| San Rafael Swell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canyon Name | Named by | Kelsey Name | Notes: |
| Grotto Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for ‘the grotto,’ a large pothole nestled below a dryfall. Refers to the lower entrenched section of Big Hole Wash (labeled on the 7.5 min quadrangle) to the west of the Tidwell Draw track and north of Horse Heaven. †¹ | |
| Pinnacle Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for a large pinnacle in the canyon. †¹ | |
| Archtower Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for the The Archtower, a 200–foot tower, containing an arch, that resides in the canyon †¹ | |
| Sheep Cave Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for a sheep cave within the canyon. Steve Allen wrote: “The Sheep Cave is high on the hillside to the right. As evidenced by the amount of scat in the cave, it is apparent that this is a favorite bighorn getaway.” †¹ | |
| Box Spring Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for its springs and lush riparian habitat. †¹ | |
| Petroglyph Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for two petroglyph panels found in the canyon. †¹ | |
| Double Arch Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for two sets of double arches that reside in the canyon. †¹ | |
| Forgotten Canyon | Steve Allen | Secret Mesa Canyon S | Steve Allen wrote: “For some inexplicable reason this fantastic canyon has been left out of the literature. With its long, tight narrows and a great arch, it deserves notice.” †¹ |
| Uneva Mine Canyon | Steve Allen | 2nd Canyon & Uneva Mine Canyon S | Named for the Uneva mine located within the canyon. †¹ |
| Steep Canyon | Steve Allen | Named as it is a steep canyon which climbs to the top of the San Rafael Reef. †¹ | |
| Lupacchiotta Canyon | Ryan Cornia & Cristina Amat | Ryan Cornia wrote: “When Cristina and I first descended it, we had wonder–dog Lucy Lou in tow, so decided Lupacchiotta, Italian for ‘little wolf,’ was a good name. Though not a huge fan of the rappels, Lucy enjoyed the canyon quite a bit.” ω | |
| Zero Gravity | Shane Burrows, Sam Gregory, & Devon Gregory | Little Iron Wash ² | After Burrows’ chest got stuck in the bombay slot of the exit falls which had him suspended in the air. bombay — a wide void, directly underneath a section of narrow slot, that is too wide for stemming when descending from the narrow, stemmable slot above. (also guided as LITTLE SINBAD CANYON) ω |
| Great Gusto Canyon | Ryan Cornia, Diane Menuz, & Jason Pease | Ryan Cornia wrote: “I consider a big part of the fun and enjoyment of canyoneering to be the route finding. Great Gusto Canyon is one of those rare days that I didn’t lead the group to the spot where I thought we would end up but, instead, to a different drainage entirely. The upshot of the snafu? Instead of finding and rappelling through the arch I had hoped we would be rappelling through, we found an undocumented and impressive natural bridge (Great Gusto Bridge) and rappelled through that instead! Bridge, arch, it is all good! A very windy day and big rappel made for a ‘Great Gusto.’ We had to wait until between wind gusts to shout down to people on rappel!” ω þ | |
| Southern Baptist Canyon AKA South Baptist Draw | Penny Martens & Lon Carpenter Shane Burrows | A wordplay based on its location being just south of Baptist Draw. Southern Baptist — Refers to a Christian denomination in the U.S., a sub-branch of Protestantism arising from a split in the Baptists associated with the South. Shane Burrows wrote: “I began referring to the Drainage as South Baptist Draw when discussing it with SAR and others. At the time of a news story, the SAR personnel were referring to the spot as ‘a tributary of Upper Chute’ and ‘the drainage south of Baptist.’ I also could have picked up the name from someone else at the time while discussing the incident. I have also never descended the canyon, which I know some feel is a prerequisite to naming a route.” Penny Martens wrote: “Many years ago I had quite the adventure when I thought I was in Baptist Draw. I hadn’t told many people this story because of my embarrassment, but, several years later when I told someone, they referred to it as ‘South Baptist’ and knew my entire story about that day! I asked about the name. They thought it was mine or Shane’s, if I remember correctly. There was webbing in there that we replaced so I know we weren’t the first ones. I did purposely morph that into ‘Southern Baptist’ because I don’t care to be a southern baptist and I didn’t care to be in the wrong canyon! Just my sense of humor. I remember changing that with Lon (my partner on that day).” þ | |
| Little Gem Canyon | Steve Allen | The canyon is mentioned in several places in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering: The San Rafael Swell. †¹ Steve Allen wrote: “The lower part is in the Wingate, which can weather into fantastic shapes. It is a Little Gem compared to the nearby longer, bigger, and equally fantastic Chimney Canyon.” (also known as GEM CANYON) þ | |
| Gem Canyon | Kent Beverly, Penny Martens, & Scott Patterson | Scott Patterson wrote: “The forks of Gem Canyon (2003) were named simply because the bottom of the canyon complex was tagged Little Gem, but the upper forks aren’t little; so we dropped the name ‘Little’ for the upper forks.” (also known as LITTLE GEM CANYON) þ | |
| Enigma Canyon | Scott Patterson | Scott Patterson wrote: “I named Enigma Canyon in the Swell (sort of). Anyway, we did the canyon in 2003. Someone on the trip suggested the name Cubic Zirconium, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember the suggestion so I later referred to it as Enigma. The name has stuck. The alternate name was a clever one though. The next two canyons down were Little Gem and Poor Canyon and the gem of the poor is a cubic zirconium.” þ | |
| Music Canyon | Lloyd Bush, Henry Haurand, Kent Johnson & Laurie Ness. | Lloyd Bush wrote: “Henry Haurand and I discovered the canyon purely by accident about 11 or 12 years ago (1990-91). We were hiking down Muddy Creek and stopped for lunch directly opposite the opening (exit). We didn’t even see it until we were leaving after lunch. It is only visible from very close. We dropped our packs to see what it looked like and started up the canyon. After a few minutes it was obvious to us that this was a canyon worth doing. We continued up canyon until we got to a point we thought might be a bit tricky coming back down and reluctantly turned around. Two weeks later we came back with two other friends (Kent Johnson and Laurie Ness) to do the whole canyon. I had located what I thought was the canyon on the topo and we started from the top. It turned out to be every bit as good as we had hoped. When we got to the bottom, we turned around and went back up. At one point, there is a dark cavern with remarkable acoustics, and Laurie, who has a beautiful voice, began to sing. This led to a discussion as to what to name the canyon. We narrowed it down to ‘Music’ or ‘Melody,’ and ‘Music’ finally won out. It proved to be such a gem, that I began to bring my canyoneering classes from the University of Utah. Over the years, I have taken dozens of people down the canyon, but I never thought to ask any of them to keep the location secret. I don’t know if ours was the first descent, but I haven’t heard of any earlier ones. We definitely named the canyon.” ω þ | |
| Fault Line Canyon AKA Fault Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Fault Line Canyon | Named as it is formed along a fault. Appears in Hiking and Exploring Utah’s San Rafael Swell, 3rd Ed.. S Shane Burrows refers to Fault Line Canyon in text but shortens to ‘Fault Canyon’ on the map on Climb–Utah. ω |
| Mud Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for the soaring mud walls, pinnacles, towers, and narrows that are cut through the Moenkopi formation. †¹ | |
| Ding & Dang Canyons | Steve Allen | 1st & 2nd Canyons & Ding & Dang Cyns S | Steve Allen wrote: “I named them in the late 70’s. At their head is quite a dome\tower. I tried to climb it several times by myself without success, leading to the name in my own head of ‘G— Damn Dome!’ I finally made it to the top (5.9R). I do remember that the downclimb of the route was spookier than the upclimb. So in the interest of having a usable and not profane name, I renamed it Ding Dang Dome. I then started calling the two canyons that lead up the southern reef to the domes Ding and Dang. Apparently the names stuck.” þ |
| Ramp Canyon | Steve Allen | 4th Canyon & Ramp Canyon S,1 | For the sandstone ramp that is ascended. †¹ |
| Knotted Rope Canyon | Steve Allen | Miners Hollow S,1 | Named for a knotted rope which used to hang through Wayne’s Wiggle, the crux of the route. †¹ Steve Allen wrote: “After watching bits and pieces of the Knotted Rope disappear, and thinking of how much we’d like to have had someone save a piece of the original Dangling Rope in Glen Canyon, I took the remaining few feet of rope and it is now safely stored until it makes its way to a historical archive.”þ M.R. Kelsey’s name is in reference to remnants of uranium mining at the head of the canyon. ¹ |
| Eye Dropper Canyon | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “First descent with Louis Johnson and Everett Boutillet. From the top, it looks HUGE!!! And its a dropper!” þ | |
| Holloween Hollow | Steve Allen | Steve Allen wrote: “I’d been to Halloween Hollow in upper Chimney Canyon several times and loved taking people there. The sculpting and coloring on the walls are truly unique and seemingly endless. Joe Breddan, Ginger Harmon, and Chip Ward joined me in the canyon one year toward the end of October. We put our own names on many walls—the Ghoul’s Wall, the Wall of Waves, the Arabic Wall, the Staccato Rock Wall, and others—just for our own enjoyment. The names were always along the lines of ‘What does that look like to you?’ It was like picking shapes out of clouds. The Halloween name—because we were there on or near Halloween—certainly played a part in some of the names. That was probably thirty years ago and Halloween Hollow is still one of my favorites!” þ The name appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 1.Steve Allen wrote: “Look for Halloween Hollow, a small side canyon or slot to the right. Its walls of dripping sandstone have been compared to Antoni Gaudi’s gothic cathedral—Sagrada Familia—in Barcelona, Spain.” †¹ | |
| Quandary Canyon | Steve Allen | quandary — a state of uncertainty of what to do in a difficult situation. Named accordingly for the technical challenges the canyon presents. †¹ Steve Allen wrote: “Several have asked what I know of the mining history in Knotted Rope and Quandary. Jack Erwin of Green River didn’t work the Delta (Hidden Splendor) Mine, but he did work Temple Mountain and knew some of the history. Apparently the road into Quandary was used to drill test holes to see how extensive the Hidden Splendor Mine uranium seams were. The road, after cutting through the upper narrows, which were once filled with rip–rap, made its way around to Knotted Rope Canyon. At one time there was a plan to pump water up from the Muddy, hence the plethora of pipe lying around. Another interesting aside was that after Vernon Pick sold the Delta Mine to Floyd Odlum (who renamed it the Hidden Splendor) Odum’s wife had him build the airstrip we now camp on or near; she was the famed aviatrix Jackie Cochran who is credited with being the first woman to break the sound barrier and was instrumental in starting the WACS during WW 2.” þ | |
| The Squeeze | Steve Allen | Segers Hole Canyon ¹ AKA North Fork of Segers Hole Canyon S | Steve Allen wrote: “Segers Hole is a just that, a wide–open bowl cut deep into the Navajo Sandstone. As you make your way down the old road toward Muddy Creek the canyon quickly narrows into a slot—the Squeeze. I suppose I could have just as easily called it the Seger Slot. Just liked the sound of Squeeze better, and it seems to fit as the canyon gets tighter and tighter.” Link to account þ The name appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 1. †¹ |
| Segers Window Canyon | Tom Jones | Little Segers Hole Canyon ¹ AKA South Fork of Segers Hole Canyon S | Tom Jones wrote: “Mike and I did the Segers Window Canyon for his Technical Canyon book. He had originally done it from the top and escaped the canyon before the best section to hike back to the top — the Window. While he thought ‘Segers Window’ was a silly name, he agreed that a north fork and a south fork really should intersect at some point, so he went with ‘Segers Hole Canyon’ and ‘Little Segers Hole Canyon,’ which is somewhat better.” þ |
| Cable Canyon | Steve Allen | Steve Allen wrote: “An old miner’s cable wrapped around a chockstone was used as an anchor in the upper canyon on an early descent.” þ †¹ | |
| Corral Canyon | It was once used to hold cattle. †¹ | ||
| Horse Heaven Canyon | Steve Allen | Steve Allen wrote: “The canyon name is taken from the upland area of Horse Heaven, which is shown on the Caine Springs and The Frying Pan maps. Emery rancher Wayne Gremel noted that, ‘Wild horses used to like to stay out there. Used to be lots of grass. They’d water in Corral Canyon.’” þ | |
| Chamber of the Basilisk | Kessler Patterson, Shaylee Patterson, & Scott Patterson | Scott Patterson wrote: “Named after the giant snake in Harry Potter and for the huge ‘snake hole’ you rappel into to reach the chamber from the top.” Link to account of its discovery (also known as GOBLIN’S LAIR) ω þ | |
| Goblin’s Lair | Shane Burrows | Published as Goblin’s Lair on Climb–Utah in December 2011. The name was changed from Chamber of the Basilisk to avoid being overpowered by Harry–Potter–related web searches. Link to account of its discovery Climb–Utah uses the name ‘Goblin’s Lair’ to refer to both the technical and non–technical routes and separately refers to the chamber, resembling a gothic cathedral, that one rappels into as the Chamber of the Basilisk, preserving the original name. Goblin Valley State Park recognizes the name ‘Goblin’s Lair’ and has the non–technical route as a marked trail and labeled on maps. (also known as CHAMBER OF THE BASILISK) ω þ | |
| Southern Green River | |||
| Gruvers Slot | Dave Pimental | Named for Gruvers Mesa through which the slot descends. þ | |
| Moonshine Wash | The canyon was named after the illegal whiskey still that was located in the canyon during prohibition. The cement vats that the whiskey was brewed in are still in the canyon. ω | ||
| The Sneak AKA Sneak Canyon | Northwest Fork Three Canyon ² | Scott Patterson wrote: “In Three Canyon, there are two lower forks. I was told by a BLM ranger we met in there that the west one was named ‘Sneak Canyon’ or ‘The Sneak’ because the ranchers would use the hidden bolt route to sneak into the canyon.” þ | |
| Tidwell Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Tidwell Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey wrote: “so named because it runs north from near the old Phillips Oil Well, later used by the Tidwell Family of Green River as a line cabin when grazing cows in the area.” Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Low Spur | Michael R. Kelsey | Low Spur | The canyon was named for the adjacent highlands of the The Spur labeled Low Spur on the topo map. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| High Spur | Shane Burrows | Northeast Spur Fork ° ² | A side canyon of Spur Fork, which descends from the High Spur area of The Spur. Also a variation on the name Northeast Spur Fork, which appeared first in Kelsey’s 5th Edition Nontechnical Canyon Hiking Guide. Note that this is a different canyon than the High Spur Canyon labeled on Kelsey’s maps which lies further to the south (cf. Red Spur/Moqui entry). (also known as NORTHEAST SPUR FORK) ω ° |
| Red Spur | Shane Burrows | North Fork Moqui Fork ² R | Shane Burrows wrote: “Because it drains an area known as The Spur, and because the sandstone has a deep red color. Also because it’s the canyon next to High Spur.” The name Moqui Fork adorns two different canyons on two topo maps. The main tributary that branches off of Spur Fork (and contains this slot) is called Moqui Fork on the HANKSVILLE 30x60 min quadrangle (1:100,000 scale) but is unnamed on the HEAD SPUR 7.5 min quadrangle (1:24,000 scale). Instead, on the 7.5 min quad, Moqui Fork denotes the canyon to the south (just north of the Head Spur feature on the map) which Kelsey instead labels High Spur Canyon (this canyon is unlabeled on the 30x60 min quad). (also known as NORTH FORK MOQUI FORK) þ ² R |
| Blue John Canyon | Joe Biddlecome | Shane Burrows wrote: “Blue John Canyon appears to have been named after a minor Robbers Roost outlaw by the name of John Griffith. Griffith had one blue eye and one brown eye and thus was saddled with the nickname ‘Blue John.’ It is recognized that he kept stolen horses in the area, perhaps watering them at nearby springs. In the fall of 1899 Griffith is reported to have put in at Hite with a small boat with the intention of reaching Lee’s Ferry.” ω Steve Allen wrote: “Joe Biddlecome named this for outlaw John ‘Blue John’ Griffith who had one blue and one brown eye. Blue John moved to the area in 1880. Green River pioneer LeRoy T. Harris is given credit for actually giving the nickname ‘Blue John’ to Griffith. Blue John built a cabin next to Bluejohn Spring in the mid-1980s. In the late 1890s he was chased out of Robbers Roost country by a Moab posse for stealing horses. Blue John headed for Dandy Crossing on the Colorado River. There he secured a boat from Cass Hite. He was last seen below California Bar and it is assumed he died on the river” ⚕ | |
| Little Blue John Canyon | Tom Talboys | Little West Fork Blue John Canyon ² | Little Blue John Canyon first appeared on Climb–Utah in 2003. ω þ |
| “Squeeze Variation” East Fork Blue John Canyon | Shane Burrows | Squeeze Fork East Fork Blue John Canyon ² | An alternate route into the East Fork of Blue John Canyon through a tight side canyon. Squeeze Variation first appeared on Climb–Utah in 2003. ωþ |
| Lost Park Canyons | Michael R. Kelsey | Lost Park Canyons | Named as they all run north of an area labeled ‘Lost Park’ on the topo map. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Holeman Spring Canyon | Name for the tributary of the Green River that drains Holeman Spring, which is adjacent to the south side of Upheaval Dome. The canyon lies in the larger Holeman Spring Basin which is labeled on the 7.5 min topo. | ||
| Holeman Slot | Refers to the slot in the lower end of Holeman Spring Canyon. | ||
| Dirty Devil River | |||
| Upper Dirty Devil River (UDDR) Slots | Michael R. Kelsey | Upper Dirty Devil River (UDDR) Slots | Name for a group of seven short slots along the Dirty Devil River roughly between Hells Hole Canyon and Buck Canyon (between Upper and Lower Sand Slides). Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost 3rd Ed. R |
| Pool Slot AKA UDDR Slot 3 | Michael R. Kelsey | Pool Slot AKA UDDR Slot 3 | Named for a pool in the bottom of the slot. Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost 3rd Ed. R |
| Deer Slot AKA UDDR Slot 6 | Michael R. Kelsey | Deer Slot AKA UDDR Slot 6 | Michael R. Kelsey wrote: “The memory is vague, but in one of those canyons, I drove a deer ahead of me up to the end, then it came running downcanyon like it thought I was going eat it alive. It was really panicked. I’m sure that’s the canyon, and the reason for naming it Deer Canyon.” þ Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost 3rd Ed. R |
| Lower Buck Slot AKA UDDR Slot 7 | Michael R. Kelsey | Lower Buck Slot AKA UDDR Slot 7 | Named as the slot lies in a tributary of lower Buck Canyon. Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost 3rd Ed. R |
