Where: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Who: Aron Ralston and Bryan Long
All photos courtesy of Aron Ralston
Showing posts with label Capitol Reef Nat'l Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capitol Reef Nat'l Park. Show all posts
Another Romp Thru Pandora's Box
Pandora's Box (4AIVR)
Where: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
When: March 2009
Partners: Kip Marshall, Matt Smith, Bo Beck, Ryan from Provo, and 5 other folks whose names I never got
Some months back, Ram suggested Pandora's Box as a particularly nice canyon for me to do in Capitol Reef National Park. And like so many other recommendations I've gotten over the years from reliable sources, I filed it away on my ever-growing to-do list.
So one day not long ago, Kip sent me an email asking if I'd like to do Pandora's Box with him. Of course I did!
Joined by 8 (!) others, including former partners Bo Beck, Matt Smith and Ryan from Provo, we had a large and festive group slogging up the approach trail that dumps you off (and then disappears) on the mesa adjacent to the canyon. Once there, we stopped for a quick break and a few snapshots before making our way over to the head of the canyon. Right away, a couple rappels and the squeezing began...
Leading the group at one point, I came to the first squeeze, got on my belly and started through...for about 6 feet. As it got tighter, I balked and asked Bo (who's thinner than I) to check it out for me. When he reported that it was very, very tight down-canyon, I crawled back up-canyon and elected to stem over this slot, where the going was easier. Soon, the canyon widened.
Soon slotting up again, we encountered more thin narrows and some high-stemming in and around beautiful chambers. A really nice canyon, this one.
And there was the occasional rappel...
And plenty of high-stemming over narrow slots...
While this was no beginner canyon (as there are numerous tight narrows, awkward downclimbs and rappels, as well as plenty of strenuous high-stemming), the going wasn't bad and it was super-fun!
Most of the way through the canyon, there's a sustained (100-yards) stretch of tight narrows. As we made our way toward it's end, Matt spotted fresh cougar prints...in the tight slot! Sweet!
Just beyond a brief widening point in the canyon, it slotted up again and then dumped out into a mesmerizing Subway-like chamber.
Just beyond the subway chamber, we came to the final rappel sequence. Here, a beautiful perch provided views into the stunning amphitheatre at the mouth of canyon.
Done with the technical canyon, I had a bite to eat and waited for word to arrive that the rest of our group had reached the final sequence. Hearing that, I bid farewell to the party and set out for the car. Along the way, I found some nice petrified logs...
I arrived back at the car 8.5 hours after starting out.
Cassidy Arch Canyon (3AII)
Where: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
When: March 2009
Partners: DB
Rising casually from our camp on BLM land, DB and I headed into Capitol Reef eager to explore this mostly-unknown-to-us national park. Stopping off at the Goosenecks overlook, we then headed in to the visitor center and inquired with the ranger there about routes up Capitol Dome (she said she didn't know of anyone having been up there before) and Ferns Nipple. We decided on Ferns Nipple.
Arriving at the Ferns Nipple/Cassidy Arch trailhead, we made a last-minute decision to bag the canyon afterall. Tom had recommended it as a nice half-day affair, and we were in a canyoneering mindset. So we set out on the stunningly beautiful trail to the arch.
Soon reaching the top of the arch, we established an anchor off of a small juniper at the edge of the drop and headed 140 feet down to a slot. A short hike down-canyon brought us to a 2-bolt anchor on a slab above another 140-foot drop. The view back up to the arch was stunning!
Below the second rappel, which culminated in a little overhung grotto, the canyon made a hard left turn. Soon, a few more short rappels presented themselves, one of them through another arch. Below that, a challenging downclimb leading to another downclimb and then a fork in the canyon. Hmmm, a quick look down the left fork quickly displayed an impressive dryfall.
Just down-canyon of the fork, we came upon another 2-bolt anchor above an arch. Sweet - 3 arch rappels in this canyon!
Just below the third arch rappel, we gained a slab on the left that led to a 2-bolt anchor for a rappel to the canyon floor. Negotiating this rappel, we headed down-canyon to another short rappel (or stiff downclimb) that led to walking ground leading back to the road.
Heading back to the vehicle to drop the gear, DB and I then hiked back up the trail to the arch to retrieve our webbing and rappel ring. What followed was a pleasant hike back down the trail to our patiently waiting vehicle.
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