentioned in his TR - there is no level place in this canyon - at all. The "level areas" are covered with rocks. Again, if you have bad ankles or knees - this canyon isn't for you).
















Finally found the cool, refreshing and clear water:











1st Rappel:











2nd Rappel, and my personal favorite which includes a 30ft+ freehang:

















3rd Rappel, notice all of the moss!!:












4th Rappel, the last of the mandatory rappels.



















After the last rappel, the next 1/4 mile will be following the creek from side to side trying to avoid the poison ivy and finding the best path. There is no "trail". It is just a bushwhack. Once you exit the canyon, you are going to be hiking the remaining 1/4 mile over boulders. Remember, there is no level ground in this canyon. So many rocks!! "many" is a understatement to say the least.

























Other thoughts:
It took the five of us 5 us 8 hours from car to car to descend. We took a LOT of time in the canyon. More so than my liking. If the group husteled in some areas it would of shaved off from 1 hr 1/2 to 2 hours - easy. The average it should take you is between 5-6 hours. A big group such as 6 will take between 6-8 hours. Those slippery rappels will eat up a lot of time.

We love our lifestraws! (It's very refreshing drinking from the mountain creek. I'm sure most would drink straight from the creek but will all of the moss, it grossed us out and so we opted for that. It's hard to beat near ice-cold water running down your throat. It's a game changer if you hike. And best of all - they are light!)


We came across a 2ft snow drift on the approach at about 7000 feet. There was no snow anywhere else on the approach. It was surprising, especially since Utah had a bad snow year.




And we came across numerous tires (I think 5 in total) and the old seatbelt anchors mentioned in Bootboy's TR that are still intact.

[Jolly Green]

The last picture was the anchor I remember the most from going through there, sure makes you wonder how solid knots tied with seatbelts are! Bet your quads are still sore aren't they? Nice TR.

[jman]

The last picture was the anchor I remember the most from going through there, sure makes you wonder how solid knots tied with seatbelts are! Bet your quads are still sore aren't they? Nice TR.

Thanks! We were tempted to remove the seatbelt webbing but nearby was a poison ivy plant...so Nope.

Actually, my quads and calves are feeling just fine. But that's probably because I'm fairly active with running and hiking.

Now, my other buddies....lol..they are still suffering...

[taatmk]

Nice trip report. I have a son who lives in North Ogden and we've been talking about doing this route. How much rope did you need? What are the lengths of the rappels? Thanks.

[jman]

Nice trip report. I have a son who lives in North Ogden and we've been talking about doing this route. How much rope did you need? What are the lengths of the rappels? Thanks.

I would recommend it if you like a challenge. It will be hard on your knees and calf muscles. I can't stress that enough.

We brought a 200ft rope for the smaller raps and 300ft for the long rap (and as a backup since there isn't too much beta about in online...until now! dun dun dun...) and were unsure of conditions, anchor placements etc. Bring 4 rapides at least 50-ft of webbing per person for anchors. We used about 60ft on our trip.

Here is my estimates (not exact) on rappel lengths.

1st rap - 40-50ft.
2nd rap - 60-70ft.
3rd rap - 120-130ft.
4th rap - 240-250ft.

Like others have mentioned - you CAN bypass the first rappel but it would be exposed and a little intimidating if you are not a climber. The last rap could most mostly downclimbed in drier conditions.

And while you can hike in shorts for most of the hike - once, you reach the 3rd rap, you will encounter a lot of posion ivy for the rest of the trip. Here is where I would put on long pants until you exit. Otherwise, you will need to buy some poison ivy detergent to rub all of your legs (like me) right when you get home to keep it from spreading too much.



Btw - here are a few more pics from a friend on the trip, copyright Josh Oyler (although these are not the original size and resolution). His DSLR is just a *tad* better than a iPhone 6

[jman]

Jeff Guest just finished his editing of our trip video! And it is located at the very top of this thread. Enjoy! (And thanks for liking and commenting on his video).