Advice needed for camping near High Spur & Happy in mid August

[Dark Eclipse]

Hi everyone,

I've been to these 2 wonderful canyons in the past for day trips but now plan to return for 1-2 night overnight camping. I wanted to seek some advice from more experienced people on this forum. I want to be me more prepared for the trip and adjust my photography gear accordingly since I plan to explore both canyons in more detail.

High Spur:

1) What are the chances of having water in middle of August and where would be most likely places?

2) In the past we descended at some point where there was 15-20 foot rock slide that we did and we walked for about 10 mins until we got to the entrance of HS. We exited canyon by climbing up near the entrance (we didnt know this exact spot to descent). I wanted to know if there are better places to get down get out of the canyon for small group of photographers. We want to do night photography in the canyon and need a safe way to do it. Do you know if its possible to attach a rope to something on top of the canyon near the entrance?

3) There is a 15-20 foot drop in the canyon that few years ago we were able to get down and get up without any ropes. Last year the floor of the canyon below has been washed out and now its would be impossible for us to get back up and that's the furthest point we got. We plan to come back with rope ladder this year and I was wondering if there would be any other potential challenges. We want to get to explore both sections of the canyon + corkscrew over 1.5 day there.


Happy:

1) End of September 2019 the water in the river was about knee deep and we were able to cross with no problems. What level should we expect in mid August? We're thinking of sending one person with rope to tie on the other side and cross.

2) Is there any fishing that can be done near where you cross Dirty River?

3) We have 2 camping options - at the furthest place we can go with Razor ATV (near big boulder that blocks the road) or walk 1.8 miles and do it near where you descend 1000 feet to cross the river. Which site is better?

Thanks in advance!

[Iceaxe]

The monsoon season in southern Utah normally runs mid July to mid September... so the chance you will encounter water in any slot canyon is high.

As for High Spur the corkscrew section has the ability to hold a lot of water.

Climb-Utah.com

[Dark Eclipse]

The monsoon season in southern Utah normally runs mid July to mid September... so the chance you will encounter water in any slot canyon is high.

As for High Spur the corkscrew section has the ability to hold a lot of water.

Climb-Utah.com

How deep do you think it can be?

Thx dude, your video of High Spur is epic and has been an inspiration of mine :)

[Iceaxe]

I know water can get deep enough you have to swim, but that is kind of rare. Water depth in slots all depends on how the last flash flood rearranges the sand dams.

Climb-Utah.com

[Dark Eclipse]

I guess I'll have to take dry bag with us in case we need to shuttle our gear. I went in September 2017 / 2019 and didnt encounter any water in HS but now coming back in August expecting to get wet.

We're doing it earlier in the year because of overall availability & because Happy gets better light beams during summer. We're willing to endure more then previous time to get better shots.

[Iceaxe]

Slot canyons are strange animals... it just depends... I've done High Spur in late August and didn't even get my feet wet. It does have a tendency to drain quickly... but again... it just depends..

Climb-Utah.com

[Dark Eclipse]

Slot canyons are strange animals... it just depends... I've done High Spur in late August and didn't even get my feet wet. It does have a tendency to drain quickly... but again... it just depends..

Climb-Utah.com

I've been to Little Wild Horse Canyon twice and both times when you get half way to an opening and there is another opening to slot canyon it had deep pool of water at least at waist or more level. I'd hope to avoid something like that in High Spur.

Do you know any easy entrance / exit for High Spur?

[Iceaxe]

High Spur has numerous entries and exits, unfortunately I've never mapped any of them. I was always most concerned with exits in case of bad weather.

Climb-Utah.com