Birch Hollow, Just Outside of Zion NP, 8-31-13 | Trip Report

Forecast: rain, thunderstorms, and flash flooding. Sky: mostly sunny. Decision: run it fast and get to Orderville Gulch as quickly as possible. Outcome: We had a beautiful, sunny run through Birch Hollow, and an amazing Flash Flood experience in Orderville Gulch. Truly an adventure worth taking. Flash Flood warnings are NOT to be taken lightly. Under no circumstances do I recommend you making decisions to go ahead with a canyon trip during a flood warning. We made the decision based on our experience and competency level, and got "lucky". A group of 7 is not usually fast moving, but with 4 ropes and everybody confident at setting up rappels, we leapfrog quite quickly through the canyons. Sometimes too quickly, as enjoying the scenery is part of the trip. In this case though, speed was our friend, and we pushed through Birch, exiting into Orderville moments before the afternoon storms hit. We watched Orderville go from dry to flash flooding in a matter of minutes, the worst part of the day was driving 6 miles back out from the Ordeville TH on a now very slick, wet, clay road. "Impassable when wet" is to be taken literally. We were rescued and shuttled by some kindly ATV riders staying in the Zion's Ponderosa Ranch Resort. Much thanks to Shane F. and his sweet mother!