Headless Duck Exploration

On October 10th, 2019, Tony, Steph, Cara, Grant, Cole, and I explored a canyon rumored to be named Headless Duck.

The approach for this canyon might have been more enjoyable than the canyon itself.  The route to the top of the mesa winds between a bunch tall and beautiful hoodoos.  Once on top of the mesa the view to the east is simply amazing.  Once we got to that point we all just stood silent for about 5 minutes and contemplated the landscape below.

Headless Duck is a short but scenic Wingate slot.  The first couple of drops can be bypassed on the RDC side, then a straightforward downclimb into the canyon presents itself just before the canyon gets tight.

We downclimbed two tall but interesting drops and all too soon found ourselves at the final rappel.  Adjacent to this rappel is a gigantic natural bridge that is easy to walk past if you aren't looking.

The final rappel is 150 feet down a vertical wall.  Be sure to bring some form of rope protection for the final drop.  We discovered webbing at the last drop, so this wasn't a first descent, which we had already assumed.

Notes:

A shuttle is recommended for this route, but not required.  This canyon does not appear to hold much water, so wetsuits should never be required.  The entire route should take 4-6 hours.

Park one vehicle here, near the end of the canyon:  37.883614  -111.273008

Park your other vehicle here, at the beginning of the approach:  37.911657  -111.249919

Hike to the top of the mesa by winding through the hoodoos.  The route is sometimes steep and challenging to figure out, but no difficult climbing moves are required.

Hike across the top of the mesa while trying to steer clear of the crypto.

The top of Headless Duck is here:  37.882854  -111.266803

The only required rappel is the final drop which is 150 feet.  If you can't find the easy entrance to the canyon on the RDC side, more short rappels may be required.

The route below is approximate and not intended to be used as a map.

Right Atrium Exploration

On October 8th, 2019, Tony, Byron, Cara, Cole, and I explored a canyon that we call Right Atrium.

This adventure was logistically challenging.  A shuttle was required and the road that heads out to trailhead is predominantly deep sand.  We placed a truck at the bottom, then took two more trucks to the top.  Why two?  Because in case one got stuck in the sand, the extra truck could pull the other one out.  It is probably the only canyon adventure that I've been on that warrants the use of three high-clearance 4x4 vehicles.

We made it to the trailhead without any issue, then hiked toward our destination.  We discovered three short sections of R rated high stemming up to 25 feet.  The walls were embedded with pebbles that shredded our clothes and tore at our skin - like Razorback canyon, only worse.  The movement was physical and generally unpleasant.  The third section of high stemming contained a keeper pothole that must be negotiated.

It was possible to escape the canyon between each section of high stemming, although the escape between sections 1 and 2 looked pretty dicey.

If you are not in the mood for high stemming that tries to tear you to pieces, then you can just hike directly to the fourth and final section.

The final section is somewhat short, but very scenic.  It has the capacity to hold a significant amount of water, so bringing a wetsuit is advised.  A couple of challenging downclimbs are required, but can be easily overcome with partner assists.

Near the end of the slot there was a 20 foot drop that can be downclimbed by the highly skilled.  Most folks will want to rappel that drop using a SandTrap.  At the bottom of the drop was a large pothole which was the crux of the route.

The second rappel was about 120 feet and ended on a large shelf that overlooks Fortymile Gulch.  The geometry of the pothole was almost identical to the final pothole in Euphrates Canyon, so a hanging SandTrap would work well there.  I forgot to bring a SandTrap on our adventure, so we used my backpack as a SandTrap instead.  It worked just fine, but I don't advise that you do the same.  In wet conditions a water anchor would be ideal.  Please bring some form of rope groove protection for the second rappel.  A garden hose or extra shirt would work well. Warning:  There are no other materials or anchor points to work with in that pothole.

The third and final rappel was 55 feet tall anchored from a large boulder that dropped directly into a beautiful section of Fortymile Gulch.  Be sure to extend your webbing to the edge of the drop to prevent rope grooves.

From there, we enjoyed the spectacular hike up Fortymile Gulch back to our escape vehicle.

There were no signs of previous passage, and the geometry was such that it would be tremendously difficult to complete the canyon without leaving any kind of mark.  Therefore, we presume ours was the first descent.

The first three sections look like this:

Then the real fun begins in the fourth section!

Cara gingerly rapping from an improvised backpack SandTrap.

The platform at the bottom of rappel #2.

The hike back to the car was much better than usual.

Davis Gulch

On October 7th, 2019, Tony, Cara, Byron, Cole, Grant, and I were in the mood to do something easy.  I've long been interested in doing Davis Gulch, but hated the idea of turning it into an 8 mile loop.  The beta was somewhat vague about the canyon being reversible.  The drops looked short, so we brought a couple of ropes with the plan of fixing them at unclimbable drops if needed.

It had been six weeks since it had rained in the area, so we gambled and did not bring wetsuits.  That decision paid off when we discovered that the canyon was completely dry.  No rappels were required and all drops were upclimbable using partner assists.

A rope did come in handy when upclimbing one particularly narrow drop.  Byron went high and pulled up everyone's packs which made that obstacle quick and easy.
This was Grant's first canyoneering adventure.  He was a natural, just like his brothers.

Overall, it was a great day with friends new and old.

Lower PINTAC

On October 5th, 2019, Tony, Cara, Cole, and I stemmed our way through Lower PINTAC Canyon.  This was the first X-rated canyon that Cara, Cole, or I had experienced.

Most canyons look much more serous in photos than they do in person, but PINTAC is just the opposite.  This canyon was much more dangerous and the stemming was much higher than I envisioned.  Exposure to a fatal fall was almost continuous for 90 minutes.

The width was mostly friendly, but the movement was physical.  I sweat about 3 liters during the 90 minutes we were off the ground.  People like myself that predominantly use back-to-feet stemming technique get punished.  My lower back was very sore for three days after completing this slot.

We were very fortunate to have Tony in the lead during the stemming part of this canyon.  Because he moves very efficiently when stemming he was able to communicate back to the rest of us any difficult upcoming moves and what height to stay at - which was a huge benefit both psychologically and physically.

I'm grateful that we got to experience this canyon together, but I'm not sure if X canyons are something that I enjoy.  After doing Lower PINTAC, I  felt the same way that I did after going skydiving - I'm happy that I did it once, but have no desire to do it again.

Sunset after a successful adventure.  Chimney Rock in the distance.