Canyoneering: Blarney Canyon and Angel Slot

Post by Scott:

I went canyoneering with several of my adult children in early November. (Paula was the hero and babysat the grandchildren.) We camped at Sandthrax, a primitive camp near the junction of UT-95 and UT-276, outside of Hanksville.

While I made our steak fajitas, everyone else warmed up on the nearby practice wall.

Except for the 5 guys who showed in a nearby site at 10 pm and started making dinner somewhat noisily when we were trying to sleep, it was a pretty good camp. It was a little chilly, but the fire helped with that.

After Everett's luxury breakfast Saturday morning, we checked out Blarney Canyon. The approach wasn't very long...

... and soon we were at the first rappel.

Right near the beginning of the canyon, you have to downclimb underneath a chockstone...

... and then you are in the narrow canyon slot.

David and Stephanie made a great lunch of smoked pulled pork, chips, and salad. We broke camp

and drove to Angel Slot. Most of our group had been through Robber's Roost Canyon several years ago with a few church groups, when we slogged through the Dirty Devil and camped at Angel's Cove. It was amazing to see some of that country again, but from the southeast side.

The most challenging part of the day was getting onto the first rappel. It was very awkward, with a long anchor and an undercut cliff edge. This is the view from the top of that rappel. Everett and I are trying to figure out the anchor. We thought that shortening it would help. But we were wrong. Instead, one of our group got stuck at the edge with their belay device wedged between the rapide and the sandstone. Fortunately, we were able to haul them back up, lengthen the anchor, and give it another go -- much more successfully this time.

This is that same rappel from the bottom. You can see how much the cliff is undercut at the top. It was a very tricky entrance.

This canyon had everything: a few long rappels, narrow slot sections, challenging downclimbs, and a great open view at the end.

We hiked out, and the adventure was over -- all too soon.

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