On October 30th, 2020, Steph, John, Drew, and I ventured through the North Wash classic, Middle Leprechaun Canyon. This was Drew's first real big-boy canyoneering experience, and he did great!
On this day, Drew was 6 years old and John was 9. John had already been through this canyon when he was 6, almost exactly three years earlier. It was interesting from a parent's perspective to compare how each boy handled this slot. It was also interesting to see how contagious their reactions were. When one boy got scared, the other immediately freaked out as well.
Even though John was much stronger than his 6 year-old self, he seemed to have more difficulty getting through due to his increased size. He also carried his own pack, which added to the challenge. He completed his first solo rappels on this day, which made his Mom and Dad very proud. He was also a tough and helpful teammate, moving packs through tight spaces whenever it was required.
We had a serious case of cabin fever after staying at home for several months
while avoiding the COVID-19 virus, so we decided to get out and stretch our
legs. We were very excited for our one and only family trip for
2020! Plus it was clearly time to introduce a six-year-old Drew to
canyoneering.
So, on October 29th, 2020, Steph, John, Drew, and I
headed to Moonshine Wash.
We started our trip with Moonshine Wash because it is a straightforward and
beautiful canyon. We hiked down to the junction with the West Fork,
found that it was blocked by a deep pool, then simply went back the way we
came. It was a great canyoneering introduction for Drew, and we all had
a great day together.
Big brother / little brother partner assist. With style!
On October 12th, 2019, Steph, Tony, Cara, Jackson, and I descended Midget Rattler Canyon.
After an intense week of doing canyons, we were looking for an easy day. We were afraid that Midget Rattler was going to be a dud, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. This might be the most underrated canyon I've ever done - even though it is short, is a real gem.
The hike up could not be easier and the scenery is phenomenal. There are three required rappels which all pose challenges best suited for intermediates or better. It is an excellent choice for a half-day canyon.
Our anchor for rappel #1 was a small log.
If you look closely, it is set on the right side of the boulder
Rappel #2
If you are very skinny, you can squeeze through this gap before gettin on rappel.
If you can't fit, then you have to stem up and over before getting on rappel.
A little dicey, but easy to protect if needed.
Constructing a dead man anchor.
We used a medium-sized rock as the foundation,
then buried it under heavy dried mud slabs.
Rappel #3 is no more than 130 feet.
Be aware that the bottom of this slot is a popular tourist destination,
so there might be people standing below when you throw your rope.
On October 11th, 2019, Tony, Cara, Steph and I planned to enjoy a rest day in Micro Death Hollow. It had been 6 weeks since it had last rained in Escalante, but we packed our wetsuits just in case.
We rigged our rope at the top of the 280 foot rappel, then threw it down.
*SPLASH*
We all took a deep breath. It was obviously time to put our wetsuits on. The morning was cold, so we spent a few minutes talking about what possibly awaited us below. We had heard tales about a very difficult pothole. Possibly half-full of freezing water? The prospect seemed grim. Maybe coming back another day was the best idea.
Steph had the foresight to bring a 7mm suit, even though she had a thinner wetsuit available. She also brought a puffy jacket to wear over her wetsuit. She is good at staying warm.
She decided to go down and check out the pothole, knowing full well that she might have to ascend the long rope. With some trepidation, we listened quietly as Steph descended...
"Oh my God..."
Echoed up from far below. Steph doesn't normally phrase things that way. Our imaginations ran wild.
Steph communicated what she saw - a small platform just behind a monstrous pothole. It was 13 feet deep with a severely overhung exit lip, featureless and coated with slick mud. Then she rapped down into the pothole to discover waist-deep water with mud that surrounded her ankles and shins. It was messy and stinky, but the risk of hypothermia was low.
Tony rapped down next, with about 50 lbs of full PotShots in his pack. Not an easy task.
For the next two hours Steph and Tony battled the pothole. Steph tried to escape while standing on Tony's hands - but was not successful. Many PotShots were thrown and many slid back in. The tiny throwing area limited Tony's ability to throw for distance, and the tiny landing area limited which Potshots would stick.
While Cara and I were waiting up top we noticed a tree on the left downcanyon side that would probably let us rappel down into the canyon just past the pothole, so we pulled the rope up and re-rigged the rappel at that vantage point, being extremely careful not to pull any rocks.
Cara and I then rappelled into the slot and came down about a foot past the pothole (!!). About that time Steph figure out that one of the PotShots was really stuck (a good thing). At that point she was pretty covered with mud, but was still determined to defeat the pothole.
Cara and I didn't touch the stuck PotShot and gave her one last try at it. With much determination, she got her ascender up and over the lip of the pothole, then climbed out under her own power. SUCCESS!!
We discovered a LOT of water in the rest of the canyon, two swimmers in fact. I didn't bother with a wetsuit for the first one and suffered badly. There was ice floating in the second one, which was a long swimmer down a hallway, so I put on my 3/2 wetsuit and suffered almost as badly. Lesson learned!! :)
We did not take many photos because we were trying to get through the water quickly.
Steph doing battle with a monster:
And Steph beating that monster, fair and square:
Notes:
This canyon can hold water for a very long time and change dramatically with each flood.
The landing zone for our PotShots had one lucky rock that snagged our rope.
There is no guarantee that it will be there to snag ropes in the future.
Hooks might have helped, but we didn't see any useful features.
Even though the daytime high was 70 degrees, there was still ice in the canyon.
There is an alternate entrance to this canyon on the LDC side called Dirty Jobs,
which looks more fun than dealing with the pothole at the top of the watercourse.
We will try that next time.
