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03-04-2013, 09:15 AM #1
Middle Fork of Leprechaun Canyon - North Wash - March 1 2013
Shimrock CanyonWOW!
iMovie Trailer
Feature Film
The middle fork of Leprechaun Canyon was beyond anything I have ever done in canyoneering before. Yeah, yeah. I have done canyons like Heaps, and the Squeeze, but they were not even close to as physical as this canyon was. This canyon is very, VERY skinny Having just completed the East fork of Leprechaun Canyon and thinking it was skinny, I was in for a treat to find the middle fork even MORE skinny! How that is possible? We were all left wondering.
Shimrock Canyon was a pure delight! It took a TON of work, skin, and sweat to get through, but it was an incredible place! The canyon walls were extremely narrow and beautiful. It was filled with both smooth and rough walls. Some walls had zebra stripes, and others had embedded stones. S-curves and other sweeping canyon features were also in abundance.
Like most good thinks in life, to see this beauty of this canyon required a TON of WORK! Starting from the mile ascent to the canyon entrance, to the last crawl out. Additionally, to get a rough understanding what it was like to descend this canyon, imagine having to travel through a canyon sideways. Most of the time your back is to the wall, and you are either walking by shuffling your twisted feet, or jamming your knee or arm into the canyon wall in front of you, and your back into the wall behind thus enabling you to inch your way horizontally through the narrow part of the canyon where your feet couldn't touch the canyon floor.
Some places in this canyon were so skinny that I had to force myself through some sections. In those situations I found my chest or my core getting squeezed very tightly. I was never sacred or felt like anything was to dangerous for me, but I will not lie about effort it took for me to get through this canyon. I honestly can't remember many moments when my feet were on the ground. I do remember MANY moments where I had to go a little higher to get over a especially narrow sections of canyon. I also remember some moments where I could not turn my head around in the canyon; and my feet, once in position, were hardly able to be turned in the opposite direction.
At one time, I had wedged my foot in the canyon in an attempt to push myself up and sideways. In this effort, I found my foot leaving my shoe while it was wedged heel-to-toe between the two canyon walls. My friend Dave laughed and then handed me my shoe!
We all had a great time struggling through this beauty. Jake Dempsey and Tyler Tingey are fairly new to the sport, and this canyon was their baptism by fire! Jake mentioned a few times how at moments he would think to himself: "I LOVE THIS!", and the next moment he would exclaim: "Man, I HATE THIS!". Tyler kept on swearing that he was out of shape and that this was the hardest thing he had ever done. I don't believe either one of these claims. He never seem to complain like I was, and always had the look of amazement on his face. He was always taking the opportunity to stop for a picture, for which we are all grateful. Some of the best pictures of the trip were captured by him.
Joel and Dave are fairly seasoned canyoneers. They were great assets to have around. When Joel wasn't smashing his knee or ripping of his toenails, he was leading the way in the canyon, often the first one through a obstacle. Him and Jake pretty much did all the technical route finding for us.
Dave has this great appreciation for the beauty of the canyon. In any place out doors you will find him slowing down to admire a micro features of our beautiful Earth. Weather it be a shiny rock, or a hole in the wall, or huge sheer cliff wall! It is great thing to have a friend like Dave to help you realize the beauty of the little things. It is also comforting to have a climber around when doing canyons. Dave is my go-to climber. If you don't reign him down, you will find him scaling any rock he can get his hands on!
Last edited by Kuya; 03-09-2013 at 07:05 PM. Reason: updated the video the second time
CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesWorkBad liked this post
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03-04-2013 09:15 AM # ADS
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03-04-2013, 10:10 AM #2
Nice job on the pants, Blake! Now you see why you either wear something you really don't plan to use again or why others get a skuttlebutt. Glad you all enoyed it so much. We used to say that biking the Moab Slickrock Bike trail was "the most fun you can have and still be working your butt off." The same now applies for canyons like these. Extreme fun, but intensely challenging & physical. Great report & photos as always. You always have a way of making the adventure come alive.
