Fine in 09: Packin' It In - Escalante, Capitol Reef, Leprechaun, and the Anasazi - April 2009

Return to alavigne.net home

NOTE: You have javascript disabled in your browser. This presentation will continue to function, but with only basic capabilities. In order to view this presentation will full capabilities, please enable javascript in your browser, then refresh this page.

[< Previous Page]

[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15]

[Next Page >]

Below the third rap was some more tight twisting and turning, then a short and easy fourth rappel, and then the canyon widened out briefly and we reached the junction with the main fork of Leprechaun, which we were to follow all the way to the end of the narrows.

Brian on 3rd Rappel

A little more open

courtesy BConnell

Dreaming of ?

Nearing junction

Before the depths

Very soon the narrows resumed, and this time they were *really* tight. And deep. And quite dark. So dark, in fact, that we had to get out our headlamps -- it was positively cave-like. Furthermore, the canyon did not have vertical walls here. Instead, they were angled to one side. Since the width was only about 15 inches, you had to edge sideways AND lift yourself off the sloping wall you were leaning against. Awkward.

Headlamps Required

Slope-y!

Brian in the dark

Queued up!

Descending into Darkness

Almost nighttime!

After much shuffling and grunting in the dark, we came to a spot where we had to crawl down into a black hole -- some large chockstones had created a dark underground passage. Soon after this, we suddenly emerged into the open and reached another junction, this time with the right fork of Leprechaun canyon.

Emerging into the Light

Brian looks back

End of tight section

Downcanyon of this spot, the canyon is not nearly as narrow. It is still a very neat spot, though. The canyon here is formed in an interesting way. down at ground level, it is a comfortable ten feet wide. Up above our heads, though, it narrowed into an impossibly small 6-inch wide crack -- essentially creating a tunnel. This section is called 'Belfast Boulevard', and is worth seeing on it's own. Again, there was no water today (like pretty much everywhere else in the canyon), just a dry, sandy floor.

Bob in Belfast Blvd

Widening Out

Cave-Like!

Shortly after Belfast Boulevard, the canyon widens quite a lot, but with nice, high, sculpted slickrock walls. Now that we were past all of the technical and physical difficulties, we stopped for a snack break, and put away our climbing gear. We had successfully descended the Left Fork of Leprechaun!

After our break, it was a short walk downcanyon before the narrows ended completely, and we came to the spot where we had headed up the slickrock in the morning. Fifteen minutes later we were back at the vehicles.

courtesy BConnell

Belfast Blvd Start

Post-slot Rest

Hiking down Leprechaun

Our next trip objective was for us to do some sort of activity in the Grand Gulch area -- famous for it's well-preserved and extensive Anasazi Indian ruins. We headed south down highway 276, enjoying the very beautiful scenery as the highway crosses the Colorado river near Hite. Continuing on, we climbed up onto the Cedar Mesa -- the home of Grand Gulch (and many other ruin-filled canyons).

courtesy BConnell

courtesy PChen

Back at the trucks

Hite Overlook

Bob at Hite Overlook

We didn't have any advance reservations, and we arrived at the Kane Gulch ranger station after opening hours. Additionally, it being a long weekend, the station would not be open the next day, and as overnight backpacks in the Grand Gulch area require a permit, we were out of luck. We therefore decided to do a Grand Gulch dayhike (i.e. rather than a backpack) the next day, descending into it from halfway along it's length. To do this, we had to drive into the backcountry of Cedar Mesa, doing a bit of minor offroading, to reach the appropriate trailhead (of a trail called 'The Government Trail'). We set up camp right at the trailhead, so that we could be ready to go bright and early the next day.