| Lower Sand Slide Slots · Five for the Drive · Six Appeal · SevenUp | Ryan Cornia | UDDR Slots R · Slot 5 · Slot 6 AKA Deer Slot · Slot 7 AKA Lower Buck Slot | Name for a group of three short slots along the Dirty Devil River in the immediate vicinity of Lower Sand Slide (adjacent to Buck Canyon). Ryan Cornia wrote: “First documented by Michael Kelsey in his Henry Mountains guidebook, these canyons were simply given numbers for names. They seem name worthy, so I have taken the liberty of working the numbers into a name.” ω |
| NEEP | Dan Ransom | Little East Fork East Fk. Pasture Cyn ² | Acronym as a quip on the Kelsey-style naming denoting North East Fork East Pasture Canyon, a northeast–trending tributary of the East Pasture Canyon. Stefan Folias wrote: “During an exploration of the canyon before doing nearby Chambers, the Kelsey-style name ‘North East Fork East Pasture Canyon’ came up. Dan Ransom used the acronym NEEP on the Latest Rave for this mildly remarkable canyon. M.R. Kelsey published the canyon under a different name the following year.” þ |
| Little East Fork East Fork Pasture Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Little East Fork East Fk. Pasture Cyn ² | Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Pothole Fork East Fork Pasture Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Pothole Fork East Fk. Pasture Cyn ² | Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Bull Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey wrote: “Alvin Robison of Hanksville said they called it Bull Canyon because there was a fence across the mouth of the canyon and they would leave bulls there for most of the year until breeding season in the fall sometime.” Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² þ | ||
| Chambers | Dave Pimental | South Fk Bull Canyon ² | For the wonderful section of chambers in a section of the slot canyon. þ |
| Big Bad Ben | Ram | Middle–East Fk Bull Canyon ² | Ram wrote: “There is a song by Stompin Tom Conners, a Canadian silly song singer, called ‘Ben in the Pen.’ I just happen to have a friend named Ben, who has come on several canyon trips and is now in the big house. Tom Jones made a working map of the area upon my request. He labeled the canyons AAA (Chambers), BBB, all the way to FFF. We descended BBB the day before Chambers. I named the canyon honoring my buddy, in keeping with the BBB on the map and the silly song.” þ |
| Little Bull Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Little Bull Canyon | Named as it is close to and descends from Bull Point, which is Kelsey’s name for the bench lying between Bull Canyon and Robbers Roost Canyon. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² þ |
| Little White Roost Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Little White Roost Canyon | Named as it is a fork of Robbers Roost Canyon adjacent and parallel to White Roost Canyon though they do not share a confluence. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 1st Ed. ¹ |
| The Crack AKA Upper North Fk Robbers Roost Cyn | Michael R. Kelsey | The Crack | This refers to the short section of very narrow (and dark) slot in the upper North Fk proper just below the last rappel when descending and above the confluence with East Fk of North Fk/Ho–Hum. þ |
| Ho–Hum Fork | Tom Jones | East Fk of North Fk of Robbers Roost ² | Tom Jones wrote: Though somewhat pretty, it is not too terribly exciting. Just when it starts to get going, the technical part ends. ‘Not much meat on this bone,’ was the consensus of our party. ω |
| Mind Bender Fork | Steve Allen & Ginger Harmon | Little Middle Fk of Robbers Roost ¹ | Link to account †² |
| Not Mindbender | Tom Jones | North Middle Fk of Robbers Roost ¹ | MINDBENDER THEME: After a confusion about which canyon is Mindbender, which is obscured in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 2. (also known as ALCOVE FORK ) ωþ |
| Maybe Mindbender | Tom Jones | MINDBENDER THEME: þ | |
| Almost Mindbender | Tom Jones | MINDBENDER THEME: Link to account þ | |
| Etta Place Canyon | Sam Goodhue, Will Dowling & Brandon Smith | Sam Goodhue wrote: “Etta Place is the name of a woman who was an associate of the Wild Bunch. She disappeared in the early 1900s and what happened to her remains a mystery. Given her intriguing story, her ties to local history and her interesting name, we decided to name the canyon after her.” þ | |
| Sphinx Canyon | Sam Goodhue, Will Dowling & Brandon Smith | Sam Goodhue wrote: “When we explored Sphinx canyon we found ourselves getting physical and using all four limbs for the upper part of the canyon. The middle of the canyon is a walkthrough. The lower part of the canyon had us jugging up the big free rappel using one foot loop and both hands. This reminded us of the riddle of the Sphinx and the name just stuck.” þ | |
| Lost Spring Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Lost Spring Canyon | So named as this east–trending tributary of South Fk Robbers Roost canyon contains two branches each having seeps labeled ‘Lost Spring’ on the 7.5 min quadrangle. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Hole Canyon | Jason Pease | Jason Pease wrote:“Called it Hole because I had no decent look into it past the very top: it was just a hole below me for a few bends. Also a shout out to the band Hole, as the slot is a ‘skinny little bitch’” This slot begins immediately east of elevation 5084T and lies in an upper tributary of a fork of No Mans Canyon whose confluence is just below the confluence of the No Mans’ north and south forks. þ | |
| No Ma’am | Ram | A play on No Mans. A unnamed slot described in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 2 in the North Fork of No Mans Canyon. ω þ | |
| Angel Trail | ANGEL NAME ORIGIN: Although not a canyon, this entry is to give reference to the origin of the Angle naming (Angel Point & Angel Cove) which began with the trail. Steve Allen wrote: “It is recorded that outlaw Quimby Oliver ‘Cap’ Brown was one of the earliest users of the trail. Brown named the trail in the early 1870s because only an angel with wings could make it out of the Dirty Devil and up onto the Point” þ | ||
| Angel Slot | ANGEL THEME: It is adjacent to the Angel Trail. Name known previously but first published by Dave Pimental in Minislot Guide to the Colorado Plateau under Angel Slot. þ | ||
| Angel’s Advocate | Penny Martens & Dave Pimental | ANGEL THEME: angel’s advocate — (idiom) One who argues in support of a certain idea or position irrespective of agreeing with it or not; opposite of ‘devil’s advocate.’ Dave Pimental wrote: “I though it was a nice addition to Angel Slot and that it spoke well of Angel. It would help turn Angel into a little more than a one–hour romp. It has anchor issues which makes it a great place to practice with a sandtrap.” þ | |
| Angel Cove Canyon | Dave Pimental | Angel Canyon R | Suggested for its proximity to Angel Cove. þ |
| South Fork Angel Cove Canyon | Dave Pimental | Suggested for its proximity to Angel Cove. (also known as ANGEL CANYON) þ | |
| Angel Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Angel Canyon | ANGEL THEME: Due to its proximity to Angel Cove and Angel Trail. Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost 3rd Ed. (also known as ANGEL COVE CANYON ) R |
| Fallen Angel | Bruce Neumann & Nat Smale | ANGEL THEME: Bruce Neumann wrote: “We were hiking down the Dirty Devil and the name Fallen Angel was thrown out. This canyon has quite a few larger rappels for the area and doesn’t have the same character as the other ‘Angel’ slots near by. The fallen angel from a Christianity viewpoint is Lucifer or Satan who is quite different from the other Angels. Therefore — Fallen Angel.” þ | |
| Lost Angel | Bruce Neumann | ANGEL THEME: So named as it is the last of the Angel Slots. þ | |
| Sawtooth Canyon | Dave Pimental | Chosen for its proximity to The Sawtooth on the Dirty Devil River. þ | |
| Bingo Canyon | Penny Martens & Dave Pimental | Dave Pimental wrote: “The name was suggested by Penny Martens because all my canyon numbers (B–9, B–12, B–14, etc.) made my speech sound like a game of Bingo.” þ | |
| Bloodhound Canyon | Dave Pimental & Dan Ransom | Named for finding a lost bloodhound en route to explore the canyon. Link to account þ | |
| Benign Canyon | Dan Ransom & Dave Pimental | Dave Pimental wrote: “Suggested by Dan Ransom because I originally labeled it B–9 on my exploration map” Link to account þ | |
| Flashlight Canyon | Mike Bogart & Anne Winter | North Fk Twin Corral Box Canyon ¹ | First documented descent is June 1, 1988. Link to account. (also known as ALCATRAZ CANYON, S & M CANYON ) þ |
| Alcatraz Canyon | Scott Patterson | North Fk Twin Corral Box Canyon ¹ | Named after Michael R. Kelsey and Scott Patterson decided to escape out of the slot canyon when the canyon got too narrow and M.R. Kelsey chipped climbing holds into a near vertical wall with a G–pick. The first docuemnted descent of Alcatraz canyon was on June 1, 1988 by Mike Bogart and Anne Winter who called the canyon ‘Flashlight Canyon’. Link to account. Marjorie McCloy wrote: “We named the North Fork of Twin Corral Box S & M for the obvious reference to sado–masachism, which is what this canyon felt like to us, but it also jived nicely with our names, Steve (Barbee) and Margie (McCloy).” Link to account. (also known as FLASHLIGHT CANYON, S & M Canyon ) ω |
| Smallcatraz | Dan Ransom | Northeast Fork Twin Corral Box Canyon ² | The name arose in a Latest Rave done by Dan Ransom because it is a small slot in the same canyon (Twin Corral Box Canyon) as Alcatraz and he was not fond of the name Northeast Fork of Twin Corral Box Canyon. (also known as NORTHEAST FK TWIN CORRAL BOX CANYON ) ω |
| Garden Balcony | Taco van Ieperen | Because of the ’vegetated slot’ that ends in a large drop overlooking the Dirty Devil River. ω | |
| Tumbleweed Balcony | Taco van Ieperen | Taco van Ieperen wrote: “The canyon ends in a spectacular balcony overlooking the Dirty Devil river.” ω | |
| Arscenic | Tom Jones Shane Burrows Barb & Jeff Meierhofer Alicia Scotter, Sharon & Tom Talboys | West Fk of South Fk Poison Spring Cyn ² | POISON THEME BLEND: arsenic + scenic. Tom Jones wrote: “Named for the scenic little arch on the rim.” The poison theme of the blends is in reference to these canyons’ being tributaries of Poison Spring Canyon. (also known as LYMRIC) ω |
| Slideanide | Shane Burrows Tom Jones Barb & Jeff Meierhofer Alicia Scotter, Sharon & Tom Talboys | Middle Fk of South Fk Poison Spring Cyn ² | POISON THEME BLEND: slide + cyanide. Appropriate for the many downclimbing slides in the canyon. The poison theme of the blends is in reference to these canyons’ being tributaries of Poison Spring Canyon. ω |
| Constrychnine | Stefan Folias | East Fk of South Fk Poison Spring Cyn ² | POISON THEME BLEND: constrict + strychnine. Stefan Folias wrote: “The name reflects the stunningly tight depths of the sheer narrows one stares into while descending the upper part of the canyon.” First published by Shane Burrows on Climb–Utah under Constrychnine. (also known as PITON CANYON, PROJECT X, EAST FK SLIDEANIDE ) ω þ |
| West Monoxide & East Monoxide | Shane Burrows Tom Jones Barb & Jeff Meierhofer, Alicia Scotter, Sharon & Tom Talboys, & Gilles Wallace | Little North Fk & Northeast Fk of Little North Fork Poison Spring Cyn ² | POISON THEME: Tom Jones wrote: “As I remember, we called it Monoxide because it had exactly ONE good feature” (also known as DRAGON & FAIR MAIDEN) ω |
| Dragon & Fair Maiden | Kent Beverly Ryan Cornia & Penny Martens | Penny Martens wrote: “The east fork we call Fair Maiden, because just about any fair maiden could get down it. Dragon [the main or west fork] comes from the sleeping dragon formation that looks into the main fork as it lies along the small fork.” (also known as MONOXIDE) þ | |
| Burr Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Burr Canyon | Named as it descends off Burr Point. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Two Step Canyon | Steve Allen & Bob Bordasch | Named for the two small vertical challenges in the canyon. þ It is named in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 2. †² | |
| Scar Tissue | Jason Pease | Jason Pease wrote: “Scar Tissue I called such because the satellite image resembled a puckery scar to me. Don’t see that now when I look at it, but that was my rationale then!” (also known as SHEEP CROSSING CANYON) þ | |
| Sheep Crossing Canyon | Steve Allen wrote: “This is called Sheep Crossing Canyon as there was a historic sheep crossing of the Dirty Devil here. I believe I got the name from Bill Booker, a former BLM ranger out of Hanksville.” (also known as SCAR TISSUE) þ | ||
| Alcove Amble Canyon | Diane Menuz | Ryan Cornia wrote: “Diane Menuz named this one for the numerous small alcoves we saw in the canyon.” þ | |
| Bushwhack Boogie Canyon | Ryan Cornia & Diane Menuz | Ryan Cornia wrote: “We came up with the name after the epic Bushwhack to reach the head and the fun Boogie through the canyon. A mix of not fun (approach), fun (canyon), not fun (exit).” Steve Allen wrote: “The whole bowl [in which this canyon and the one immediately upriver lies] is called Mushroom Basin for all of the small cap rock pinnacles (also called damoselles by geologists)”. þ | |
| Red Monument Canyon | Steve Allen wrote: “A local name for the canyon, name for the adjacent dome at elevation 4343T. Powell named the dome in 1869.” This northeast–trending canyon is right at the confluence of the Dirty Devil and Colorado Rivers. þ | ||
| Dhalgren Canyon | Jason Pease | Jason Pease wrote: “Called it Dhalgren since I thought I was somewhere else entirely and kinda circled around to stumble upon it by accident. A shout out to the Samuel R. Delany novel of the same name—my favorite book ever.” A small northeast–trending tributary of the Colorado River immediately upcanyon from the confluence with the Dirty Devil River across from Hite Crossing. þ | |
| North Wash & Trachyte Creek | |||
| Death Canyon | Steve Allen wrote:“Alvin Robison: “It’s a narrow canyon. It's got a fork on the left–hand side that is so narrow that cattle would get in there and they couldn't turn around and that's how it got its name. They found 'em dead in there.”” ⚕ | ||
| Lucky Charms | Hank Moon | Mile 27.1 Canyon ¹ | IRISH THEME: short canyon one can eat for breakfast. ω |
| Shillelagh | Shane Burrows & Barb Pollyea | Mile 27.4 Canyon ¹ | IRISH THEME: shillelagh — thick stick of blackhorn or oak used typically as a weapon. ω þ |
| Short End of the Stick | Adam Anderson | short end of the stick — (idiom) An outcome in which one has less advantage than others. The inferior part of an unequal deal. A play on Shillelagh as it is a fork between the standard eastern and western most forks of Shillelagh. Luke Galyan wrote: “Adam Anderson was looking around one day, stumbled upon this drainage, and was excited to go back to look it over some day. When we were out playing in the area he talked me into going down it with him to go see what was there. Short End of the Stick is the name Adam gave to the route. Since Shillelagh is a stick and this route is short with no rappels, I found the name fitting.” ω | |
| Blarney | Tom Jones & Alicia Scotter | Mile 27.6 Canyon ¹ | IRISH THEME: blarney — talk that aims to charm Named after Shane Burrows spoke highly about the system to Tom Jones. ω þ |
| Archway Canyon AKA Arches Canyon | Mile 28.1 Canyon ¹ | Steve Allen wrote: “I have a geology map that shows a canyon near that end of North Wash as Arches Canyon. (Charles Hunt 1953: Geology of the Henry Mountain Region.) Then Dee Hatch, who used to have his inscription, along with his daughter Marilee’s, in the canyon said that they called it Archway. Having hiked all the canyons in the area, physcially Leprechaun seems to be the best match. Then to have found Dee’s name cinched the deal. So Arches Canyon or Archway Canyon. Dee’s [inscription] is gone [has been erased]. I interviewed Dee probably 10 years ago. He is certainly close to 90 now [2008]. Lives in Bicknell. The inscriptions make me think that this was one of the ‘early’ slots visited. Perhaps not done from the top, but locally known and appreciated and talked about. The H. Pace inscription, now erased, certainly dates the visits to pre–1900.” The Pace inscription dates to 1872 and can been seen in this photo taken by Dave Pimental Link to photo. Unfortunately, the inscription no longer exists as it was ground away with a sander along with the ambient graffiti. (also known as LEPRECHAUN CANYON) þ | |
| Leprechaun Canyon | Mile 28.1 Canyon ¹ | Shane Burrows wrote: “The canyon was named after a radio DJ in Jeff Graves AKA The Psychedelic Leprichaun wrote: “I was a DJ in Durango, CO at KDUR. I did Leprichaun Canyon the first time in 1991. The following year I took a climbing friend through the canyon, while we were out doing Cheesebox. He put up a website called ‘Desert Scape’. The site was up for 3 to 5 years and the name caught on.” Bill Duncan wrote: “I attended college at Ft. Lewis until 1994, and was also on the air at KDUR during my time there. I met quite a few folks during that time, including the DJ who told us about the canyon. We did not know that it was previously named as the maps we owned made no indication. A practice web site in 1999, named Desertscape Imagery, first held the name Leprechaun Canyon, and somehow folks found it and the name stuck. Next thing you know it became the Complex, and so forth. Jeff is one of the guys that turned me on to a lot of cool things about the desert in the early 90s. He is a resourceful fellow. We were living in Durango at the time, and around 1992 or 93, I recall that he had just returned from a trip out to the desert. He told me of a couple of excellent canyons he had discovered just south of the turnoff to Bullfrog marina. The only description he provided was something like ‘a couple of miles south ... look for a formation that looks like Porky Pig.’ Jeff had a nose for finding nice canyons where most of us might see just another drainage. Well, the next time out to the desert on a trip to Maidenwater, I went looking for Porky Pig, and easily found the formation of which he spoke. A short hike later and I was in the first ‘subway.’ Over the years, I have gone there many times, from above and below, and even stopped after trips through Cataract Canyon. It seems a good spot to stretch the legs between long stretches of desolate road.” Link to archival webpage (also known as ARCHWAY CANYON, ARCHES CANYON) þ | |
| Left Fork Leprechaun Canyon AKA Shamrock | Hank Moon & Shane Burrows | IRISH THEME: shamrock — a cloverlike plant with three–lobed leaves used as the national emblem of Ireland. (also known as WEST FORK LEPRECHAUN CANYON) ω þ | |
| Middle Fork Leprechaun Canyon AKA Shimrock | Hank Moon & Shane Burrows | West Fk of Mile 28.1 Canyon ¹ | IRISH THEME BLEND: shim + shamrock shim — wedge (something) or fill up (a space) with a shim. Named as this is the tightest canyon of the three, requiring shimming to get through. (also known as MAIN FORK LEPRECHAUN CANYON) ω þ |
| Right Fork Leprechaun Canyon AKA Upper Leprechaun | Shane Burrows | East Fk of Mile 28.1 Canyon ¹ | (also known as EAST FORK LEPRECHAUN CANYON, UPPER LEPRECHAUN, MAIN FORK LEPRECHAUN) ω þ |
| West Fork Leprechaun Canyon | Tom Jones | (also known as LEFT FORK LEPRECHAUN CANYON, SHAMROCK) ω þ | |
| Main Fork Leprechaun Canyon | Tom Jones | West Fk of Mile 28.1 Canyon ¹ | Tom Jones wrote: “In Tom’s world, the name of the system is applied to the main fork of the canyon, and side canyons can get separate names. East & West are less ambiguous than Right & Left.” (also known as MIDDLE FORK LEPRECHAUN CANYON, SHIMROCK) ω þ |
| East Fork Leprechaun Canyon | Tom Jones | East Fk of Mile 28.1 Canyon ¹ | (also known as RIGHT FORK LEPRECHAUN CANYON, UPPER LEPRECHAUN, MAIN FORK LEPRECHAUN) ω þ |
| Sandthrax Canyon | Hank Moon | Mile 28.5 Canyon ¹ | BLEND: sand + anthrax Link to account by Hank Moon. (also known as DOG–GONEste–IT CANYON) |
| Dog–gone–it Canyon | Steve Alen | Mile 28.5 Canyon ¹ | Steve Allen wrote: “The name came from Steve Allen’s good dog, Diz, who wandered along the edge of the canyon while Steve was working out the frustrating moves in the canyon. Diz whined and barked throughout, giving rise to the explitive ‘Dog-gone-it, be quiet!’” ⚕ Steve Allen wrote: “Only notes on my map: 100’ sling. Very tight. Class 5.9.”(also known as SANDTHRAX CANYON) þ |
