Boltergeist...& Another Run Thru Yankee Doodle

Where: Silver Reef, Utah
When: September 2008
Partners: DB, Mike Cressman, Andy Archibald, John Styrnol, Tal from Israel, and Aaron & Ryan from SLC

The stunning final rappel in Boltergeist

Took a run through Boltergeist as part of a group of eight on Saturday. While not of Zion quality, like nearby Yankee Doodle the canyon has more charm and character than one might expect from Silver Reef. With a handful of rappels, only one or two of which seem mandatory, the final rappel (100' or so) can be done directly down the watercourse (nice) or from a tree on the left (LDC).
Andy practicing ascending a rope in Yankee Doodle...

...as DB naps

Once through the technical canyon, one hangs a left at a confluence and proceeds up a lush, vegetation-choked drainage with a delightful stream gurgling through it. After a couple hundred yards, you pass by a beautiful waterfall then gain a steep, loose slope that leads one back toward the car.
Andy on the first (and only) mandatory rappel in Yankee Doodle

Bidding John, Aaron and Ryan farewell (thanks to John for putting this together in the first place), the rest of us then took another romp through Yankee Doodle before spending way too much money on dinner at nearby Cosmopolitan (good food, but pricey).
Scrambling through the Yankee Doodle slot

Photos by Mike Cressman