Middle Leprechaun and Constrychnine Canyons

Middle Leprechaun and Constrychnine Canyons
February 19-20, 2022

Back to the North Wash and a few new canyons for the weekend. The weather looked good and Laura, Hazel and I had a 3 day weekend so we once again loaded up and headed for Hanksville. We had a list of canyons we thought were reasonable to take Hazel on and decided that the narrow Middle Leprechaun would be a fun start to our weekend. Starting early, around 8 am from the trailhead, we bundled Hazel up in a warm winter suit and started off across the desert. It wasn't long before she wanted to walk on her own so we took her out of the pack and let her do some hiking. She was happy to walk and did amazing, but was more interested in the rocks and sand than anything else! After a few minutes of exploration, we put Hazel back in the pack and made our way to the start of the canyon. A few drops and we were into the narrow parts, squeezing our way along. Several times, we took Hazel out and let her walk down the canyon on her own. I'd ask her if she was having fun and she'd reply "Yeah" and keep on going! She was wearing her unicorn hat that her Aunt Jenn got her for Christmas, so we're claiming the first unicorn descent of Middle Lep. While the canyon was beautiful, Laura and I agreed that the squeezing along was not our favorite part and would place this particular canyon lower on our list of overall canyons. We made it back to the car at the trailhead around 3 and called it a day. We went back, bathed and showered and headed over to the only food in town - Stans. Hazel ate a milkshake on her fries while Laura and I had chicken and fish.

Sunday morning we woke at 7 and were driving by 7:45. This time we would head for the Poison Spring area and Constrychnine canyon. We had enjoyed Arscenic canyon in this area last time and were looking forward to today. Weather was great at around 60 degrees in the afternoon, but it was windy, which Hazel did not enjoy. Hiking along and approaching the start of the canyon, you can tell that this is a big, deep canyon. It is awesome as well as a bit intimidating looking down at the size of what we're about to descend. We took our new 300' rope as well as 200' rope. This would comfortably get us down the longest 165' rappel. At the top of the canyon, Laura and Hazel rappelled first. I had them on a second rope, lowering them as a backup since this was the first time Laura had rappelled on the new 300' rope. It looked like the rope was going to pull our backpack off, so I moved it over and subsequently forgot to take it with me when I rappelled. We now had no food or water for the day. Not a good situation, but we made fast time through the remainder of the canyon. The rappels were all big and fun and it was a spectacular area. We were amazed by its beauty. Hazel enjoyed walking several parts and the climb out was uneventful. We hiked over to a meeting spot where Laura and Hazel played in the sand while I went back and grabbed our backpack. When I met back up with them, we relaxed, ate some food and played in the sand with Hazel. Round trip, we were back to the car around 2:10 pm, about 5 hours car to car. We will definitely be back to this one as it ranked in our top 5. 

On the way home Monday, we decided to go to the visitors center at Colorado National Monument and let Hazel walk around and get some energy out during the long drive home. We made it safely home and are all looking forward to more fun desert weekends!

Moab Canyons

January 27 - 29, 2022

Moab, Utah

Medieval, Bow and Arrow, Tier Drop, Not Tier Drop Canyons

Arches National Park 

Canyonlands National Park

Laura is back walking again after almost 3 months in a wheelchair and crutches. Her ankle is healing nicely and the doctor has released her for walking and some hiking, but no impact still. So, what does one do when you can't ski, can't climb, can't run, can't put on mountaineering boots? You go canyoneering! The weather is cold but good in Moab this time of year so we decided to head there for the weekend and run a few easier canyons and get some easy hiking in. Friday when we arrived to town, we had a few hours before sunset so Laura and I asked her mom to drop us off at sand flat and go check into the hotel while we went to Medieval Chamber canyon. It was short and scenic. After a mile or so of hiking, we came to the first rappel. It dropped about 100' into an awesome room and exited through a very short slot section. We then walked to Morning Glory Arch and set up a simu rappel. Laura and I each lowered of one side of the arch at the same time and it was a really fun rappel at about 130'. It is definitely an advanced rappel to get onto and we were happy to have quite a bit of experience simu rapping from mountain and rock days. From the bottom, we coiled our ropes and hiked a few miles out through Grandstaff (Negro Bill) Canyon, crossing the stream many times as we weaved back an fourth making our way to the popular trailhead. 