| Boss Hawg AKA Boss Hogg AKA Hog 1 | Dave Black & Jim Wright | West Fk Hog Canyon ² | HOG THEME: based on Hog Canyon/Hog Springs. Dave Black wrote: “I was so impressed with Hog 1 that within a week of doing the 1st descent of Hog 1 by Jim Wright and me, I soloed the 1st descents of Hogs 2 and 3, well before anyone else was down there looking.” (also known as HOG 1, BOSS HOG, WEST FK HOG CANYON) ω |
| Hog 2 AKA Swine Flu | Dave Black Deanpaul Russell | Middle Fk Hog Canyon ² | HOG THEME: A play on swine flu. Dave Black wrote: “I was so impressed with Hog 1 that within a week of doing the 1st descent of Hog 1 by Jim Wright and me, I soloed the 1st descents of Hogs 2 and 3, well before anyone else was down there looking.” swine flu — an infection caused by any one of the types of influenza viruses endemic to pigs flue — a channel or pipe in a chimney for carrying flame and smoke to the outer air On the Canyons Group (Yahoo), Ram posed the question of what Hog 2 should be named, given that Hog 1, Hog 3, and Hog 4 had non–numeric alternate names. ‘Swine Flue,’ posed by Deanpaul Russell, was the suggestion that was ultimately chosen. Deanpaul Russell wrote:“Swine Flue, for the chimney ending...” ω |
| Hog 3 AKA Razorback | Dave Black Ram | East Fk Hog Canyon ² | HOG THEME: A play on razorback. Dave Black wrote: “I was so impressed with Hog 1 that within a week of doing the 1st descent of Hog 1 by Jim Wright and me, I soloed the 1st descents of Hogs 2 and 3, well before anyone else was down there looking.” razorback — a pig of a half–wild breed common in the southern US, with the back formed into a high narrow ridge. Ram attached the moniker Razorback for the iron concretion–studded walls which are frequently chimneyed. (also known as HOG 3, EAST FK HOG CANYON) ω |
| Miss Piggy AKA Hog 4 | Ram | HOG THEME: Link to account (also known as HOG 4) | |
| Sow Fork | Luke Galyan, Malia McIlvenna & Chris Hood | HOG THEME: Luke Galyan wrote: “While we went up the Hog Ramble route we noticed a short slot to go check out that proved to be very short but pretty fun and added a little spice to the day. In keeping with the hog / pig naming convention in the area, we ended up with Sow Fork as the name for the short slot.” þ | |
| Ramble Canyon | Luke Galyan | Name for the tributary of North wash, adjacent to Hog Canyon. This coincides with what Tom Jones calls ‘Ramble Entrance.’ þ | |
| Merry Piglet | Penny Martens & Dave Pimental | HOG THEME: Piglet — a baby pig who is the best friend of Winnie-the-Pooh in A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books. Dave Pimental wrote: “Since the pretty little canyon was right near Hog Springs I began to call it Piglet, after the cute little character from Winnie the Pooh.” þ | |
| Morocco Canyon | Penny Martens & Dave Pimental | Dave Pimental wrote: “While doing a number of explorations with the core group of Aaron Ramras, Tom Jones, Penny Martens, Steve Ramras and Hank Moon, in November of 2006, Hank commented that we should call all our new ‘secret’ canyons by the same name; Morocco Canyon, after the Morocco Mole on the Secret Squirrel cartoon. I thought that this was an amusing and whimsical comment. and so when Pen and I went to check out Casablanca and Morocco on February 4, 2007, we started by calling them both Morocco Canyon. We soon found that it was downright confusing to call every canyon Morocco! So, to differentiate the two canyons, I suggested we call the other one Casablanca.” þ | |
| Casablanca Canyon | Penny Martens & Dave Pimental | Casablanca — a seaport in western Morocco popularized by the Humphrey Bogart film. Named as it is near Morocco Canyon. þ | |
| Hogwarts Canyon | Penny Martens & Dave Pimental | HOG THEME: Hogwarts — a school of wizardry and witchcraft in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. þ | |
| MP 44 Milepost 44 | Steve Allen wrote: “In the early days of the lake this was the designated ‘Naked’ beach on Lake Powell. There was even a disclaimer sign (wish I’d grabbed it!) giving warning that there were naked people ahead. Unlike now with the vault toilets, etc., this was a camp anywhere area. Lots of crazies here. The beach (really just the low cliffs) was closed after a couple of years. Why? Old men with small hands in their big boats would hang out near the beach with even bigger binoculars. Arghhh. You can always date the ‘old’ timers if they knew of MP 44 and Tropic Jeems.” þ | ||
| Andrew Ekker Canyon | Middle Fk of West Fk Butler Cyn ¹ | Steve Allen wrote: “It was named for the stockman Andrew Ekker (1881–1965) of Hanksville.” ⚕ Steve Allen wrote: “That is the old and proper name. Name came from that little stock pond at the top of the canyon, which is called Andrew Seeps. This was named for Andrew Ekker. The canyon name follows from that.” þ (also known as SHENANIGANS, NEVER AGAIN CANYON, MIDDLE FK WEST BUTLER) | |
| Never Again Canyon | Steve Allen | Middle Fk of West Fk Butler Cyn ¹ | Steve Allen wrote: “I used to camp at MP 44 a lot. It was almost always snow free, I could tuck my van back in a nice little slickrock niche, and hang there writing and recovering. Most of the San Rafael book was written there. GDD (good dog Diz) could hang there without getting into trouble as well. I’d get bored of writing and I’d head up North Wash and I slowly worked my way through those canyons. I don’t remember much about this canyon, but my map notes say ‘Never Again.’ Certainly reflects my feelings after getting through. Some canyons are a joy. This one was not. When you are 6’4” and 200 lbs. any canyon that is exceptionally tight is NOT fun!” (also known as ANDREW EKKER CANYON, SHENANIGANS, MIDDLE FK WEST BUTLER) þ |
| Shenanigans | Tom Jones | Middle Fk of West Fk Butler Cyn ¹ | IRISH\BUTLER THEME: shenanigans — tricky or questionable practices or conducts. Link to account by T. Jones. Link to account by Ram. (also known as ANDREW EKKER CANYON, NEVER AGAIN CANYON, MIDDLE FK WEST BUTLER |
| No Kidding | Jason Pease | BUTLER THEME: no kidding — phrase used to emphasize the truth of a statement. Link to account. ω | |
| Monkey Business | Tom Jones | West Fk of West Fk Butler Cyn ¹ | BUTLER THEME: monkey business — mischievous or deceitful behavior. Butler theme continued from Shenanigans. Link to account. |
| Foolin’ Around | Tom Jones | East Fk of West Fk Butler Cyn ¹ | BUTLER THEME: fooling around — 1. to engage in idle or casual activity; putter. 2. to engage in frivolous activity; make fun. 3. to engage in casual, often promiscuous sexual acts. Link to account. |
| Playin’ Around | Tom Jones, Aaron Ramras & Ram | BUTLER THEME: playing around — Behave in a casual, foolish, or irresponsible way. Ram wrote: “Just Aaron and I on the exploration. Tom came up with the name on the spot when we met up in Foolin’ Around. He tossed it out, Aaron and I liked it and signed on with it.” þ | |
| Messin’ Around | Bob Allan | BUTLER THEME: mess around — Behave in a silly or playful way, especially so as to cause irritation. Bob Allan wrote: “Headed for Foolin’ Around Canyon in the North Wash and missed. A navigational snafu on my part led us into a slot between Foolin’ Around and Horse Play. It’s a pretty good one; good enough quality that we didn’t question that we were in the correct canyon, until the end.” ω | |
| Horse Play | Ryan Cornia | BUTLER THEME: horseplay — rowdy or boisterous fun. Ryan Cornia wrote: “Because it fit with the theme of the other Butler’s. (Shenanigans, No Kidding, etc...) I felt horse play fit because it was casual and fun, without being too serious.” ω | |
| Land of Oz | Ryan Cornia, Kent Beverly, & Penny Martens | OZ THEME: Land of Oz — one of the many ‘fairy countries’ in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, first appearing in 1900 in the book, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.’ Ryan Cornia wrote: “Kent Beverly was part of most all of those explorations and had suggested an Oz theme. The group liked it, so we used the theme to name all the canyons we did out there.” þ | |
| Yellow Brick Road | Ryan Cornia, Kent Beverly, & Penny Martens | Bridge Canyon ² | OZ THEME: Yellow Brick Road — the road in the Land of Oz that leads to the Emerald City. Ryan Cornia wrote: “YBR was so named partially because of the spring section we thought was the ‘Emerald City. Tik–Tok bridge I name as a somewhat obscure reference to Oz.’” Tik–Tok bridge is an allusion to the character Tik–Tok, a round, copper mechanical man (robot) from the Oz books. þ |
| Munchkin | Ryan Cornia, Kent Beverly, & Penny Martens | OZ THEME: Munchkin — the natives of Munchkin Country in the Land of Oz who are somewhat short of stature. Ryan Cornia wrote: “Munchkin because of the short squeezy spot near the top.” (also known as NORTH TRACHYTE POINT CANYON) þ | |
| Witch’s Cauldron | Ryan Cornia, Kent Beverly, Penny Martens & Mark McCray | Trachyte Slot ² | OZ THEME: a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West who threatens to ‘get’ Dorthy after her house landed on and killed the witch’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. Ryan Cornia wrote: “Witch’s Cauldron was named because of the big keeper we had gotten turned back at twice.” (also known as TRACHYOTOMY, TRACHYTE SLOT, TRACHYTE POINT CANYON) þ |
| Trachyotomy | Eric Godfrey | Trachyte Slot ² | BLEND: Trachyte + trachiotomy A play on Trachyte Creek, of which it is a tributary. (also known as WITCH’S CAULDRON, TRACHYTE SLOT, TRACHYTE POINT CANYON) ω |
| Toto | Sam Goodhue & Will Dowling | OZ THEME: Toto — the small terrier dog that accompanies Dorthy (the protagonist) to the Land of Oz. Sam Goodhue wrote: “Before descending the canyon we had decided we’d stick with the Wizard of Oz theme and choose a name based off the nature of the canyon. It turned out to be a short day and smaller in scale than other canyons in the area, so we named it Toto after Dorothy’s little dog.” þ | |
| Art’s Loop | Shane Burrows wrote: “Art, a part-time Hanksville resident, was a climber who explored slot canyons in the mid–80s. A widow told me that Art’s friends call the loop, up Middle Maidenwater and down South Maidenwater, Art’s Loop in his honor. The pitons in the area may have come from him.” ω | ||
| Blushing Bride | Dave Pimental | North Fk Maidenwater Canyon ² | MAIDENWATER THEME : maiden — A young girl or woman, especially an unmarried one. Maidenwater Spring was also called Maiden Spring, Indian Water, and Cliff Springs.⚕ þ |
| The Jilted Fork | Ram | Little North Fk Maidenwater Canyon ² | MAIDENWATER THEME : jilted — suddenly rejected or abandoned (said of a lover) þ |
| Black Table Canyon | Ryan Cornia | Named as it descends from Black Table which is labeled on the map. þ Black Table, also called Black Mesa, refers to the black desert varnish on the rocks. ⚕ | |
| Conundrum | Ryan Cornia | Ryan Cornia wrote: “I had seen pictures of a mythical canyon near North Wash, and had poked around for years looking for it. Conundrum fit because it was a puzzle. I did not find out for sometime after I published it that Matt [Moore] had already named it. Because of the amount of traffic it had received on my site, I left the name as it had become common.” (also known as LAVAR, CRESCENT CREEK) ω | |
| Lavar | Matt Moore | Matt Moore wrote: “Lavar is named for Lavar Wells. He’s a very talented, well–known, and respected backcountry pilot from Hanksville. He’s racked up about 20,000 hours flying into the demanding dirt strips around southern Utah. He’s a really great guy. He pointed that canyon out to me while flying around the Henrys.” (also known as CONUNDRUM, CRESCENT CREEK) þ | |
| Pothole Fork of Woody Canyon AKA Pothole Fork of Pothole Fork of Woodruff Canyon | Dave Pimental | Dave Pimental wrote: “The pothole fork of Woody has a number of massive potholes in a row, whereas Woody itself has small stuff.” þ | |
| Woody Canyon | Dave Pimental | Pothole Fork Woodruff Canyon ² | WOODRUFF CANYON THEME: So named since it is a small side drainage of Woodruff Canyon. Woody is a diminution of Woodruff. Link to account þ |
| Woodsy Canyon | Dave Pimental | Middle Fork Woodruff Canyon ² | WOODRUFF CANYON THEME: So named since it is a small side drainage of Woodruff Canyon just upcanyon from Woody Canyon. Link to account þ |
| Woodchuck Canyon | Ram & Tom Jones | North Fork Woodruff Canyon ² | WOODRUFF CANYON THEME: So named since it is a small side drainage of Woodruff Canyon. Woodchuck is a type of rodent. þ |
| Wood Bee Canyon | Luke Galyan Mike Schasch & Doug Noel | Little Fork Woodruff Canyon | WOODRUFF CANYON THEME: Luke Galyan wrote: “Wood Bee was not named after bees but rather a play on words and keeping with the wood name theme of adjacent canyons. The technical section of Wood Bee is very short. If it were longer it Would Be a canyon.” þ |
| Redemption Canyon | Brendan Busch | Brendan Busch wrote: “Got its name because most folks on the first descent got some form of redemption in doing the canyon. While I had reconned the approach a year earlier, I did not actually do the approach, so I led the group out there not knowing if we could even get to the top of the canyon (tricky approach); Other folks on the exploration had similar experiences of redemption as well. As it turns out the canyon is spectacular. We also wanted a name that wasn’t the named feature at the bottom of the canyon as an attempt to keep it undiscovered for a while ...” þ | |
| North Lake Powell | |||
| Trough Canyon | Matt Williams, Luke Galyan, Tracy Kwan, Chris Hood, Heather McIlvenna & Mike Schasch | Luke Galyan wrote: “This was a canyon Matt Williams wanted to look at and got us to join him. It was named because it starts out near a cattle watering trough.” þ | |
| Double Entendre Canyon | John Diener, Luke Galyan, Malia McIlvenna & Chris Hood | John Diener wrote: “The canyon has two distinct sections with very different characters and the nature of the conversation that day led to this name.” Luke Galyan wrote: “The canyon got its name because the upper and lower halves were very different from each other but were in fact the same canyon. Kind of like the two meanings from a set of words. Chris was actually the one to suggest the name and we all liked it.” þ | |
| Off the Hook Canyon | John Diener & Luke Galyan | John Diener wrote: “After the last rap, we ended up finding a bit of webbing tat caught up in some brush, otherwise there were no signs of previous parties. So this canyon may have a different name. I jokingly claimed I was ‘off the hook’ for coming up with a canyon name, given the webbing.” Luke Galyan wrote: “John was not really into naming a canyon and when we found some webbing washed around in the lower half he said we were not first so we are ‘off the Hook’ for naming it. So we used that as the name.” þ | |
| Purgatory AKA Dave’s Not Dead Canyon | Dave Black & Jim Wright | Dave Black wrote: “There were two rumors I had died—one that I’d been shot, and one that I’d been hit by a semi truck. People called home to offer sympathies to my family. Even my Army son in Hawaii got a message that I had died. So we originally called it ‘Dave’s Not Dead,’ but that’s an awkward name for a canyon, and it was eventually changed to Purgatory.” Purgatory — in Catholicism, a place or state of both punishment and purging of sins prior to going to heaven. Purgatorio is the second canticle in Dante’s Divine Comedy. þ | |
| The Dantes | Tom Jones, Penny Martens, Hank Moon, Dave Pimental, Aaron Ramras, & Ram | DANTE THEME: Overarching theme name referring to a group of five slot canyons built around the name Purgatory which was already given to one of the canyons. The Dantes is a reference to The Divine Comedy, an allegorical poem written by the Italian poet, Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy is divided into 3 canticles titled Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, referring to Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Additionally, the slots are above Good Hope Mesa and, in Dante’s Divine Comedy, the entrance to hell has a sign that says “Abandon all hope ...” These five slots are tributaries of Bright Hite Canyon. þ | |
| Inferno | Tom Jones, Penny Martens, Hank Moon, Dave Pimental, Aaron Ramras, & Ram | DANTE THEME: Inferno — arising from the Latin word meaning ‘below’ or ‘underground,’ used by Christians to mean hell. Inferno is the first canticle in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Link to account 1 & Link to account 2 þ | |
| Limbo | Tom Jones, Malia McIlvenna Hank Moon, Aaron Ramras, & Ram | DANTE THEME: Limbo — arising from the Latin word meaning ‘border’ or ‘edge,’ was theorized by medieval theologians to be a place reserved for the unbaptized dead. Limbo appears in Dante’s Inferno as the first circle of Hell (Inferno), the place where virtuous pagans or unbaptized children reside. Dante’s Inferno is the first of three canticles in the Divine Comedy. Purgatory — in Catholicism, a place or state of both punishment and purging of sins prior to going to heaven. Purgatorio is the second canticle in Dante’s Divine Comedy. þ | |
| Paradiso | Dave Pimental & Ram | DANTE THEME: Paradiso — an italian word translating to paradise and heaven. Paradiso is the third canticle in Dante’s Divine Comedy. þ | |
| Devil’s Thumb | Ram | DANTE THEME: On satellite images and topo maps, the five canyons of the Dantes have the visual appearance of a hand, with the four tributaries (Purgatory, Inferno, Limbo and Paradiso) as the four fingers aligned in a northerly direction (with the pinky finger (Paradisio) more northeasterly) and the fifth canyon aligned in a westerly direction like a thumb. The Devil lies at the center of Dante’s Circles of Hell and is an allusion to Dante’s Inferno. þ | |
| Bright Hite Canyon | Steve Allen | Named to honor John Hite and William Bright. Steve Allen wrote: “John Hite, the brother of Cass Hite, left his inscription in one of those canyons that drains onto Good Hope Mesa. It reads: John Hite Late of Potosi MO Now of Dandy X 1891 Nearby is an inscription from William Bright, aka Billy Bright, an early California Bar miner. John Hite and Billy Bright certainly had to work to get there. And, Cass Hite did have a cabin in Ticaboo Creek about two miles away from the inscription.” þ Steve Allen wrote: “California Bar — a placer bar, now underwater, on the east side of the Colorado River across from the mouth of the Smith Fork. Charles B. Hunt noted that it was named for the California prospectors Haskell and Brown who discovered the bar in 1888.”⚕
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| Fiddlestix | Brendan Busch & Ram | So named because a FiddleStick was used on every anchor on the first known descent. FiddleStick — both a concept and a product for a retrievable anchor developed by Imlay Canyon Gear. þ | |
| Euphrates Canyon | Mike Schasch, Heather McIlvenna, Deanpaul Russell & Ram | Mike Schasch wrote: “Euphrates was a play on East of Eden, it being a river in the garden of Eden, I believe. I think I came up with the name with the approval of the descent group (Ram, Heather, Deeps, and I).” The Book of Genesis discusses a river flowing out of the Garden of Eden that branches into four rivers, one branch of which is named the Euphrates. þ | |
| Tripoli | John Diener, Chris Hood, Malia McIlvenna, Ram, Deanpaul Russell, Mike Schasch, Jenny Hall ( AKA West), & Matt Williams | Exploratory names for canyons neighboring East of Eden were East of East of Eden and East of East of East of Eden and so forth. The cumbersome names lead to different abbreviations, such as ‘Triple–E’ or ‘Double–E’ for the name ‘East of East of Eden’ arising by counting either the number of ‘E–words’ or ‘East of’s in the name. It also involved occasional confusion over names/canyons. The Triple–E varation for East of East of Eden morphed into the spelling Tripoli which became the canyon name. To obfuscate further at the time, the name East of Eden was changed to Montezuma, which fit with Tripoli through the Marines’ Hymn.
