Every now and then an idea comes to life that you still look back on and wonder "How the Hell did this happen to come about." Our 24 Hours of Moab was just such a case.
We were all stuffed in a car on our way to do the Black Hole on July 24th (Check out the "Bailing on a Canyon" post). We were talking about our upcoming plans to head to do Pleiades Slot Canyon in Moab the first part of August. It was brought up that if we were going to do Pleiades in the morning, why can't we do a canyon the evening before, then I would drive to Moab the afternoon prior and after the canyon I could spend the night to do Pleiades the next morning instead of driving up that morning. Well, if I was going to drive up the evening before, why not drive up early afternoon and Jeff and I could get some fishing in prior to the canyon. Thus, 24 Hours of Moab was born.
We completed 3 adventure activities in Moab Utah in a 24 hour period and still got a full night sleep. Our Bass Fishing (for me) trip was great. Jeff was on his fly pole so his targets were trout. That's the great thing about fishing Ken's Lake outside of Moab, it has something for different kinds of fisherman(persons). I managed to still catch a Rainbow Trout, a Blue Gill and some Large Mouth Bass. Jeff caught a couple of Blue Gill and lots of Rainbow Trout. We had a great afternoon, only a few hours of fishing, but well worth the add on to our adventure trip. I would definitely (and already have) be back to fish Ken's Lake again.
Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 of our Adventure in Moab Utah. (Spoiler - part 3 is Pleiades Canyon).
Whether you call it Rock of Ages or Pool Arch Canyon, this Canyoneering route is a fun one. With some spectacular views and rappels it's a fantastic hike to knock off a day with. Generally it's gonna have some water in the canyon, not as much on hotter days, or days where there has been no rain fall for a while. Rock of Ages canyon is a spectacular route to mess around in.
This route is located in the South West quadrant of Moab and is accessed from the trail head just off of Kane Creek right a long side the Colorado River. There is lots of camping and parking in the area, but be careful, most of it is on Private Property and there are fee stations (Posts and boxes) asking for parking fees. It is on the honor system I believe and not really patrolled as far as we noticed. There is a huge parking pull out where we stopped and a sign post for a $10 parking fee. The canyon is worth it, and there really isn't much of anywhere else to park in that area without adding additional hiking time and distances. The canyon makes a loop and you end up hiking back down the canyon afterward ending back at this parking spot.
Once parked and ready to go, you hike up Pritchett Canyon along the dirt road for about 10-15 min. Be careful to pay attention to traffic. This is a popular Jeep/UTV road and trail up into Pritchett Canyon and you may encounter vehicles on this road that you will need to move off the road way for. Most people that we encountered were courteous and aware of hikers. We did have bandanna's and "Buffs" with us that we put over our nose and mouth to cut down on the dust we were breathing in when they passed by us.
After the short hike up the road you will see a narrow looking drainage coming in from your left. This is your exit location from the road and the beginning of the climb up to the rim where you will encounter Pool Arch. Be aware on the hike up that there is another arch you will hike underneath on your right hand side. Sometimes it's not easy to see until after you have passed by it and stop to look back. This route once on top is becoming more and more worn and it shouldn't be too hard to stay on the path and staying in the right direction towards Pool Arch. This hike up through the canyon does come with some exposed climbs and scrambles. It's a high class 4 in a couple of locations so you need to be sure of your footing and grappling skills. A handline might be needed for some, be sure to put your helmet on for safety.
Once at Pool Arch the fun begins. You can bypass the initial rappel into the Arch Chamber if you want with a hike down on the side of the arch, but why would you pass up this spectacular rappel. Lisa had done this canyon a number of times and this was her first time doing this rappel (refer to video as we discuss this).
Be prepared on the third / final rappel. It catches a lot of people a little off guard if your not expecting it. There is some exposure to it and some major penalty points. You have to lean out from the edge of the great abyss in order to rig it. We simply tied a hard line to the hand line anchor on top and used this as a safety point for the rigger to be tied into. Also consider using a safety tether off of your harness to connect to the main anchor while rigging it or helping others to rig in. With the tie in, we didn't feel this was necessary, however if Jeff had slipped or been knocked over the edge, it would have taken him a bit of work to get back up over the lip with out having the safety tether attached. We really should have done it and you should too.
After dropping the third and final rappel, you can follow the social trail out of this little split off and you end up back on the Pritchett Canyon road. It's about a 30 min walk from here back down the same road you started on and to your car.
This canyoneering route really isn't a Slot Canyon as Moab doesn't have many of those. Like most of the other routes in the area it's a route through and between sandstone fins giving the impression of a slot canyon. It's still a gorgeous route and a fun trip and one that should be on your bucket list if looking for a canyoneering route in Moab to do.
If you are interested in seeing the whole un-edited video that we shot on this trip, you can check out our Patreon Page for further information on gaining access to that full video: https://www.patreon.com/NorthWashOutdoors
When one thinks of Slot Canyons, Moab Utah is really not the place to look towards to find them, especially not in Arches National Park. You visit this park to see the Arches that Mother Nature has sculpted and worn away and marvel at the beauty left behind from wind erosion, not water erosion of canyons. I'm going to let you in on a little secret that no Guide Company in Moab will divulge: "There really are no Slot Canyons in Moab." Really, even though most guide companies in Moab offer Canyoneering trips now, with the impression of going through slot canyons, these trips consist mainly of hiking through routes developed for the adventure seekers visiting the area. They aren't true slot canyons in the sense of North Wash, The Swell, The Roost, or Zion National Park. But I digress, if your just looking for an adventure, there are plenty to be had in the Moab area. Now, on the other hand, Lost and Found Canyon (a.k.a. Undercover Canyon) is one of only a few actual true slot canyons in the Moab region, and actually lies with in Arches National Park boundaries. However, it won't be found on any tourist info for the park as it takes some skills to find it and get through it. To access this canyon you have to go in through the back door of the park and come off of I-70 North of Moab and towards the Colorado State Line and then wind your way through a maze of back roads to come back to the park boundary. Once there, you then have to hike on an un designated route to reach the canyon rim. Don't worry, getting back to your car doesn't get any easier, this was the easy part. It's not a canyon for the average tourist to the park, but it's actually one that is well worth the trip. Great rappels and nice little slot sections. The canyon section if moving efficiently will only take you a couple of hrs. The hiking out is the longest part of the day giving the most concern with the exit climb up out of the canyon. A lot of people have had issues mentally with the "Climbers Exit", some have actually fallen and taken some serious injuries from it. On this trip, it was Tammy's 4th time through the canyon and I've seen her tackle slopes and sections of canyons that are worse than this climbers exit with out batting an eye. However, because of the nature of this climbers exit and past trauma on this section of the canyon, Tammy has struggled with it each time she has done the canyon. I had to make a bet with her, one that I knew she would want to win and because she is stubborn I knew she would not want to admit defeat to. Check out the video and see how Tammy conquers this fear and what it cost me. If you want to watch the entire un-edited trip through this canyon check out our Patreon Page for information on how you can sign up and have access to this: https://www.patreon.com/NorthWashOutdoors
