Buckeyes Canyon

After two years of contemplation, it was finally time to satisfy my curiosity about the canyon adjacent to Interstate-70.  We had no idea what was going to be in store.  My oh my, were we pleasantly surprised!  Buckeyes Canyon is one of the best canyoneering routes in the San Rafael Swell.

On Sunday, May 26th, 2019, Steph, Tony, Byron, Ryan Cornia (roadtripryan.com) and I explored this tremendously good canyon.  We had no beta, so we proceeded cautiously.  The group before us ghosted the canyon which was a noble and difficult task.  Alas, we did not do the same because it was not our priority.  Our top priority was preventing damage to the canyon, which I believe we accomplished.  Now that we know exactly how long the canyon is, we will likely try to ghost it on a subsequent visit.

The approach passes through Little Spotted Wolf Canyon.

A scenic way to start our day.

Hiking up the rib out of Little Spotted Wolf.

If you look closely, you can see Steph (bottom left).

Enjoying the view from the top of the canyon.

Natural Bridge #1.

Magnificent!

Ryan Cornia on rappel.

Wide backwards stemming while on rappel.

Not mandatory, just a way to stay dry.

Surprisingly, we all managed to make this move.

Bomber handhold.

Looking up at the top half.

The halfway point.

The bottom and top halves are completely different.

Tip Top Arch.

Tony working hard to stay dry at natural bridge #2.

Steph wading under bridge #2.

Natural Bridge #3

Note the grooves that already exist.

That type of damage can easily be prevented by setting a FiddleStick or StandTrap behind the drop.

Please do not drape anything over this bridge.

Steph enjoying the view from a fantastic perch.

The final rappel.

BUCKEYES CANYON HAS AN UNUSUAL NUMBER OF DELICATE FEATURES THAT WILL REQUIRE GREAT CARE TO PRESERVE.

FIDDLESTICK GROOVES COULD EASILY MAR THIS INCREDIBLE CANYON.

PLEASE DO NOT PRIORITIZE GHOSTING OVER DAMAGE PREVENTION.  

  

PLEASE DO NOT PLACE WEBBING ON ANY OF THE NATURAL BRIDGES, LARGE OR SMALL.

PLEASE DO NOT DRAPE A FIDDLESTICK PULL CORD, WEBBING, ROPE, OR ANYTHING ELSE OVER THE FINAL NATURAL BRIDGE.  YOU WILL BE SORELY TEMPTED TO DO SO - PLEASE DO NOT GIVE IN TO THAT TEMPTATION.

OTHER ANCHORING SOLUTIONS ARE AVAILABLE, BUT THOSE SOLUTIONS MIGHT REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT THOUGHT TO DEVISE.  BE SURE TO BUDGET TIME AND EFFORT TO SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS.

MANY CANYONEERS HAVE DESCENDED THIS CANYON WITHOUT PLACING BOLTS, SO PLEASE PLAY FAIR.

Notes:

Rating: 4A/B III  Expert anchoring skills required.  

A team of at least 4 people is recommended.  6-8 hours required.  FiddleStick and SandTrap required.  100 feet of webbing and 6 rapid links are recommended.  Wetsuits are recommended, even though they will likely stay in your pack.  Expect to spend 2-3 hours setting anchors.

Our car-to-car time was 8h 20m, moving at a very slow pace.  Future visits should take 6-7 hours.

A complete set of beta for this route is available at www.roadtripryan.com.

Eardley Canyon + Zero Gravity Canyon

On May 25th, 2019, Steph, Tony, Byron and I took a lap through Eardley Canyon.  It was full to the brim, easy to get through, and pretty fun.  The technical section was much shorter than I expected.  It is a canyon that is worth doing once, but probably not twice.  Steph decided to rest a sore knee and skipped Zero G.  So, Tony, Byron, and I splashed through Zero G, which filled out our day nicely.

First you have to pay if you want to play in Eardley...

It is worth a minute to find these pictographs.  They are excellent.

Notes on Eardley Canyon:

We used the shortcut entrance which was difficult to decipher, time-consuming, and dangerous due to loose rocks/boulders and death-fall exposure.  I have been told that the other entrance is worse, but find that difficult to believe.

Getting to the top of the approach earlier would have made our morning more enjoyable.  We started hiking at 7:30AM, but that wasn't quite early enough.  Start hiking at sunrise (would have been 6AM on this day).

4/3 wetsuit was good, but a little chilly.  A 3/2 wetsuit would not have been enough for me.  The daytime high temp was about 75 degrees.

Going through a few days after it fills would be optimal because the sediment suspended in water would settle, then the pools would become clear.  When we went through, the water was still silty from the rain the day before, which took jumping into pools out of the equation.

Then on to Zero Gravity...

Notes on Zero Gravity Canyon:

Zero G is more fun when empty because some of the best features are hidden when full. 

A 4/3 wetsuit was perfect during full conditions.

There are a couple of unused bolts at the end of the canyon that could easily be pulled and patched.  A sturdy glue-in eyebolt has been placed above the final chokestone, so the remaining hardware is no longer useful.