The first two lines of the Marines’ Hymn, which is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps, are From the Halls of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli ... Tripoli — the historic city lying on the coast of Libya. Halls of Montezuma — refers either to Chalputepec Castle, a site once occupied by Aztec Emperors including Emperor Montezuma, or the National Palace, located on the site of a former palace of the Aztec Emperors in Mexico. þ | |
| Montezuma Canyon | Ram | The name East of Eden was changed for the purposes of obfuscation. It fits with Tripoli in the Marines Hymn. See Tripoli for further reference. Montezuma — Aztec Emperor during 1502–1520. (also known as EAST OF EDEN) þ | |
| East of Eden | Ram | Named as it is east of a heavenly canyon (referring to Hard Day Harvey). (also known as MONTEZUMA CANYON ) þ | |
| Dos Bolsas Cojones Canyon | Luke Galyan, Tracy Kwan, Adam Winstanley, & Jeremy Freeman | Luke Galyan wrote: “This canyon got its name from the joking banter while doing the first probe down the canyon. The canyon is short and we decided it a good idea to bring in a lot of rope, rig it at the head, string the rope through the canyon to use as a safety line/umbilical cord, and then use our new umbilical cord to re–ascend the canyon. With a bit too much excitement we stemmed downcanyon forgetting ropes and finding the first drop a few hundred feet later. I stemmed back upcanyon to the head where we tied to my waist the end of a 300–foot rope to trail with em, along with two rope bags containing a 300–foot and 200–foot rope. Later the name Dos Bolsas Cojones was born from the visual of stemming downcanyon with two large rope bags dangling between my legs and they looked like, well, cojones. We had other names being tossed around still centered on the rope bags hanging from my harness. As we talked I told the group about how Ram in the past had jokingly asked me what it was with me and the number 2? He said I had, Strike 2, Double Entendre, Double Deuce, etc. I did not plan all that but was funny to see him note that. So just to tease Ram a bit I wanted the number 2 in the name but ‘two rope bag balls’ doesn’t sound quite right. As the night went on we were also talking about an upcoming trip to Mexico. While talking about Mexico I thought about our canyon name and tossed out ‘Dos Bolsas Cojones.’ The group immediately liked the name and it stuck.” ω þ | |
| Sevenmile East | Michael R. Kelsey | Sevenmile East ² | Very large east–trending fork of Main Fork Sevenmile Canyon that branches off near the mouth of the canyon. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Hard Day Harvey | Steve Allen | East Branch Sevenmile East ² | Named after Harvey Halpern during a difficult, very muddy first descent. þ |
| Good Day Jim | Steve Allen | West Branch Sevenmile East ² | Named after Jim Finch. þ |
| Little East Fork Main Fork Sevenmile Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Little East Fork Main Fork Sevenmile Canyon ² | The smaller of two east–trending forks of upper Main Fork Sevenmile canyon described in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Big East Fork Main Fork Sevenmile Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Big East Fork Main Fork Sevenmile Canyon ² | The larger of two east–trending forks of upper Main Fork Sevenmile canyon described in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Double Deuce Canyon | Matt Williams, Luke Galyan, Deanpaul Russel, Chris Hood, & Adam Anderson | Luke Galyan wrote: “The name was due to someone in the party needing to take a dump twice that morning.” þ | |
| Sinusitis AKA Snotnose | Ram | Keeper Pothole Fork Warm Springs Cyn ² | AFFLICTION THEME: Sinusitis — an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinus cavities. Link to account. þ |
| Glaucoma | Ram | Best Slot Warm Springs Cyn ² | AFFLICTION THEME: glaucoma — a condition which results in damage to the optical nerve that can lead to blindness. ‘Pinkeye’ was one of the working names during the scouting process and discarded upon descent of the canyon. Link to account. þ |
| Tinnitus | Ram & Stefan Folias | Potholes Fork Warm Springs Cyn ² | AFFLICTION THEME: tinnitus — a symptom producing the intermittent or continuous sound of ringing, roaring, buzzing, or clicking in either or both ears. Stefan Folias wrote: “Pursuing the ‘affliction theme’ for naming the tributaries of Warm Springs Canyon, Ram asked for some medical name suggestions related to the ear. The first affliction that popped into my head was ‘tinnitus’ which I learned about years ago from a close friend of mine who is an audiologist. I offered a few other names as possibilities, but ultimately tinnitus was chosen.” þ |
| Pottymouth | Tom Jones & Ram | Fun Slot + Lower Warm Springs Cyn ² | AFFLICTION THEME: pottymouth — One who is given to the use of vulgar language and profanities. The name Pottymouth refers to the concatenation of a side canyon of Warm Springs Canyon and lower Warm Springs Canyon (labeled ‘Warm Springs Creek’ on the topo map) through to the big drop that resulted in expletive remarks and, hence, the name. Link to account. (also known as CALIENTE) þ |
| Caliente | Dave Pimental | Fun Slot Warm Springs Cyn ² | caliente — warm or hot (Spanish). Caliente refers to Warm Springs Canyon. Link to account. (also known as POTTYMOUTH) |
| Pinworm Canyon | Like Galyan, Chris Hood, Tracy Kwan, Heather McIlvenna, Mike Schasch, & Matt Williams | Luke Galyan wote: “We coined the name Pinworm for this side slot partially because it is small in size and to fall in line with names of nearby routes being akin to diseases. The name was a result of banter among the entire group on the trip.” pinworm — a small nematode worm that is an internal parasite of vertabrates. Pinworm infection is the most common type of intestinal worm infection in the US and one of the most common worldwide. | |
| Bunfodder AKA Bunfodor | Dave Black | Smith Fork Slot ² | Dave Black wrote: “Bunfodor is almost totally airborne and very tight with a couple of exposed bombays, and it’s almost consistently the equivalent of easy to moderate 5th class climbing. After you walk into the entrance there are only three very short sections where your feet even touch the ground and you can walk a few yards. At the end you’re hands and backside are hamburger and your pants need serious patching.”
Link to account. Link to account. Link to account. (also known as PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE, PSYCHO DAMAGE, PSYCHO D, SMITH FORK SLOT) þ |
| Psychological Damage AKA Psycho Damage AKA Psycho D | Steve Brezovec | Smith Fork Slot ² | Named upon the (successful) third attempt at the canyon. The name is in reference to the experience of the party during the first attempt, in which Tom Jones, Ram, Doug Noel and Roylnn Serati spent the night in the canyon, with one member of the party injured, a flash flood, and a retreat the following day. During and after their bivy, they had referred to the canyon as ‘Silo Canyon.’ Link to account. Link to account. Link to account. Link to account. Link to account. During the first documented descent, this canyon was named ‘Bunfodder’ by Dave Black. (also known as BUNFODDER, SMITH FORK SLOT) þ |
| Minor Fork Smith Fork | Luke Galyan | Penny Martens wrote: “We referred to it as ‘a miner's route’ because there are some steps cut down to the last pothole. Luke liked the play on words and changed the spelling.” þ | |
| Shuffleboard Canyon | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “A canyon suitable for senor citizens” shuffleboard — a game played by pushing disks with a long–handled cue over a marked surface. The game is often associated with the elderly due to its low physical fitness requirements. (also known as LEFT/NORTH FK of PO CANYON) þ | |
| Wordsmith Canyon | Ram, Tom Jones, & Eric Godfrey | Ram wrote: “The common use of “word” to express agreement, plus “smith,” referencing Smith Fork, and its other meaning as to being clever with words.” –smith — denoting a person skilled in creating something with a specific material, e.g., blacksmith (iron), goldsmith (gold), and wordsmith (words). (also known as RIGHT/SOUTH FK of PO CANYON) þ | |
| PO Canyon | Dave Pimental, Penny Martens & Doug Noel | PO refers to an inscription at the mouth of the canyon that appears as: PO ➚ The name PO Canyon applies to two forks of a tributary that branch off near the confluence of the tributary with Smith Fork . (also known as SHUFFLEBOARD & WORDSMITH) þ | |
| Pothoez Canyon | Josh Rymer, Eric Godfrey, Tom Jones & Ram | Gangsta rap variant referencing the potholes in the canyon. þ | |
| Wormhole Canyon | Aaron Ramras & Landon Michaels | Landon Michaels wrote: “I’m not sure who first mentioned the word worm or compared it to a worm hole. But the narrow elevator and diagonal moves at the crux of the canyon directly between a gaping silo and an extremely narrow pinch reminded us of a wormhole spitting us out into a small bombay.” þ | |
| Downward Sprial | Ram | Ram wrote: “Named for the chute that twisted into darkness where you couldn't see if it ended in a rappel or not.” þ | |
| Endless Eden | Steve Allen & Jim Finch | Steve Allen wrote: “The canyon was named for its endless beauty and difficult challenges. This canyon is a twin to nearby Lost Eden Canyon, a name both Katie Lee and Otis ‘Dock’ Marston attribute to the fact that famed river runner Harry Aleson and Dorothy Keyes were married there. They knew the rising waters of Lake Powell would inundate this wonderful place.“ þ | |
| Offshore Canyon | Jason Pease | Jason Pease wrote: “I called it Offshore Canyon because it is located behind offshore marina just south of Ticaboo. I do not know if that is a common name or not.” There are number of slots in the bluff behind Offshore Marina. This name refers to the bifurcating canyon immediately adjacent to elevation 4026T on the 7.5 min quadrangle. þ | |
| Bullfrog Bay Canyon | John Crossley | Canyon draining into Bullfrog Bay immediately adjacent to the NPS Bullfrog Visitor Center. (also known as RED WASH) þ | |
| Red Wash | A recent unofficial name, commonly used and adopted by the NPS Visitor Center, for the canyon immediately adjacent to the NPS Bullfrog Visitor Center. (also known as BULLFROG BAY CANYON) þ | ||
| Capitol Reef & Waterpocket Fold | |||
| Pandora’s Box | Steve Brezovec & Ryan Cornia | Meeks Mesa Slot ² | Pandora’s Box — the large jar that was carried by Pandora, the first woman in Greek Mythology. A gift from Zeus, the jar was not to be opened under any circumstance; alas, Pandora’s curiosity led to her opening of the jar, unleashing all the evils on the earth. However, hastily closing the lid, she was able to contain the one thing which lay at the bottom—hope. ‘Pandora’s Box’, a working title during project mode originating from Steve Brezovec’s Father’s Mother’s Name, was a reference to the potential difficulties of the canyon. The canyon was first published on Climb–Utah under the name Pandora’s Box. (also known as WIGGUM GULCH) þ |
| Wiggum Gulch AKA Bigg Spyre | Steve Brezovec, Scott Holley, & Hank Moon | Meeks Mesa Slot ² | Wiggum is a Simpsons reference. Bigg Spyre, based on a Strongbad cartoon, refers to the magnificent spire above the exit rappel. (also known as PANDORA’S BOX) þ |
| Old School | Ryan Cornia, John Diener, Mark Fallentine, & Tyler Fallentine | Ryan Cornia wrote: “Since we don’t know the name from the first group to descend it, we wanted to pay them homage. Well, that is the official story anyway. Unofficially, I was poked fun at for bringing my usual Old School canyoneering gear for this canyon, a 9+mm rope that others in the group seemed convinced was of museum quality.” ω þ | |
| Smokestack Canyon | John Diener | John Diener wrote: “I called it ‘Smokestack’ for its numerous pinnacles, proximity to Chimney Rock, and the industrial feel of its 90 degree turns.” þ | |
| Stegosaur Slot | Steve Howe (but see notes) | Steve Howe wrote: “I found the canyon by looking down into it on an off-trail hike around 1990. I descended it a year or two later. There was no evidence of previous descents, but I’m certain that others had done so. The thing that drew me in was the incredible view down off the north shoulder of the Stegosaur, down into the canyon, which is so narrow and deep you can’t see the bottom from above. I had zero beta about the canyon prior to entering. It was just a super-cool-looking slot when viewed from above. It proved to be easier than it looked. I first heard the name ‘Stegosaur’ through a conversation with Tim Severns when he lived in Torrey. It was in reference to a tall, Navajo sandstone dome West of Walker Peak. I hung the name on the canyon, although others may have done so earlier.
The first time I did the canyon, Scott Simper and I did the first slab rappel off ridiculously poor mountain mahogany anchors. When I went back several years later, I found two excellent bolts, painted tan for more concealment, at the most logical drop-in point. They just showed up where needed. I had no idea they were there prior to their discovery. Don’t know who placed them or when. I’m guessing they were in place by about 1995. They might have been there already on our first descent too, but I didn’t see anything. Later on (maybe 2011) I talked with a guy [client] who’d grown up in Provo and remembered going through a very narrow slot in Capitol Reef that ‘had a dinosaur name’ he couldn’t recall. He mentioned (I believe—not too sure about this recollection) that he was with a Boy Scout group when he did the canyon. I did not get the impression that he’d spent a lot of time canyoneering, or exploring Capitol Reef. Canyoneering wasn’t a big hobby of his when I guided him (he was with a group of military/tactical writers I guided). He talked about it like a distant childhood memory, not a canyoneering subject. It may have nothing to do with this slot, but it seems like too much of a coincidence. Steve Howe indicates that due to the proximity of this slot to the Navajo dome known as ‘The Stegosaur,’ it is possible that any previous descenders may have also called the canyon by the same name. þ | |
| Wonderland Canyon | Sam Goodhue Will Dowling, Brandon Smith, & John Holste | Sam Goodhue wrote: “We chose to call the canyon Wonderland, because of some local history. Before the area was Capitol Reef Nation Park it was called Wayne Wonderland by a couple of early conservationists. The name is an homage to Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman and their efforts to popularize and protect the area.” þ The name ‘Wayne Wonderland’ originated with Ephraim P. Pectol and refers to the part of colorful canyon country lying in Wayne county. Link to historical article. | |
| The Wives | Malia McIlvenna | Malia McIlvenna wrote: “The Wives are located on the south side of Cohab canyon in Capitol Reef NP. Cohab was said to be a hide–out for ‘cohabitators’ (polygamists) in the early 1900s, thus my nick–names for the canyons, ‘The Wives.’” Malia McIlvenna wrote: “They are numbered Wife 1 through Wife 6. When I originally scouted the canyons I found 6 canyon bottoms and 6 canyon tops. It wasn’t until after the names of the canyons had been pretty set in stone that I figured out that two of the canyons didn’t line up (Wife 2, which doesn’t have an obvious bottom, was one of the last ones I explored—several years after I descended the others). I didn’t want to change any of the established canyon names at this point. And besides, why would I when this would be such a great opportunity to name the last canyon ‘The One That Got Away!’ I’ve heard people refer to the canyon as Wife 2.5, which is useful in giving context to its location relative to the other canyons, but it’s the only canyon that was not meant to follow the ‘Wife #’ pattern. I also joked that the small canyon–like feature that the approach hike follows along is a young canyon not ready to be a wife, but she is betrothed. So in brief: Wife 1, Wife 2, The One That Got Away (TOTGA), Wife 3, Wife 4, Wife 5, Wife 6, and ‘The Betrothed.’ Wife 5 was the first of The Wives that I descended. It was a team of two—Penny [Martens] and I. The canyon ended up being more than we bargained for. Penny had the idea that this canyon would get the nickname ‘The Feisty Wife.’ I never felt that there was a ‘right’ nickname for any of the other canyons, so the nicknaming ended with the first canyon. I don’t use the nickname, but I think I still hear it from others every once in a while. It’s a good name for the canyon, and part of me wonders if the canyons would be easier to keep straight with nicknames rather than just numbers. Those canyons would probably be hard to keep straight no matter what I tried to name them.” þ | |
| Cassidy Arch Canyon AKA Cassidy Canyon | Named as it descends below Cassidy Arch. The variation Cassidy Canyon was introduced by Malia McIlvenna guessing at what previous descenders/locals might call the canyon. ω | ||
| Shinob Canyon Forks · Na–gah fork · Timpie Fork · Nighthawk Fork AKA Y-bru-sats Fork | Malia McIlvenna | Malia McIlvenna wrote: “When I learned of the canyon name [Shinob] and searched the internet to find out what a Shinob was I found that Shinob is a Piute god. I wanted to give names to the three forks that would tie in with the Shinob canyon name. Further research brought up two tales related to the god Shinob.
