full.lead.taco

Date: 04/03/2024
Lots of rain recently in this area which has caused a lot of mud and erosion. My friend tried to do this canyon the day before but had to turn around due to the muddy road to get to the trailhead (deep ruts). We tried on the 3rd and were successfully able to get our minivan (carefully) to the Birch trailhead. We dropped a truck off at the Orderville trailhead (using a high clearance vehicle), the road was pretty rough. The mud was unreal on the trail, but also slippery and funny. We encountered snow on the ground, cool ice formations under the waterfalls, ice over the creek after exiting the canyon portion with 1-2" of mud on top of that ice. We noticed tons of erosion near the exit point where you hike up to get to the orderville parking lot. Basically the hillside has come down and been washed down from the creek. All the webbing looked good and the canyon was super fun with our group of 8. Be careful with all that mud and don't lose any shoes.

Yankee Doodle Canyon - Leeds

Date: 04/02/2024
4/2/24 Canyon had received rain the previous day. Probably the most full of water I have seen--was a blast with waist deep water in some of the narrow areas. Took a group of 8 through the canyon as a warmup before doing Birch Hollow the next day. Moist moss on the rock wall made the climb out a little more slick but not too difficult. Fun canyon, especially fun with the added water.

The Subway (From the Top) - Zion West Side

Date: 06/19/2023
Amazing, beautiful experience with a couple of "potentially dangerous mishaps" that turned out for the better. Water was cold and wind was breezy, but other than that, the weather was good. Water levels were high. A few things to note, due to rain or winter weather eroding some of the dirt on the initial steep downclimb to get to the first pool of water, one of the larger boulders (500+ lbs) in the downclimb was loose and when one of our party members stepped on it, it came rolling down. Luckily that person fell backwards and had their helmet on--as his helmet hit a boulder behind them when he fell. That person's leg narrowly missed getting pinned/crushed by the boulder when they fell backwards. Water was cold and wetsuits were used and appreciated. One of the larger fellows in our group (too tall for most wetsuits) was not able to use a wetsuit and got very chilled and wished they made one in his size (almost 7ft tall). Canyon was very beautiful and fun and awesome. The hike after you get out of the subway section is a lot farther/longer than what most people say. With all the zig-zagging across the river before the steep hike/climb out, people should be careful of slipping and falling. Multiple people in our party slipped and fell but nobody was injured. Also, on the upper parts of the trail to exit the canyon, there are a couple parts of the trail that are washed out where people should take care. If you slip in the wrong place, you could fall and there really isn't anything to stop you. The water levels were high and there was quite a bit of swimming. Side note: if you are planning on picking up your permit at the kolob canyon visitor center, be aware of their hours change due to short staffing. The visitor center closed on Sunday at 12 noon.

Diana's Throne Canyon (aka Elkheart Cliffs Slot Canyon) - Zion East Side

Date: 06/05/2023
the approach and exit have a bit of deep sand that is annoying to hike in, and the exit is a bit steep, but it was a fun canyon with a bunch of short rappels