The next morning we got an early start and went to Bow and Arrow Canyon at the Poison Spider Trailhead off Potash Road. We explored petroglyphs just off the trail and then continued onto Longbow Arch which is about 60' across. From Longbow, you scramble down canyon eventually reaching a long rappel at an overhanging cliff. I set the rappel but was feeling a bit nervous for some reason so I asked Laura to go first. She rappelled and gave me the go ahead. I set my rappel and triple checked all was perfect before weighting the rope and then lowered over the edge onto the free hanging rappel. Across the canyon were more petroglyphs and down canyon were spectacular views of the La Sal Mountains. A bit more hiking and two more short rappels and we were back at the road. The car was parked just a half mile away and we completed canyon #1 for today in about 2 hours. 

We headed toward Arches NP and found ourselves waiting in a line of cars to get into the park. While Laura waited, I jumped out and hiked into the visitors center, securing permits for our next canyons and waiting at the road for Laura just as she got through the entrance gate. As always, efficiency is important when you're trying to get a lot done in a single day! We drove to the trailhead that we would use for multiple canyons and chose to do U Turn Canyon first. Since it only requires a single rope, we decided to leave the second behind and pick it up when we came back through on our way to the next canyon. Leaving the car, Laura and I walked across the desert sand and made our way up a gulley to the top of the mesa. Turning right towart U Turn, we saw a group hiking across. They indicated that there was a guided group of 10 in U Turn and that they were headed to Tier Drop Canyon instead. This is the canyon we were planning to do after U Turn and we knew we did not have enough rope to descend so we asked to join them and they were happy to let us. We were not sure what to expect from a group we had never canyoneered with before so I set up the first rappel off of a tree about 50' back from the low angle slab below and lowered first. The group followed as we made our way to the second rappel. The anchor was a rock carin with webbing. We inspected it and Josh set up a biner block and a single line. I inspected his system and determined that this group was competent and would be a fun group to cruise with for the day. The group lowered off the free hanging rappel as we chatted and got to know each other. They were all climbers who had gotten into canyoneering, similar to Laura and myself. The third rappel was another long one off of a single bolt backed up with a rock carin, so we set another single line and off we went. The exit was a bit confusing. A lot of people exit right, and we tried as well, but decided to go hikers left and traverse along a cliff band to an exit gulley. We hiked out to the main trail, chatting and laughing, each of us having fun past experiences to share. At the trailhead, Hazel and Big Momma were there waiting for us. We had lunch and hung out for a while while Hazel played. We once again joined up with the group and this time descended Not Tier Drop Canyon, opting against U Turn for a second time. Not Tier Drop is just to the right of Tier Drop and starts with a short pothole scramble. There are several fun rappels, leading to a long final rappel to the canyon floor. Similar to Tier Drop and with a few fun rappels, Not Tier Drop went smoothly and we all had a good time. We once again hiked out the main trail to the parking lot and exchanged contact info. Parting ways, Laura and I did a short drive through Arches NP and then went back to the hotel to pick up Big Momma and Hazel before heading to dinner. When we pulled into the parking lot at the Moab Brewery, we saw Josh and Tara so I yelled out the window at them to stop stalking us. We ended up with a table for 8 and shared laughs and stories over beers and dinner. 

On Sunday we took Hazel to a new national park for her. Canyonlands NP. We went to Island in the Sky area and Hazel did the 1 mile hike to Mesa Arch. She hiked the entire way on her own and did amazing! We continued out to more overlooks and did a bit more hiking before Hazel decided she was too tired to walk anymore. Worn out and ready for sleep, we all went back to the car and loaded up for the long drive home. Hazel played for a while before falling asleep. The hiking was good for her and we had an easy drive home.