The first tale, about how the north star was created, fit perfectly with the northeastern fork. It involves a mountain sheep named Na–gah (I’ve also seen it spelled as Nagah, Naga, and Na–ga) who travels through a cave to the top of a mountain, from which he could not get back down. So his father, Shinob, turned him into the north star. The canyon has a feature that goes well with this tale. The second tale I found involved a boulder (Timpie) and a Nighthawk (Y–bru–sats in Piute) who went on an epic chase that resulted in the carving of a deep canyon (thus the giving of the name Timpie to the middle fork). In the end the Nighthawk, the determined hero of the story, saves the day from the destructive rampage of Timpie (by repeatedly dive–bombing and striking Timpie from the side until Timpie was finally broken to small pieces). Shinob punishes boulders by essentially making them inanimate and rewards nighthawks by giving them lovely stripes and dots.” þ | |
| Strike 2 Canyon | Luke Galyan | Named as it is the second drainage south of the Strike Valley Overlook so the name Strike 2. þ | |
| Lizard Canyon | Fred Goodsell | Steve Allen wrote: “Lizard Canyon was named by Fred Goodsell, the first backcountry ranger at Capitol Reef National Park. As I remember the story, Fred saw a lizard there that is usually found only in the Sonoran desert. Of course that is an OLD memory.” (also known as ROTARY DIAL, MOSTLY HARMLESS) þ | |
| Mostly Harmless | Brendan Busch | Brendan Busch wrote: “The term comes from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. In the first edition, the entry for earth was ‘Earth: Harmless.’ After complaining that there is much more to earth with its complex history, geography, animals, society, etc, the revised edition was updated to read ‘Earth: Mostly Harmless.’ The name is because Jenny Hall ( AKA West) and I went to do the canyon (I had reconned it a year prior), but we had to retreat when it started to threaten keeper potholes. Went back a week later with a full crew (but no Jenny) and did the whole canyon. To reinforce the name, there is a keeper in the lower section that could trap a party if it is in keeper mode. Also, the canyon seems straightforward with many exits but it has keepers, silos, and Shenanigans–like narrows. We also went once and almost entered the canyon right before a certain–death flash flood hit.” Descent on April 20, 2014. (also known as ROTARY DIAL, LIZARD CANYON) þ | |
| Rotary Dial | Jason Pease | Jason Pease wrote: “Rotary Dial I called because it reminded me of an old rotary dial phone, the way it wags back ‘n’ forth as it curves through the sandstone. Later that year another party had descended in full. They called it Culebra (spanish for snake) because of how it snaked around the sandstone as it dropped.” Descent June 1, 2014. (also known as MOSTLY HARMLESS, LIZARD CANYON) þ | |
| S Canyon | Mike Bogart Mary Dern Janice Hansen & Dennis Turville | Dennis Turville wrote: “Named for its obvious S-shape on the map.” Descent on May 16, 1978. Link to account. (also known as HAPPY DOG) þ | |
| O Canyon | Mike Bogart & Dennis Turville | Dennis Turville Wrote: “‘O’ Canyon which was named for the ‘O’ in ‘Waterpocket Fold’ on the [topo map].” Descent on October 17, 1978. Link to account. (also known as BABOON LAUGHS) þ | |
| L Canyon AKA Poe Canyon | Mike Bogart & Jenny Hall ( AKA West) | Dennis Turville wrote: “Originally called ‘L’ Canyon for the ‘L’ in ‘Fold’ on the map, it was later called ‘Poe’ Canyon because of its pits and pendulums ...” Descent on August 23, 1981. Link to account. The Pit and the Pendulum — A short story written by Edgar Allen Poe, in which a prisoner, during the Spanish Inquisition, finds himself in a dark room, with blade–like pendulum slowly descending towards his chest. Though he escapes the pendulum, the walls of the room close in on him, pushing him closer to falling into a deep pit in the middle of the room. (also known as SMILING CRICKET) þ | |
| Happy Dog Baboon Laughs & Smiling Cricket | Jason Pease | Jason Pease wrote: “I love the blank spots, the places I have heard nothing or next to nothing about. Last year I was getting tired of canyons and wanted to just wander somewhere. [The Waterpocket Fold] caught my eye somehow, as well as, 3 canyons along it. I walked the rim of all 3, getting into [the first canyon] in 2 different places (seeing bolts) and seeing both from the bottom of their final drops. [The third canyon] I walked the south rim, but I got no good view down in, only a chasm with no bottom. Once back at camp the final night, I was laying on the sand in my bag, wondering what to call them for my own personal record keeping: ‘That First Canyon South That Actually Starts Midway Up’ didn’t have much panache. Nor did ‘That Second Canyon South’ or ‘Third Canyon South’ have a nice ring to it. So I’m laying there watching clouds shape–shift by and light upon one that looks just like a dog’s head, big floppy ears, tongue wagging—a ‘Happy Dog.’ So it was written so shall it be done. Then I decided to keep that theme for the trio—creatures and joyful emotion (at least in word). I thought ‘Baboon Laughs’ because, as anyone who ever has visited a zoo knows, those damn things sit up in their trees and laugh or howl or whatever it is they are doing, making a ruckus of it all, but you can’t always see them. You know they’re there, but only in furtive glimpses. And that was how that canyon seemed—furtive glimpses laughing at me and an element of danger in the broken, jointed landscape of its rim and head. And ‘Smiling Cricket’ cause you NEVER see those things, but you hear them, soft and steady and infuriatingly undiscoverable. Try as you might you can’t find it, until you get down and dirty and on its level and finally come eye to antennae. But, if you’re like me, even though it is only a little insect, it creeps me out and my hand jerks away even as it darts out to silence the bugger so I can sleep. But that’s only if I am in a room with a lone cricket; sleeping outside I love their cacophony.” The first documented descent of Happy Dog was on May 16, 1978 by Mike Bogart, Mary Dern, Janice Hansen, and Dennis Turville who called it ‘O Canyon.’ Link to account. The first documented descent of Baboon Laughs was Oct 17, 1978 by Mike Bogart and Dennis Turville who called it ‘S Canyon.’ Link to account. The first documented descent of Smiling Cricket was August 23, 1981 by Mike Bogart and Jenny Hall (West) who called it ‘Poe Canyon.’ Link to account. (also known as S CANYON, O CANYON, L/POE CANYON, respectively) þ | |
| Escalante River | |||
| Moonshadow Canyon | Steve Allen | Steve Allen’s friend Joe Breddan frequently enjoyed midnight walks in moonlight. On one trip in Death Hollow he had walked up this particular canyon during the moonlight, and the canyon was so named to recognize his propensity for such walks. þ | |
| Micro Death Hollow | Tom Jones | A play on ‘Little Death Hollow’ þ | |
| Big Rattlesnake Canyon | Tom Jones | RATTLESNAKE BENCH THEME: Tom Jones wrote: “Off Rattlesnake Bench, it is the big one: BIG approach, and big final rap. The canyon itself is normal.” þ | |
| Midget Rattler Canyon | Tom Jones | RATTLESNAKE BENCH THEME: Tom Jones wrote: “Off Rattlesnake Bench, drops into Short Canyon (local name). It is the short, cute canyon, of the two.” þ | |
| The Snakelet | Adam Harmon | RATTLESNAKE BENCH THEME: Named as it is a short canyon descending off of Rattlesnake Bench. ω | |
| Indian Trail Gulch | Local Name | Locally known name for a tributary of The Gulch not labeled on the map, just west of elevation 6912. (This is different from Indian Gulch, which shares a confluence with Stair Canyon further upcanyon in The Gulch). The name appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. Steve Allen wrote: “If you look at the Steep Creek Bench 7.5 series map, you’ll note that a marked ‘Indian Trail’ pack trail goes right over the top of Indian Trail Gulch. From my understanding this was the major constructed stock trail from the Circle Cliffs Basin up to Boulder Mountain. As per most stock trails, it just followed an old Indian horse trail. Burns Ormand, a Boulder stockman, told me about this trail.” †³ þ | |
| Center & Main | Rick Green | Spencer Canyon ° | Rick Green wrote: “I named it because of its obvious intersection, which comes in at right angles to each other as well as running N and S. All Mormon towns use a grid system for its street names and I thought it was appropriate to carry on the tradition.” Named circa 1993. þ |
| Drill Hole Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Michael R. Kelsey wrote: “[It was] named because it starts right at an old drill hole site (plus there are 2 more drill holes on either side).” Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Guide 2nd Ed. ² | |
| Secret Passage | Bill Wolverton | Big West Fork Red Breaks Canyon ° | A play on Hidden Passage Canyon, since it’s a relatively hidden slot. Named circa 1990. þ |
| Mollies Volcano | The Volcano ² | Likely because it looks like a volcano cinder cone. þ | |
| Cosmic Ashtray | The Volcano ² | Named likely because the depression in the sandstone with a dome at its center resembles an ashtray. þ | |
| Islomania Dome | Ryan Cornia & Cristina Amat | The Volcano ² | islomania — term coined in 1953 by writer Lawrence Durrell in ‘Reflections on a Marine Venus.’ Durrell once wrote in a letter, “Islomania is a rare affliction of spirit. There are people who find islands somehow irresistible. The mere knowledge that they are in a little world surrounded by sea fills them with an indescribable intoxication.” Ryan Cornia wrote: “In the winter of 2008, Cristina and I hiked around looking for the infamous dome. Islomania is the name Cristina and I came up with. The definition seemed to fit the day Cristina and I were having. Being a little out of the ordinary helped, something so unique should have an equally unique name.” þ |
| Zebra Slot | Scott Patterson | Scott Patterson wrote: “We found Zebra in the early 90’s while looking for slot canyons. The first time we went there the stripes made it look zebra–like. On a sunny day it looks more like a Candy Cane and that name is more appropriate. I wish we would have named it Peppermint, but the name Zebra is the one that stuck.” Though the canyon appeared in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3, it was left unnamed in the book. The canyon was subsequently published in 1998 under the name Zebra in Kelsey’s 4th Edition Canyon Hiking Guide. þ ‡² | |
| Tunnel Slot | Michael R. Kelsey | Tunnel Slot | Named in Kelsey’s 4th Edition Canyon Hiking Guide. þ ‡² |
| Little Death Hollow | Rudi Lambrechtse | On the USGS maps this canyon is named Death Hollow, sharing the identical name to the long, entrenched canyon descending from Boulder Mountain. The alteration in Rudi Lambrechtse’s Hiking the Escalante is the likely origin of the name. Rudi Lambrechtse wrote: “Although this canyon is named Death Hollow, it’s name has been altered to differentiate it from the longer more, strenuous canyon ...” £ | |
| Sad Cow Disease | Ram | Named for the recently dead and decaying cow found stuck in a section of slot and a mummified calf found nearby in an open, vegetated sandy section of the canyon below the slot during the descent of the canyon. The recently decaying cow smelled awful and required stemming over. After stemming over the cow, Jenny Hall ( AKA West) came across the mummified calf; it being Mother's Day, Jenny was struck with images of the sad drama of the death of the mother and baby and was overcome with emotion. With news of outbreaks around the time of the descent, the name is a play on mad cow disease for the gruesome decaying cow but, because of the calf, it was very sad. Steve Cole and Bill Wolverton had previously explored and descended the canyon in 2006 but did not have a name for the canyon. mad cow disease — a progressive neurological disorder that damages the central nervous system of cattle. þ | |
| Aardvark Canyon | Tom Jones | Animal name starting with the letter furthest from the first letter of the animal after which the bench containing the drainage is named for obfuscation. Moreover, the animals are extremely different in nature. Link to account. þ | |
| Choprock Canyon | Steve Allen wrote: “Burns Ormand from Boulder ran cattle extensively in the area starting in the early 1920s (his name is etched in a wall in Choprock Canyon from 1927). He helped build the trail from Choprock to Neon, but again had no name [for Neon Canyon]. He was familiar with the Golden Cathedral, but as a stock watering place and a darn good place to corral his cows! (And Choprock, called Widemouth by the cowboys, was named because Burns and others had to ‘Chop the Rock’ to make the stock trail out of the canyon.)” þ | ||
| Kaleidoscope Canyon | Jenny Hall ( AKA West) & Mike Bogart | South Fk Choprock Canyon ¹ | Dennis Turville wrote: “Jenny Hall and Mike Bogart named it Kaleidoscope, since the canyon seemed different at every turn.” Descent on 1982. Link to account. kaleidoscope — a toy in the form of a tube embedded with mirrors that one looks through to see a colorful pattern due to the reflections of small pieces of colored materials that shift as it rotates. (also known as SOUTH FORK CHOPROCK CANYON, EAST FORK CHOPROCK CANYON, CHOPROCK SLOT, CHOPSLOT, MOE SLOT) þ |
| South Fk of Choprock AKA Choprock Slot AKA Chopslot | South Fk Choprock Canyon ¹ | (also known as KALEIDOSCOPE CANYON, EAST FORK CHOPROCK CANYON, SOUTH FORK CHOPROCK CANYON, MOE SLOT ) þ | |
| Poison Ivy Fork Choprock Canyon | Steve Allen | North Fk Choprock Canyon ¹ | Because it is filled with the poison ivy. Appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. (also known as WEST FORK CHOPROCK CANYON, NORTH FORK CHOPROCK CANYON ) †³ |
| Edge of the Earth Canyon | Mike Bogart, Janice Hansen, & Dennis Turville | Neon Canyon ‡² | Dennis Turville wrote: “When we were on an early reconnaissance of the canyon, I looked back at my friends walking along the rim and thought they looked like they were walking on the edge of the earth. It stuck.” Descent on October 22, 1977. Link to account. (also known as NEON CANYON, CAVERNS HOLLOW ) þ |
| Neon Canyon | Neon Canyon ‡² | Steve Allen wrote: “Named for it’s shimmering iridescently varnished walls. Photographer Jack Dykinga thinks that John Telford named it.” The name Neon Canyon appears in 1989 in the book Coyote’s Canyon, photographs by John Telford and text by Terry Tempest Williams. The name Neon first appears in a guidebook in 1997 in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. The first documented descent of this canyon was on October 22, 1977 by Mike Bogart, Janice Hansen, and Dennis Turville who called it ‘Edge of the Earth Canyon.’ Link to account. (also known as EDGE OF THE EARTH CANYON, CAVERNS HOLLOW) þ | |
| Ringtail Canyon | Steve Allen | Steve Allen wrote: “Ringtail cats are rarely seen in the Escalante, but they have been observed in the pitch–black depths of this canyon.” †³ | |
| Nasty Ass | Mike Bogart, Ken Gronseth, & Dennis Turville | West Baker Canyon ² | Dennis Turville wrote: “Acronym for ‘Not Another Squeeze Thank You, Another Squeeze Sucker.’ ” Descent on April 10, 1979. Link to account. (also know as WEST BAKER CANYON) |
| Tight Ass | Mike Bogart & Jenny Hall (AKA West) | East Baker Canyon ² | Baker theme, as it is an tight slot canyon through much of its extent, requiring much “worming” (chimneying). Descent on June 21–22, 1982. Link to account. (also know as EAST BAKER CANYON) |
| Baker Canyon | Steve Allen | The canyon sits between Baker Bench and East Baker Bench. Unnamed on the maps, it was published as Baker Canyon in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. Steve Allen wrote: “The bench was named for Boulder stockman George Baker. He started pushing cows into the area in 1889. I’ve always called them the Bakers: Baker Canyon and the Alternate Fork. Don’t know if others were using the names or not.” þ
The first documented descent of East Baker was on June 21–22, 1982 by Mike Bogart and Jenny Hall (West) who called it ‘Tight Ass.’ Link to account.