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-04-2013, 10:23 AM #3
Thanks Tim! I was sad that it didn't work out that we were able to meet up down there. Thanks for all your advise and beta for those canyons! It was very helpful. I hope you guys are feeling better too.
CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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03-04-2013, 11:20 AM #4
Excellent as always Kuya. Thanks for posting it.
I got halfway through Right Fork and suddenly Shane's statement in his beta that it was a physical canyon hit me like a brick--there is no way I'd make it through the Middle Fork.
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-04-2013, 11:35 AM #5
It's better to be handed your shoe than your hat. Welcome to North Wash. I'm glad you had such a good time.
Penny
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-04-2013, 02:45 PM #6
I remember when we did this canyon several years. We had no idea what we were getting into. It was so tight. I got really stuck while crawling down low on my side through wet sand and mud. Your pictures are some the best I have seen taken of this canyon. The pictures really bring back the memories. Thanks for sharing!!
Don't believe everything you think.
-Borrowed from a bumper sticker I believe
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-04-2013, 03:24 PM #7CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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03-04-2013, 03:28 PM #8
I had a smile reading through your post. You've perfectly described what I feel are the quintessential emotions people get when doing Middle Lep. Love, hate, love, hate. Great report, really liked your photos!
These were are our wounds through Middle Fork! Lesson learned, we now bring pads through all N. Wash canyons!
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03-04-2013, 04:02 PM #9
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-05-2013, 06:23 AM #10CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesWorkBad liked this post
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03-05-2013, 07:52 AM #11
Kuya's next purchase? Wrestling sleeves! BTW, these work great:
http://www.scoreboardwrestling.net/m...ene-blend.html
Another nice TR! Thanks for sharing!THE MOST TALKED ABOUT CANYONEERING TRIP OF 2017 - WEST CANYON VIA HELICOPTER.
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-05-2013, 10:38 AM #12Originally Posted by Kuya
Great TR, this was the first North Wash canyon I did, a couple of years ago, so it brought back great memories!
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03-07-2013, 03:53 PM #13
Awesome Kuya & team! This is a serious canyon. Great accomplishment!
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03-07-2013, 04:34 PM #14
@Kuya, Now that you have the 2 hardest Irish Canyons under your belt will you be jihading?
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03-07-2013, 06:38 PM #15
Awesome TR and pix. Love it. The super skinny stuff after the confluence was bad enough. I'm not sure I want to go through that stuff for that long. The way you described walking sideways - it's not like that bothers me, but when it's endless I'm just ready for a break. I think I might just try going way way up next time and see what happens.
We did left fork for Christmas and we're heading back for right fork in April when I can Rap again.
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03-08-2013, 06:30 AM #16
Thank you Mountaineer! we thought it was pretty serious too. It sure was a blast to descend! It was even more fun to see the reaction of my friends that came. They loved it all too, and it is always so fun to share what you love, and see other start to love it too!
We are planning on doing the Jihad! :) even if we aren't successful at getting em all done, we feel that the adventure of it all will be worth it! that and the free shake at Stan's Burger Shak!!
Yeah, the endless sections were the hardest part this was one canyons where we felt like we actually accomplished something! It took a lot of work to get through it, and it was all very worth it!CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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03-09-2013, 07:04 PM #17
Feature Film :) A week after the trip, I finally made the time to stich together a video of our trip through the middle fork of Leprechaun Canyon. Enjoy
CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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Post Thanks / Like - 2 LikesSandstone Addiction, WorkBad liked this post
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03-10-2013, 05:14 PM #18
You sure are setting the bar high. I think I'll stay out of the movie making part of canyoneering. Nice touch with the Irish music.
Penny
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Post Thanks / Like - 1 LikesKuya liked this post
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03-11-2013, 04:18 PM #19
Excellent report. Sorry to hear about the pants...
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03-11-2013, 05:31 PM #20CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel
"As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey
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