The first documented descent of West Baker was on April 10, 1979 by Mike Bogart, Ken Gronseth, and Dennis Turville who called it ‘Nasty Ass.’ Link to account. East Baker (AKA Tight Ass) and West Baker (AKA Nasty Ass) commonly denote the two upper branches of Baker Canyon. | |
| Little Baker Slots | Michael R. Kelsey | Little Baker Slots | A group of three short slot canyons down river from Baker Canyon, between East Baker Bench and Moody Creek. ² |
| Top Chef | Kevin Kilpatrick, Bruce Neumann, & Mark Schnup | Middle Slot Little Baker Slots 2 | Bruce Neumann said: “The idea was to stick with the ‘baker’ theme from the baker bench and canyons near by. This name stuck with us.” þ |
| Fox Canyon | Local Name | A locally known name for a southwest–trending tributary of Twentyfive Mile Wash that is not labeled on map, located northeast of elevation 5053T (due north of upper Brimstone Gulch and southeast of Egypt 5). It appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. †³ | |
| Beau Beau AKA Bo Bo | Rick Green | Rick Green wrote: “Beau Tye Green was the first of four generations of Labs that I raised. They were my first descent partners for many canyons in the ‘olden days’ when partners were hard to come by, so I named a few canyons after them. ‘Beau Beau’ and I first went into the canyon in the early nineties. It was a great suprise to find another fun Egypt canyon right off the road and she had a really good time. As a note, it is very susceptible to rope grooves.” Lab or Labrador Retriever — a type of retriever–gun dog that is strongly built, medium–sized, and short–coupled, possessing a sound, athletic, well–balanced conformation, with the substance and soundness to hunt for long hours under difficult conditions. (also known as EGYPT 1.5) þ | |
| Beaver Dam | Scott Patterson | Named as it was near a beaver dam which is apparently gone. (also known as EGYPT 5) þ | |
| Georgie Canyon AKA Georgies Camp Canyons AKA Georges Camp Canyon | Edson Alvey wrote: “Georgie Canyon – A short eastern tributary of the Escalante River near the mouth of Scorpion Gulch. It was named for Georgie Davis, Escalante stockman.” Bill Wolverton wrote: “[The quote from Edson Alvey] is probably the best information available. I have always heard the camp site at the entrance called Georgies Camp, or earlier simply George Camp. I eventually some years ago heard of Georgie Davis, and it seems to be best known now as Georgies Camp. The name these days seems to refer more to the camp than to the canyon, and the canyon(s) seem to be most commonly called the Georgies Camp Canyons.” Steve Allen refers to the canyons as Georges Camp Canyon in Canyoneering 2 & 3. þ †² †³ | ||
| Prima & Donna Canyons | Doug Green & Wayne King | Bill Wolverton wrote: “The two canyons south of Georgies Camp have been called, by two friends of mine, cousins Doug Green and Wayne King, Prima and Donna. They bestowed these names over 20 years ago but have never published them anywhere. However, the names seem to have become known, and I’ve never heard of any other names for the two canyons. The three of us first got into the two canyons in March 1989.” þ | |
| Fold Canyon | A reference to its location on the Waterpocket Fold. þ | ||
| Shofar Canyon | Steve Allen, Harvey Halpern, & Ginger Harmon | Hebrew for horn, accurately describing many of the canyon’s pinnacles, especially one in particular that looks like a horn. þ †³ | |
| Hydra Canyon | Harvey Halpern | Hydra is a many–headed snake from Greek Mythology whose heads grew back after they were cut off. It was named so because of difficulties heading the canyon due to its many side drainages. þ †³ | |
| Ichabod Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for Washington Irvine’s Ichabod Crane who was chased by the Headless Horseman in the ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’ Similar to Hydra, it was a difficult canyon to head due to its side drainages. þ †³ | |
| Beryl Canyon | Harvey Halpern | Beryl has 3–fold meaning. First, Beryl is a mineral, one of whose varieties is aquamarine. Second, the lady Beryl of myth was a laughing, loving beauty full of innocence and sunshine. Both accurately describe this lavishly watered canyon lined with large colorful pools. Additionally, Beryl honors Harvey Halpern’s Father’s Hebrew name. þ †³ | |
| Rose Canyon | Steve Allen | Named for the profusion of cliff roses found in the canyon. †³ | |
| Short Fork Fortymile Gulch | Michael R. Kelsey | Short Fork Fortymile Gulch | A very short sidecanyon of Fortymile Gulch named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Don’t Do It (DDI) | Steve Allen | Middle Fk King Mesa Slot ² | Was written on the map as a warning-to-self about poison ivy. Descent on 1997. Link to account. |
| The Mud, the Blood, & the Fear | Ram | Middle Fk King Mesa Slot ² | Link to account. (also known as DDI) |
| PINTAC | Steve Allen | East Fk King Mesa Slot ² | Acronym for ‘Pain in the Ass Crack’ Partial descent in 1996. Complete descent in 1997. Link to account part 1 • part 2 |
| Sleepy Hollow | Tom Gillette | Bill Wolverton wrote: “Sleepy Hollow was named by Tom and Jennifer Gillette when Tom was the Escalante seasonal ranger, which was from about 1978–86. They made camp in there one night when they were both particularly sleepy for some reason, if I recall the story correctly.” Tom Gillette wrote: “The place name ‘Sleepy Hollow’ was born on an April day in l982. Ranger Glenn Sherrill, wife and volunteer Jennifer and myself spent the day constructing flood gates on the Coyote cattle fence. The wind howled down canyon all day, but we continued to work through the sandblaster till late afternoon. Seeking a break from the wind, we set up camp in an alcove a short ways up a side canyon on the left side. The wind took its toll as we laid out our ground sheet and sleeping bags, crawled in and fell asleep, too tired to even make dinner. What a relief! That’s my story.” þ | |
| Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow | Steve Allen | From Canyoneering 3 by Steve Allen: “I thought of the struggle my friend Rob and I had in the Long Branch of Sleepy Hollow—sixteen hours of danger and delight: the green room, the natural bridges, the swims, the rappels, our bloody hands and knees, and how we had hugged each other when it was over.” Descent by Steve Allen and Rob Roseen in 1992. †²†³ | |
| Big Tony Fork of Sleepy Hollow | Steve Allen | Sleepy Hollow ² | From Canyoneering 3, by Steve Allen: “Tony Merten died on his farm in New Mexico in February 1996. His gargantuan size, unlimited physical strength, and unbridled persona perfectly match this slot canyon’s character. With his wild red–blond hair and beard, Tony was instantly recognizable to all who encountered him in the canyons or along the windswept desert slickrock he loved so much and worked so hard to preserve. Perhaps all who pass will pay silent homage to Big Tony and to others who have cared about canyon country but can no longer be here to enjoy and be enthralled by it.” †³ Allen’s descent was in 1996.Tom Jones obscured this canyon with the name ‘Frosted Flakes’, a reference to the cereal’s mascot. þ |
| Frosted Flakes Canyon | Ram, Tom Jones, Steve Brezovec, Eric Godfrey, Landon Michaels, & Mark Burnham | Ram wrote: “So to the descenders goes the spoils of naming the place. What to do? It seemed that many still called Big Tony, Frosted Flakes, despite the latter having outlived its usefulness and intent. So it was decided: give Tony the Tiger his own place and his due. Shift the name Frosted Flakes over to this newly descended fork of Big Tony.” For the purposes of obfuscation (cf. Big Tony Fork), the name Frosted Flakes was previously applied to the adjacent fork which was originally known as the Big Tony Fork of Sleepy Hollow. However the name unintentionally became somewhat more commonly used to reference the slot and also appeared in various photo-trip reports and forum posts on the web. To give substance to this viable yet illegitimate name, ‘Frosted Flakes’, it has now been applied post hoc to the fork of Sleepy Hollow which shares a confluence with the Big Tony Fork at the final rappels of each canyon. Link to account þ | |
| Headless Hen | Steve Allen | Named for a large brown tower that looks like a headless hen on the rim of the canyon. Descent on 1996. | |
| Raven | Steve Allen | Named because three dead ravens were found in the canyon. Descent on 1996. | |
| Foxhole AKA Fox Hole | Ryan Cornia, Larry Halford Ram Roy Serati | Raven ² | Named as the party found a fox trapped in a pothole, and Ryan Cornia’s attempt to rescue. Link to account. (also known as RAVEN) |
| Little Scorpion Twin Forks | Michael R. Kelsey | Little Scorpion Twin Forks | SCORPION THEME: Named as it lies to the southeast of Scorpion. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. (2008) ² |
| Ponderosa Canyon | Bill Wolverton | Scorpion East ² | Named circa early 1990s for an enormous Ponderosa tree in the canyon. (also known as GROVE CANYON, SCORPION EAST) þ |
| Grove Canyon | Steve Allen | Scorpion East ² | Named because its mouth is obscured by a grove of cottonwoods. Appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. (also known as PONDEROSA CANYON, SCORPION EAST) †³ |
| Scorpion East | Michael R. Kelsey | Scorpion East | SCORPION THEME: Named as it lies to the south of Scorpion. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. (also known as PONDEROSA CANYON, GROVE CANYON) ² |
| Box Elder Canyon | Bill Wolverton | Scorpion West ² | Named circa early 1990s for a profusion of Box Elder trees in the canyon. This name appears as ‘Boxelder Canyon’ in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 3. (also known as SOS, SCORPION WEST) þ †³ |
| SOS | Steve Brezovec, Landon Michaels & Aaron Ramras | Scorpion West ² | Steve Brezovec wrote: “SOS is a ‘backronym.’ Landon, Aaron, and I agreed that all these meanings could apply: Slick Opposing Sides, and of course the traditional ‘Save Our Souls’”
Silo–Offwidth–Silo, Security Of Speed, Stuck Over Shafts, Slip Out Sideways” Landon Michaels wrote: “A few other meanings to the name that were thrown out? Sandthrax On Steroids/Stilts,
Six Ounce Sack (the only ‘gear’ needed to descend the canyon), Sick Of Stemming” SOS — the internat’l Morse code distress signal • • • – – – • • • backronym — an acronym formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word either to create a memorable name or as a fanciful explanation of a word’s origin. Link to account. (also known as BOX ELDER CANYON, SCORPION WEST) ω |
| Scorpion West | Michael R. Kelsey | Scorpion West | SCORPION THEME: Named as it lies to the southwest of Scorpion. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. (also known as BOX ELDER CANYON, SOS) ² |
| Tightest Slot Dry Fork Coyote | Michael R. Kelsey | Tightest Slot Dry Fork Coyote | Named for its extremely tight narrows, constricting to 2cm. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Sandslide Canyon Dry Fork Coyote | Michael R. Kelsey | Sandslide Canyon Dry Fork Coyote | Named for a sandslide in the canyon allowing egress to the rim. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Little Canyon Dry Fork Coyote | Michael R. Kelsey | Little Canyon Dry Fork Coyote | Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| The Beast | Ram | Refers to the extremely tight sections of Brimstone Canyon. Named circa early 90’s. Link to account. | |
| Spooky Gulch Peek-a-boo Gulch & Brimstone Gulch | Edson Alvey | Steve Allen wrote: “Shortly before his death in 1993, Escalante historian and schoolteacher Edson Alvey told me that they were suggested while he was exploring the [three] slot canyons with a group of schoolchildren on Halloween day in 1935.” þ †³ | |
| Bishop Canyon | The name appears on boater maps. Steve Allen wrote: “I would assume that it is named for Powell crew member Francis Marion Bishop.” þ | ||
| Mumbai | Ram & Aaron Ramras | Named to honor the two critical bombays in the canyon with a simultaneous jab at colonialism. Link to account Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay and named for the Hindu goddess Mumbā, is the most populous city in India and the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. In 1995, the English name for the city was officially changed to Mumbai to shed the British colonial–era name Bombay. bombay — a wide void, directly underneath a section of narrow slot, that is too wide for stemming when descending from the stemmable, narrow slot above. þ | |
| Lower Lake Powell | |||
| East of Stateline Canyon | Pat Winstanley | The short canyon descending into Wahweap Bay immediately to the east of Stateline Canyon, northwest of elevation 4072T. ω þ | |
| Stateline Canyon | John Crossley | The canyon crosses the stateline as it descends into Wahweap Bay. ω þ | |
| Stud Horse Point Canyon | Pat Winstanley | The southern fork of the small slot canyon immediately to the southsoutheast of Stud Horse Point (listed on the 7.5 min quadrangle), southeast of elevation 4608. ω þ | |
| Wildcat Tank Canyon | The canyon descending from elevation 4671T down to the Wildcat Tank feature listed on the 7.5 min quadrangle. ω | ||
| Grand Staircase | |||
| Wire Pass | Steve Allen wrote: “Cal Johnson noted that this is a recent name; in the past it was just called Coyote Wash.” þ | ||
| Booker Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey wrote: “The locals never had a name for this canyon, but people at the BLM once referred to it as Booker Canyon, after one of their staff, Bill Booker.” þ | ||
| Stone Donkey Canyon | Steve Allen wrote:
“Ralph Chynoweth, who ran stock in the Paria for more than 50 years: ‘There’s a rock down there that somebody thought looked like a head of a donkey.’ Ralph also noted that it was called Big Canyon.” þ | ||
| Slytherin Slot | A slot in a side canyon of Lick Wash. þ | ||
| Little Fork Deer Creek | Michael R. Kelsey | Little Fork Deer Creek | Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Left Hand Fork Deer Creek | Michael R. Kelsey | Left Hand Fork Deer Creek | Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Holy Grail Slot | Nick Smith & Max Eagar | Nick Smith wrote: “The only worthy canyoneering canyon in the Bryce Canyon area I have found to date. My most prized find! AKA the Holy Grail!” þ | |
| Blue Wonder Slot | Nick Smith & Richard Sutlif | Nick Smith wrote: “A canyon that is at the bottom of what we call Dr. Seussland or Side Step Canyon near Church Wells. Because of the white sandstone, in the winter months the deep blue sky casts a blue hue on the canyon.” þ | |
| Peek–a–Boo AKA Red Canyon | Local Name | Locally Known | Peek–a–Boo — a game played with a young child that involves hiding one’s face or hiding behind something and suddenly reappearing saying ‘peek–a–boo!’ Locally known name for the slot in Red Canyon. Red Canyon is labeled on the 7.5 min quadrangle. ℥ |
| Diana’s Throne Canyon | Local Name | Locally known name for the canyon that descends from the White Cliffs adjacent to Dianas Throne. þ Steve Allen wrote:“[Dianas Throne] was named by William W. Seegmiller in 1920 for the Goddess of the Hunt [Roman Mythology]. Local legend has it that Diana, on finding the view from the top of the monolith overwhelmingly beautiful, and unable to bear that much beauty, threw herself off the top.” ⚕ (also known as HUNTRESS SLOT, ELKHEART CLIFFS CANYON) | |
| Huntress Slot | Tom Jones & Nick Smith | Nick Smith wrote: “Tom Jones and I came up with that name as we first descended it with ropes in 2010. Huntress is, of course, the Roman Goddess, Diana.” Tom Jones wrote:“Nick and I did the canyon together. It descends from Diana’s Throne. I suggested it needed a more poetic name than just Diana’s, and, as the Goddess Diana was represented as The Huntress (among other things), I suggested that. The name ‘Huntress’ also does not give away the location.” þ Steve Allen wrote:“[Dianas Throne] was named by William W. Seegmiller in 1920 for the Goddess of the Hunt [Roman Mythology]. Local legend has it that Diana, on finding the view from the top of the monolith overwhelmingly beautiful, and unable to bear that much beauty, threw herself off the top.” ⚕ (also known as DIANA’S THRONE CANYON, ELKHEART CLIFFS CANYON) | |
| Elkhart Cliffs Canyon AKA Elkheart Cliffs Canyon | John Crossley | Name for the canyon as it descends from the southern edge of the Elkheart Cliffs. (also known as DIANA’s THRONE CANYON, HUNTRESS SLOT) þ | |
| Dark Side | Nick Smith | Nick Smith wrote: “The side canyon that is just to the north of Huntress. We called it Dark Side because it’s very narrow and dark ... and side canyon ... and we use it as an add–on to give it an heir of challenge as well.” þ | |
| Red Cave AKA Upper and Lower Red Caves of Sand Wash | Local Name | Upper and Lower Red Caves are locally known names. ω | |
| Elk Horn Slot | Nick Smith, Keith Howells, & Stephen Howells | Nick Smith wrote: “A slot located in the White Cliffs north of Kanab and west of Johnson Canyon. We found a massive elk shed in the canyon on our first descent.” þ | |
| Timber Cat Canyon | Nick Smith & Mica Church | Nick Smith wrote: “A slot canyon located in the White Cliffs north and east of Kanab and just east of Johnson Canyon. It’s located on Timber Mountain and we found huge Mt Lion tracks in the canyon last winter along with many deer/turkey kill sites.” þ | |
| Timber Draw | Nick Smith | Nick Smith wrote: “A side canyon (slot) of Timber Cat Canyon.” þ | |
| Salaradis Canyon | Local Name | Nick Smith wrote: “Salaradis is a locally known name for the canyon in the Kanab area. Apparently the crusty white calcite build up at springs was used as a mock baking soda in cooking/baking during pioneer times. They called that stuff Salaradis, hence the name” þ | |
| Corax Canyon | Nick Smith & Tyler West | Nick Smith wrote: “A side canyon of Salaradis Canyon. Located in the Vermillion Cliffs, this canyon drops you right back into Kanab. Corvus Corax is the scientific name for a Raven and we saw lots the first time we did it. Hence the name.” þ | |
| Hangover Canyon | Nick Smith | Nick Smith wrote: “Another Vermillion Cliffs canyon located just outside of Kanab. Named because all the rappels are overhangs. Quite a tricky canyon.” þ | |
| Zion & Virgin River | |||
| Fat Mans Misery AKA West Fork of Misery Canyon | Tom Jones wrote: “Legend has it, one of the rappels could be avoided by worming down a narrow passage between boulders—thus the name ‘Fat Man’s Misery.’ Link to account. ℤ¹ | ||
| French Canyon | Joe Braun, Tanya Milligan, & Shane Burrows | Joe Braun wrote: “The gist of the origins of ‘French Canyon?’ It’s really quite silly. When hiking through Parunuweap back in 2003, I was really fascinated by all of the little side canyons coming into the East Fork and I [posted a photo on the web] with the silly little caption, ‘I claim this unnamed side slot in the name of France!’ The year after, a fellow by the name of Cliff (who frequents the Zion group) took Tanya and a few other people through Misery, but instead of coming back up the standard Checkerboard Mesa exit, Cliff took them up and out south of Pweap towards the sand dunes. After comparing notes with my photos, we realized this was the same canyon that I had looked at the year earlier, so Tanya started calling this ‘Joe’s French Canyon’ in honor of my silly caption. And the name just sort of stuck. When Shane beta’ed Rock Canyon in 2005 or 2006, he publicized French Canyon as a good exit route with the further explanation of French military losses = the perfect retreat canyon.’ þ | |
| Starfish Canyon | Keyhole Canyon | Dennis Turville wrote: “Named by locals who thought it looked like a starfish on the Zion map.” (also known as KEYHOLE CANYON, THE JUGHANDLE) þ | |
| Keyhole Canyon AKA The Jughandle | Rick Praetzel | Keyhole Canyon | Jonathan Zambella wrote: “The Jughandle—first descended by Royce Trapier some time in the late 70’s—was renamed the Keyhole, by Rick Praetzel in 1996 due to its entry wall formation at the first rappel which looks like a skeleton key hole. The park service adopted that name into the books because we created a ‘trip product’ called the Keyhole and, when they started authorizing permits, our students would go to the counter and ask for a keyhole permit.” (also known as STARFISH CANYON) þ |
| Separation Canyon | Bo Beck | Separation Canyon is the second canyon to the west of Checkerboard Mesa. At the head of this canyon is a saddle with a rock outcropping known as Separation Peak, separating the Clear Creek drainage from Parunuweap Drainage. ω | |
| Root Canals AKA Route Canals | Ram | Because of the adjacent canyons whose shape on the topo map bears a striking resemblance to the roots of a tooth. These are also known locally and by Zion park service as ‘The Twins.’ The name appears in Tanya Milligan & Bo Beck’s Favorite Hikes in & around Zion Nat’l Park. (also known as THE TWINS) þ ℥ | |
| Many Pools | Locally known name due to the interesting pothole formations in the canyon. The term seems to be variably applied to the trail, the area of potholes, as well as the drainage. The drainage is the eastern drainage of the Root Canal or Twins. ω ℥ | ||
| Shelf Canyon | Ram | Named for the many shelf–like rock layers. The name appears in Tanya Milligan & Bo Beck’s Favorite Hikes in & around Zion Nat’l Park. þ ℥ | |
| The Wedge | Steve Woodford | Tom Jones wrote: “Information was given to me about this canyon by South African Steve Woodford, with the name attached. You do wedge yourself in for pretty much the whole canyon.” þ | |
| The Stinger | Matt Brejcha | Matt Brejcha wrote: “After the adventurous approach, the cactus fight, the unintentional nighttime exploration and eventual bivy, it seemed a fitting name for the canyon off the back of Beehive Peak.” þ | |
| Employee Canyon | Named because it ends up in the employee housing area behind the Lodge. (also known as LODGE CANYON) ω ℤ¹ | ||
| Lodge Canyon | Tom Jones et al. | Tom Jones wrote: “Lodge had developed several names — ‘Lodge’ because it ends up at the Lodge, ‘Employee’ because it ends up in the employee housing area behind the Lodge. Three years ago, the [Zion N.P.] backcountry desk wanted to add it to their standard canyon database, so were looking to standardize the name. Together, we decided Lodge was more elegant than Employee, so went with that.” (also known as EMPLOYEE CANYON) þ ℤ¹ | |
| Jacob Canyon | PATRIARCH THEME: Name for the south–trending canyon that descends along the southeastern face of Jacob, one of the three peaks forming the Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Issac & Jacob) in Court of the Patriarchs. Brian Cabe wrote: “I called the canyon Jacob Canyon. My trip report is titled ‘Jacob Canyon.’ I might be partly (or even mostly) responsible for the name becoming more popular. To me, working around the Court, Jacob seemed the obvious name given the layout of the peaks and the canyons. I’ve never heard anyone refer to the canyon by any other name, and, other than chatting with Jeff Lowe who descended it after a climb, prior to my descent I’d never talked to anyone who’d done it. Although, we found both Jeff’s anchors, and, a prior party’s anchors up higher from our drop–in point. So folks had been descending it, but I’d never talked to anyone that had and hadn’t heard another name for it.” þ
Ron Raimonde wrote: “Dan Stih and I climbed all three of the Patriarchs and the Sentinel in one push. ... We did, however, drill two hanging rappel stations, the first in the 150–meter deep slot between Jacob and Isaac, and the other on the descent of the massive southwest face of Abraham.” ω
| ||
| Isaac Canyon | Ram & Tom Jones | PATRIARCH THEME: Tom Jones wrote: “People were calling the canyon between Moroni and Jacob, ‘ Jacob.’ So the next one would be Issac.” Name for the south–trending canyon that descends between Patriarchs Issac and Jacob. þ | |
| Heaps Canyon | Steve Allen wrote: “Nancy C. Crawford: “William Heaps farmed land near the mouth of Emerald Pool canyon and built a cabin near by [in 1884]. For many years this little canyon was known by the settlers as Heaps Canyon” Crawford noted that Heaps bought his land from early resident Isaac Behunin for two hundred bushels of corn.””
⚕
The first partial desent of this canyon was by Mike Bogart and Dennis Turville on September 23–25, 1981, including the 290–foot drop at the bottom from the bird perch ( link to account ). The first complete descent of the canyon, largely using a route established by Bogart and Turville, was by Royce Trapier and Norman Harding on October 15–18, 1982.
þ | ||
| Spearhead Canyon | Tom Jones & Brian Cabe | Tom Jones wrote: “There is a prominent formation labeled The Spearhead, which the canyon passes behind. We discussed other names (Majestic-Cathedral Canyon, etc.) but Spearhead made more sense.” þ ℤ¹ | |
| Hook Canyon | Brian Cabe | Because the canyon hooks around. þ | |
| Not So Hot Canyon | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “Checking out various undescended canyons. Two raps at the top, a few short raps near Echo. Not so Hot. I see no reason to do it again.” þ | |
| Fiddle Me This | Emma Raisl | Tom Jones wrote: “A side canyon of Echo Canyon in Zion: about 15 drops — 12 FiddleSticks, 2 Bollards, 1 SandTrap. Emma came up with the name on the hike out.” It is notable as the first significant canyon done in Zion without leaving anything. And I should point out, there are 3 sections. Emma, Casey and I did the first two sections. A week later, Jonathan Zambella and friends added the third section which had some slings in it. þ | |
| Observation Point Canyon | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “Named as it descends from Observation Point. Several different ages of bolts in there the first we went through.” þ | |
| Not Worth It Canyon | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “Checking out various undescended canyons, this one looked like it was worth a try. It was not.” þ | |
| No Good At All AKA No Good | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “Checking out various undescended canyons, this one looked like it was worth a try. It was not.” þ | |
| Mountain of Mystery Canyon AKA MOM Canyon | Brian Cabe & Tom Jones | Named as it descends from Mountain of Mystery to the Virgin River. Link to account. þ Steve Allen wrote: “R.B. Gray in 1927: “Farther up the canyon [the Narrows of Zion], apparently blocking it completely, rises a slender, ethereal cone of pink and white, a peak of such appealing symmetry and delicate tints that it always commands admiration. It is the Mountain of Mystery.”” ⚕ | |
| Miss Me Canyon AKA Miss Me Wash AKA Miss–me | This name may apply to one of two canyons in the vicinity of Mystery Canyon, one to the southwest (dropping into the Virgin River above the Riverside Walk) and one to the northeast (dropping into Orderville AKA South Fork of Orderville). The name Miss Me Canyon has been in use for some time as indicated by this statement from Zion Dispatch in July 1996, recorded by Jonathan Zambella: Group of three found in ‘Miss Me’ canyon after three days lost on their way into Mystery Canyon. Kip Marshall’s descent notes on the canyon to the northeast of Mystery Canyon denote the canyon as “South Fork of Orderville (aka Miss–me).” In this case, route information had been shared with Marshall by someone who referred to the canyon as Miss–me. Tom Jones wrote: “I think the holder/assigner of these two names [Miss Me & Not Mystery] is the backcountry office/SAR staff. And that from year to year the two names go back and forth.” The canyon to the southwest of Mystery Canyon is the site of rescues because the final drop is significantly higher and more technically difficult than the final drop in Mystery Canyon. Moreover, it is illegal to descend the final drop of this canyon since doing so poses a major hazard to the ‘Riverside Walk’ tourist trail below. Mis–me is a mispelling of Miss–me due to a typo online. See Not Mystery Canyon for further information. (see also NOT MYSTERY) þ | ||
| Not Mystery Canyon | This name may apply to one of two canyons in the vicinity of Mystery Canyon, one to the southwest (dropping into the Virgin River above the Riverside Walk) and one to the northeast (dropping into Orderville AKA South Fork of Orderville).
Hank Moon wrote: “Kinda jokey name, but even the rangers call it that.” Bo Beck recalls the canyon to the southwest of Mystery being called Not Mystery during a rescue in 2001. Bo Beck wrote: “The first rescue I was part of in ‘Not Mystery’ was in 2001. When I got call–out, it was refered to as ‘Not Mystery.’ The 2nd and last rescue I was involved with in Not Mystery, involved being flown in, hiking a short distance, doing a raise of 170' × 4 and then flying back out. The ‘Spot Device’ made locating the group of 4 quick and easy!” Link to account. The canyon to the southwest of Mystery Canyon is the site of rescues because the final drop is significantly higher and more technically difficult than the final drop in Mystery Canyon. Moreover, it is illegal to descend the final drop of this canyon since doing so poses a major hazard to the ‘Riverside Walk’ tourist trail below. See Miss Me entry for further information. (see also MISS ME CANYON) þ | ||
| Troll’s Treat AKA Imlay Canyon | Mike Bogart, Mary Dern, & Dennis Turville | Imlay Canyon ¹ | Dennis Turville wrote: “We called it Troll’s Treat since we felt like trolls ferrying our packs through all of the obstacles, especially with that damned 300–foot rope ...” Descent on June 7–9, 1978 by Mike Bogart, Mary Dern, and Dennis Turville. Link to account. þ
Imlay Canyon was named in 1934 for James Havens Imlay who ran sheep in the area. ⚕
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| Not Imlay | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “The name is kinda silly, and like many silly names, it’s my original name. I met some people rapping it in the Narrows. They did not have a name for it and I had it in my mind as ‘Not Imlay;’ analogous to Not Mystery. If one were to be so foolish as to undertake the right-hand Imlay Sneak Route without a map or description, one could end up here. It would be unfortunate, as one would have far too little rope to complete this canyon! ” þ | |
| Englestead Hollow | Steve Allen wrote: “This was originally called Bull Hollow. The name [Englestead] was recommeded by R.T. Evans, a topographical engineer with the USGS, for a local stockman. Rasmus Madsen Englestead (1823–1896) and family were early settlers of Mount Carmel.” ⚕ | ||
| English Dead AKA Dead Englishman | Kip Marshall wrote: “The only name I remember for Englestead was ‘Dead Englishman’ or ‘English–Dead.’ In 1999, Brian Cabe and I received a tip from a local years back (Bill Ellard). The conversation went like this: “You guys should go try English–Dead.’ We were fascinated, why it would be called ‘English–Dead?’ Could this be referring to the ill–fated Mallory expedition on Everest? (quote: “an old English Dead” — Wang Hong–bao [Chinese climber].) What does it have to do with Zion National Park? After looking at a map, we finally figured it out, duh! It turns out we just heard the old timer wrong. Englestead Hollow was the first backcountry canyon in the park that blew my mind! It’s truly one of the grand–canyons of the east–side.” Brian Cabe wrote: “We’d heard about this great canyon. In casual conversation, they were raving about it and calling it ‘English Dead.’ As I recall, was right about the time Conrad was looking for, or, found Mallory’s body on Everest and it was a reference to a Chinese climber from the 1960’s or 1975 or so referring to finding a body and calling it ‘English Dead.’ When we finally figured out it was ‘Englestead’ I got a riotous howl out of it. Way too funny.” Kip Marshall wrote: “[On Dead Englishman vs. English Dead] Brian was the one who flip–flopped the names ... probably related to his playful personality more than anything” þ | ||
| Bridge Canyon AKA Birch Hollow | Kip Marshall | Kip Marshall wrote: “The only other name that we called Birch Hollow was ‘Bridge Canyon.’ This referred to the well-built ATV bridge near the upper portion just after the gypsum narrows.” Descent on November 10, 2001. þ ω | |
| Wild Wind Hollow | Kip Marshall, Brandon Chambers, & Matt Smith | Kip Marshall wrote: “In the early days of descending the many unexplored forks of Orderville, we preferred the one vehicle, no shuttle approach. This was the reason that we even looked at Wild Wind as an exit up Orderville—descending Orderville is certainly the more scenic route. In the case of Birch, we were looking for the first easily available exit upcanyon. While there is an exit before Wild Wind Hollow, it was unknown to us and still remains a poor option. I was also familiar with Wild Wind from the various times I had passed its mouth. There were three of us who descended Birch Hollow from the head. We used natural anchors and having a sasquatch–sized man like Brandon always paid off. After completing Birch, we headed up canyon and quickly found the unnamed Wild Wind Hollow. Group logic tells us that the smelliest should always go last, but Wild Wind Hollow is a special place. That day, the strong wind from Orderville was perfectly funnelled up Wild Wind Hollow; it was a painful hour. The steep loose uphill, wild roses, and bushwacking went perfectly with Brandon’s sasquatch–smelling exhaust. I believe that I named the canyon about halfway up after realizing the horrible mistake I had made in taking the lead.” Ascent on November 10, 2001 after descent of Bridge Canyon. First published on Climb–Utah in 2003. þ | |
| Bicycle Canyon AKA Walker Gulch | Dean Kurtz, Kip Marshall & Matt Smith | Dean Kurtz wrote: “We recently decended a canyon that had an abandoned bicycle at the first drop, probably been there for 5+ years, canyon name: Bicycle Canyon.” Descent on June 2001. þ ω | |
| Walker Gulch | Steve Allen wrote: “Zion National Park Superintendent P.P Patraw in 1934: “Named for Levi Walker, an early settler in this area.” Walker arrived in Iron County before 1860.” ⚕ | ||
| Bulloch Gulch | Steve Allen wrote: “Thomas Bullock was an early settler. The name was applied in 1934. C. Esplin noted that the original name was Lower Herd Canyon: “The original Bullock family used and owned the most of the canyon exclusively and so was soon to be known as ‘Bullock Canyon’ by everyone in the area.”” ⚕ | ||
| Esplin Gulch | Steve Allen wrote: “Zion National Park Superintendent P.P. Patraw in 1934 noted that Henry Webster Esplin (1854–1943) and family were early settlers of Orderville. E. Gregory noted that they arrived in the area in 1872.”
⚕
Decisions of the United States Geographic Board (1932): “Named for a family of early settlers and stockmen in this vicinity.”
Brent Hugh wrote: “"It is true that Henry Webster and Philena Cox Esplin moved to Long Valley in the early 1870s. Henry was a leader in the United Order and long–time bishop of the Orderville Ward—so a prominent community leader. However, when it comes to things named after an ‘Esplin’ it would be more proper to say that Henry’s father John Esplin and his wife, Margaret Webster, came to Long Valley in 1871—along with their thirteen children, including Henry. Many of their 13 children and their descendents homesteaded, lived, and ranched in the North Fork and Orderville Gulch area and elsewhere in southern Utah. So, if you were going to name only one Esplin in relation to anything named Esplin in this area, it would certainly be John Esplin, rather than one of his many sons.”
þ | ||
| Checkerboard Canyon | Kip Marshall | Named for a wall in the canyon which bears a resemblance to a checkerboard. Descent on October 10, 2003. þ | |
| Eastern Sun AKA Eastern Son | Kip Marshall | Kip Marshall wrote: “ I originally named it ‘Eastern Son’ for two reasons: it acts as a perfect funnel for the summer sunlight, and it is not one of the BIG east side canyons like Englestead or Checkerboard but rather one of their ‘Sons.’ Jenny [Hall ( AKA West)] asked about it in an email and was disappointed to see it spelled like ‘Son’ thinking that ‘Eastern Sun’ was such a beautiful name. So that’s what I started using.’ Descent on July 28, 2012. þ | |
| Mighty Mouse | Kip Marshall | Kip Marshall wrote: “Mighty Mouse was named because the floor was carpeted with mouse droppings. It’s also a small canyon. We said: ‘It must have been a mighty mouse.’” Descent on June 10, 2012. þ | |
| Deadeye Dick | Kip Marshall | Kip Marshall wrote: “Deadeye Dick was us giving the North Fork of the Virgin another chance after Mighty Mouse didn’t turn out stellar. He was a character in the old Mighty Mouse cartoon. The name just sorta just rolls of the tongue.” Descent on July 7, 2012. Deadeye Dick — a character who is a western cowboy wolf playing the role of villain in the 1947 cartoon short ‘Mighty Mouse Meets Deadeye Dick’ made by Terrytoons. Mighty Mouse — an animated mouse as a superhero character created by Terrytoons, appearing first under the name Super Mouse in 1942 and changed to Mighty Mouse in 1943. þ | |
| Gated Community Canyon | Brian Cabe | Brian Cabe wrote: “Since Ben Heaton had referred to a canyon to the north of the canyon Jim Turner and I descended as ‘Trespass,’ I thought ‘Gated Community’ fit in with the theme. Especially given the trouble we had with rough roads on the approach (going around the private property). After dropping us off, Dean popped several of his wife’s SUV’s tires when he found the gate on the road leading back to the KT road (not the road we’d dropped in from) was locked and he had to retreat up the rough, steep road we’d descended on the drive in.” þ | |
| Four Fire Canyon AKA Main Fk Kolob Creek | Mike Bogart, Mary Dern, Janice Hansen, & Dennis Turville | Kolob Creek Canyon ¹ | Dennis Turville wrote: “Named for the four fires we made, while bolting, to stay warm.” Descent on September 1978. Link to account. (also known as KOLOB CREEK CANYON, MAIN FORK KOLOB CREEK) ω |
| Pipe Spring Canyon AKA MIA Slot | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “The watercourse is unnamed on the topo map. It is the watercourse that descends from the pipe spring often visited at the top of the MIA trail. First Documented Descent Nov 2009. Also known as the MIA Slot, when visited from below. The name Pipe Spring is on my [CanyoneringUSA] Kolob Map, but not in the [Zion Canyoneering] book. The name MIA Slot is in the book.” MIA Slot is named in reference to its proximity to the ‘MIA exit’ route out of depths of Kolob Canyon after its junction with Boundary Canyon. MIA stands for Mutual Improvement Association referring to a camp held in the area associated with the LDS church. þ | |
| Dry Fork of Kolob Creek | Mark Freed, Scott Bowen, & Dennis Turville | Boundary Canyon ² | Descent on May 1977. Link to account. (also known as BOUNDARY CANYON ) þ |
| Boundary Canyon | Boundary Canyon ² | Named since its technical section starts at the edge of the Zion Nat’l Park boundary. The first documented descent of this canyon was on May 18, 1977 by Dennis Turville, Mark Freed, and Scott Bowen who called it ‘Dry Fork of Kolob Creek.’ Link to account. (also known as DRY FORK KOLOB CREEK) þ | |
| Eye of the Needle | Shane Burrows | South Fk Oak Creek ² | Published under the under the name Eye of the Needle in June 2003. (also known as CHIMNEY ROCK, SOUTH FORK OAK CREEK) ω |
| Chimney Rock AKA Cave Creek | Jonathan Zambella & Kirk Brodie | South Fk Oak Creek ² | Named during the 1997 exploration. Jonathan Zambella wrote: “Later that week we went down the South Fork but called it Chimney Rock. It was renamed Cave Creek the following season under the guise of myself and Hauk Reed.” (also known as EYE OF THE NEEDLE, SOUTH FORK OAK CREEK) þ |
| Battle Creek | Jonathan Zambella & Kirk Brodie | Oak Creek ¹ | Jonathan Zambella wrote: “Main fork of Oak was named Battle Creek in 1997 after I fell and broke my ankle while carrying a 70lb pack on what was known as the first recorded descent, which we completed despite the ankle issue.” (also known as MAIN\NORTH FORK OAK CREEK) þ |
| The Chute | Jonathan Zambella & Kirk Brodie | Named during the 1997 exploration. (also known as MIDDLE FORK OAK CREEK) þ | |
| Little Blue Canyon | Tom Jones | Tom Jones wrote: “Little Blue goes into Wildcat Canyon, but the stream is Blue Creek. I did not want to walk around to the crossing of Wildcat (from the West Rim TH), so “Let’s check out this canyon.” Bolt anchors found, and the rope reached.” þ | |
| The Hammerhead | Brian Cabe & Steve Brezovec | Steve Brezovec wrote: “Kip and I had both had our eye on it independently, and Scott Holley and I just called it Hammerhead because that’s what it looked like on the map, like a hammerhead shark head.” Kip Marshall wrote: “Steve described the canyon as a ‘Hammerhead’ and it stuck.” Tom Jones wrote: “Brian commented that the canyon looked like a hammerhead, so it became ‘ The Hammerhead.’” Brian Cabe wrote: “Hammerhead because, just from looking at the map, that section of the upper canyon at the head of the drainage looked like a hammer, very distinctively like a BD Wall Hammer— short tip to the left (west), hammer head to the right (east) with the handle extending to the fork of the Right Fork that it joined.” Seeing the image of a hammerhead in the contour lines of the 7.5 min topo is an example of pareidolia. Link to topo map image. pareidolia — the tendency for the mind to perceive a specific familiar pattern in a random, ambiguous, or wholly different visual image where it doesn’t actually exist. Steve Brezovec began calling the canyon Hammerhead sometime during 1999–2001 while devising routes into the Right Fork of North Creek. The first recorded descent of the Hammerhead was in October 19, 2002 by Brian Cabe and Tom Jones who named the canyon. The name arose from Brian Cabe sometime during planning/descent of the route (June–Oct. 2002). Link to account of the descent. It is unclear whether the name was mentioned by Brezovec/Marshall to Cabe/Jones prior to Cabe’s usage. þ | |
| Das Boot | Dave Pitney | Link to account | |
| South Guardian Angel Canyon AKA SGA Canyon | Luke Galyan, Tracy Kwan, & Jerry MacKenzie | Named as it descends from South Guardian Angel. þ | |
| Secret Falls Canyon | Scott Patterson | The next canyon complex east of Icebox. Descended and named in 1992. þ | |
| Icebox Canyon AKA Waterfalls Cyn | Scott Patterson wrote: “Icebox was known as Waterfalls, and I don’t know which name came first. Here’s the story: I led the Wasatch Mountain Club trip through the canyon several years ago. In researching the area, we had the National Park Service search by phone all the previous ‘Black Book’ entries. One very old one, said that there was a route to the rim from Lee Pass and it said you could look down into the ‘Eye Slots,’ or at least that’s what I heard. When we did the canyon, it was partially filled with snow and the water was very cold (41 degrees to be exact). After the swim, Janet Curry asked, “Scott are you sure that the ranger said ‘Eye Slots’; it should be Icebox,” or something to that effect. Later, Stu Addler wrote our trip up in the Black Book as Icebox Canyon. Still later, we learned that the name Waterfalls Canyon has already been tagged to the canyon. We tried to find the old entry that was read over the phone to find out if it was Icebox or Eye Slots, but after that it was lost. None of the rangers could find it after that. Strange, I know. So, the question still remains, is the canyon Eye Slots, Icebox, or Waterfalls Canyon?” ω | ||
| Icebreaker Canyon | John Diener, Mike Schasch, Robby Brower, & Hayley Walker | ICEBOX CANYON THEME: John Diener wrote: “The southeastern most fork of Icebox in Zion. The approach is a body-breaker, and it ‘breaks’ into main Icebox in its tech section.’ þ | |
| Yankee Doodle | Eric Kermeier | YANKEE DOODLE THEME: Likely named as it is a tributary of Yankee Doodle Hollow Creek. þ | |
| Hidden Star | Kurt Sparenberg | YANKEE DOODLE THEME: Kurt Sparenberg wrote: “The canyon is in an unexpected area hence ‘hidden.’ Wanted to blend in with the Yankee Doodle theme hence ‘star.’” ω þ | |
| Boltergeist | Steve Brezovec & Dick Shear | Dick Shear wrote: “I discovered ‘Boltergeist’ but only did the top portion solo. I invited Brezovec and others to do the first decent. He led the team and IMHO should get top billing. Remember the movie Poltergeist? I named it Boltergeist because if anyone bolted this canyon the ghosts would certainly get them.” þ | |
| Shear Canyon | Dick Shear | Dick Shear wrote: “The last drop is very steep and ‘Shear,’ thus the name.” þ | |
| Johnson Arch Canyon | Tom Jones wrote: “The name of the arch is Johnson Arch. There are about 100 ‘Arch Canyons’ in Utah, though perhaps only one in St George. So if one calls it ‘Arch Canyon,’ they are just shortening it from ‘Johnson Arch Canyon’ in the normal Utah manner.” þ | ||
| Portal Canyon | Rick Ianniello | Rick Ianniello wrote:“This was named for the opening of the upper slot into a large chamber in the first chamber of the canyon. Also for the abundant number of flat light gray surfaces in the canyon. The second part is a reference to the video game Portal.” þ ℣ | |
| Mayday Canyon | Rick Ianniello | Rick Ianniello wrote:“The canyon is littered with pieces of an A–10 Warthog that crashed there 9/3/2001, hence the name.” þ ℣ | |
| Cherry Canyon | Rick Ianniello | Rick Ianniello wrote:“This was (so far as I know) the first technical slot to be ... let’s say, penetrated in the Virgin River gorge. I realize this name doesn’t confer a solid understanding of female anatomy, but I thought (and still think) it’s kind of funny.” þ ℣ | |
| Golf Canyon | Rick Ianniello | Rick Ianniello wrote:“When we first descended this canyon it had numerous round ledges covered in green grass that resembled golf greens.” þ ℣ | |
| The Back Nine | Rick Ianniello | Rick Ianniello wrote:“If you walk past Golf Canyon, you get to this canyon. Also both Golf and The Back Nine could be done with approximately 9 rappels.” þ ℣ | |
| 55 Canyon | Rick Ianniello | Rick Ianniello wrote:“This canyon drops out with a free hanging rappel in full view of everyone driving down I–15, where the speed limit is fairly obnoxiously low at 55 mph. I think it’s lower right now because of the construction. I don’t know what the speed limit will be, but was 55 when I went down the canyon. So that’s where the name came from.” þ ℣ | |
| Moab Vicinity | |||
| Repeat Jr. AKA Repeater Jr. Canyon | Shane Burrows & Marc Oliveras | Shane Burrows wrote: “We call it Repeat Jr. because this slot is similar to its neighbor Winter Camp Slot in feel and personality, but on a smaller scale.” ω þ The variation ‘Repeater Jr. Canyon appears in Derek Wolfe’s Moab Canyoneering’ ℳ | |
| Fun Size | Kit Davidson | A narrow minislot side canyon on the west side of Repeat Jr. ω | |
| Winter Camp Slot | Shane Burrows & Marc Oliveras | Upper section of Winter Camp Wash. Name appeared on Climb–Utah in January 2013. (also known as WINTER WARMER CANYON) ω | |
| Winter Warmer Canyon | Derek Wolfe | The name is a variation on Winter Camp Slot which appears in Derek Wolfe’s Moab Canyoneering winter warmer — a malty sweet ale brewed with a higher alcohol content specifically for consumption during the winter months. (also known as WINTER CAMP SLOT) ℳ | |
| Undercover Canyon | Matt Moore | The name is a play on Covert Arch which is adjacent to the canyon. (also known as LOST AND FOUND CANYON) ω | |
| Lost and Found Canyon | Ryan Cornia & Cristina Amat | Ryan Cornia wrote: “At the last anchor, in addition to the usual webbing and rappel rings, we found a full car tow strap as part of the anchor. Hence the name, although perhaps we should have called it Left and Found? Or AAA?” (also known as UNDERCOVER CANYON) ω | |
| MMI Canyon | Ryan Cornia | Ryan Cornia wrote: “I visited MMI several times before completing the canyon in the fall of 2009. Having done all 3 trips solo, I decided to call it MMI for Me–Myself–and–I, my partners for the canyon.” ω | |
| Lomatium Canyon | Matt Moore | Named for the Slickrock Desert Parsley (Lomatium latilobum) which is primarily found in and around Lomatium canyon. (also known as SKULL HALL CANYON) ω | |
| Skull Hall Canyon | Ram | Named for the skull shaped arch in its lower end. Named in 1979. (also known as LOMATIUM CANYON) þ | |
| Krill Canyon | Matt Moore | Matt Moore wrote: “This [first] rappel descends through a very tight gap between the canyon walls as it enters a cavernous setting. Most people squirm a little bit at the start of any rappel, but this one requires us to do so as we contort our bodies through the narrow crevice. You’ll feel especially like krill as you filter your way through into a cavern called ‘The Belly of the Whale’, hence the name.” (also known as HANGER HALL CANYON) ω þ | |
| Hanger Hall Canyon | Ram | Named after the blimp shaped alcove in one of its spurs. Named in 1982. (also known as KRILL CANYON) þ | |
| Big Horn | Jason Price, Mark Schnupp, Justin Eatchel, Alex Korkishko, Shane Burrows | Shane Burrows wrote: “Big Horn has this really cool little hanging garden in the middle of a huge sandstone wall. A skilled climber or big horn sheep can actual climb to an overhanging ledge just above the hanging garden. The problem is if you jump into the hanging garden from the ledge you are not getting out unless you use ropes. This became obvious to us when we discover the horns of a Big Horn Sheep who had become trapped in the hanging garden/prison and perished.” ω | |
| Dragonfly Canyon | Matt Moore | The canyon’s name comes from the squadrons of playful, red ‘Flame Skimmer’ dragonflies (Libellula saturata) populating the canyon from spring through fall. ω | |
| Dipper Creek Canyon | Matt Moore | Matt Moore wrote: “Soon enough, the canyon walls close in shrouding us from the rising sun and creating splendid acoustics which echo every little riffle of the flowing water. The sharp ‘chirps’ of the American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), for which the canyon is named, also begin to resound off the walls complementing the tranquility of the water. The bird’s constant ‘dipping’ and diving antics never fail to entertain and amaze. Several of their nests are found along the waterway, clinging within pockets in the convoluted walls—reminiscent of the Anasazi’s cliff dwellings.” (also known as PROFESSOR CREEK / MARY JANE CANYON) ω | |
| Tierdrop Canyon | Matt Moore | Named for the 4 tiers that one drops while descending the canyon. ω | |
| Not Tierdrop Canyon | Ryan Cornia | A play on Tierdrop, which is a neighboring canyon. Ryan Cornia wrote: “Ram, Tom Jones, and I were looking for Tierdrop, but didn’t find it.” þ | |
| U–Turn | Shane Burrows & Devin Weaver | Shane Burrows wrote: “We called it U–Turn because the canyon starts on the south side of the ridge and forms a U–turn around the cliff and exits onto the slickrock heading north. We were not the first to descend this route but I could find no standardized name used by any group who had done it before us.” þ | |
| Odonata Canyon | Matt Moore | Odonata — the order of insects comprising dragonflies and damselflies. Matt Moore wrote: “We first went into that canyon in 2000 and guided it infrequently for a couple years. It has no official name with the USGS. Many locals call it Culvert Canyon. It’s also called Dragonfly Canyon by many locals. We spun off the Dragonfly theme and called it Odonata Canyon. Of course we didn’t call it Dragonfly because we had already used that name for the canyon in Arches many years earlier.” (also known as DRAGONFLY CANYON, CULVERT CANYON, CAMELTOE CANYON) ω | |
| Cameltoe | Shane Burrows & Justin Eatchel | Named for a feature that looks like the toe of a camel. (also known as ODONATA CANYON, DRAGONFLY CANYON, CULVERT CANYON) ω | |
| Medieval Chamber | Fred Wilkinson & Matt Moore | Matt Moore wrote: “In 1994, I moved to Moab and became friends with another freshly transplanted dreamer, mountain bike legend–to–be Fred Wilkinson from Ontario Canada. One of our first hikes together found us following a sandy wash on a hot summer day. Abruptly, the wash dropped out of sight into a most bizarre sandstone abyss. As Fred squinted his sweat-stung eyes trying to see down into the dark depths, he casually remarked that, “It looks like some sort of medieval torture chamber down there.” How irresistible! So we returned early the next day with ropes to have a closer look. The setting at the bottom of the chamber was more amazing than we could have ever imagined! In the years that followed we led visiting friends, locals—anyone, really—into this wild place, somehow luring them with tales of the ‘Medieval Torture Chamber.’ Despite our name, it proved to be a most enjoyable hike. Well, we eventually became responsible citizens; Fred became a founder of the Chile Pepper Bike Shop and I founded Desert Highlights. Of course, now that I had turned pro I realized that some may not be as charmed by our canyon’s name as our friends, so I reluctantly abbreviated the name. Fred understood, but still it was sad for us both.” (also guided as EPHEDRA’S GROTTO) ω | |
| Fins & Things | Is a reference to Fins and Things which is the name for a 4x4 route that runs adjacent to this canyon. ‘Things’ is a reference to rock art panels. fin — a narrow vertical slab of hard sedimentary rock (sandstone) that is left behind when surrounding rock erodes away along parallel joints or fractures. ω | ||
| Icebox Canyon | Locally Known | Ryan Cornia wrote: “The seeps and springs in the canyon make this a cool and refreshing side trip even in the heat of the summer. If you happen to be in Moab during the coldest months of the year, however, Icebox can hold a very special treasure. The seeps and springs can freeze into immense columns of ice. The contrast between the red rock canyon walls and blue ice columns is striking!” ω | |
| Granary Canyon | Matt Moore | Named for a granary found in the canyon. ω | |
| Rock of Ages | Shane Burrows & Mark Smith | Shane Burrows wrote: “We called it Rock of Ages because the route is located in the Behind the Rocks area. We were not the first to do this route but I could find no standardized name used by any group who had done the route before us. Various local groups referred to the route under various names, but their was no consensus.” (also known as POOL ARCH CANYON) (also guided as HYPATIA CANYON) þ | |
| Pool Arch Canyon | Local Name | Locally known name referencing Pool Arch, a fin–type arch located in the canyon. Pool Arch is also known as Teardrop Arch. (also known as ROCK OF AGES (also guided as HYPATIA CANYON) þ | |
| Moonflower Canyon | Local Name | Derek Wolfe wrote: “This is a well known name for the canyon as there is a campground and trail that use that name” þ | |
| Sunseed Canyon | Derek Wolfe & David Alexander | Derek Wolfe wrote: “ This is a play on words/ideas due to its close proximity to Moonflower. Sun:Moon — Seed:Flower.” þ | |
| SGR Slot | Derek Wolfe & David Alexander | SGR is an initialism for shit got real. Derek Wolfe wrote: “When we did the first descent, we were expecting a standard, not very scenic, easy Moab ‘throw–and–go’ canyon. When we reached the high–stemming following by spectacular slot sections (very uncharacteristic of the area), that’s the name we came up with.” þ | |
| Entrajo Canyon | Matt Moore | Matt Moore wrote: “Entrajo is named for the rock layers. The upper canyon section is Entrada and the lower section is Navajo. You pass through a very distinct boundary line between these layers while hiking down the canyon.” (also known as CLUSTER CANYON) (also guided as CHAMISA CANYON) þ | |
| Cluster Canyon | Ryan Cornia & Cristina Amat | Ryan Cornia wrote: “When Cristina and I first did this one afternoon, we were surprised to find a large amount of fixed rope in the canyon. We joked that we would call the canyon cluster for the cluster of potholes, but in reality it was referring to the cluster of rope and anchor material someone had left in there.” (also known as ENTRAJO CANYON) (also guided as CHAMISA CANYON) þ | |
| Pleiades Canyon | Matt Moore | From Greek mythology, the Pleiades were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and sea–nymph Pleione. This appellation compares the seven waterfalls in the canyon to these seven heavenly sisters of mythology. ω | |
| Stooge Pen Canyon | Derek Wolfe, Brian Crim, & Noah McKelvin | Derek Wolfe wrote: “Due to a three–person descent party (3 Stooges), very poor rope management (pulling extremely hard on the biner block side), and plenty of jugging to ‘fix’ the problem.” þ | |
| Whisper Canyon | Derek Wolfe, Gerod Green, & Tony Miles | Derek Wolfe wrote: “It references Dean Potter’s dog, Whisper. I think the canyon was descended within a week of Dean Potters death.” þ | |
| Cedar Mesa, White Canyon & Vicinity | |||
| Midway Canyon AKA Rockfall Canyon | Unnamed tributary of Cataract Canyon between Lean–To Point and Middle Point that appears in Steve Allen’s Canyoneering 2. †² Steve Allen wrote: “Midway Canyon is halfway between Dark Canyon proper and Bowdie Canyon. I’m pretty sure I got the name from Pete Steele and John Scorup. They ran stock in the area for many years. I suspect, though, that they got the name from the really early cowboys to that area. Although river maps show this as Rockfall Canyon, a name put on in the 1950s, the old and proper name is Midway Canyon.” (also known as ROCKFALL CANYON) þ | ||
| The Black Hole of White Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | The Black Hole of White Canyon | First appeared in Kelsey’s 1st Edition Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau in April 1986. He named it the Black Hole because it was one of the darkest canyons he had been in at the time. However, he has since been through much darker and finds the name quite silly now. Desert Highlights guided the canyon under the name Cass Canyon in honor of Cass Hite. Cass Hite first reached the Colorado River by way of White Canyon. (also guided as CASS CANYON) þ ‡¹ |
| Horse Tanks Canyon | Michael R. Kelsey | Horse Tanks Canyon ° | Named so because it is near a place on the map labeled ‘horse tanks.’ Appears in M.R. Kelsey’s Non–Technical Canyon Hiking Guide 5th Ed. ° |
| Little Horse Tanks Cyn | Michael R. Kelsey | Horse Tanks Canyon | Smaller canyon adjacent to Horse Tanks Canyon. Named in M.R. Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide 2nd Ed. ² |
| Urban Cowboy | Ryan Cornia & Tom Talboys | Ryan Cornia wrote: “I think we called it that because it was a bit easier and mellow compared to its neighbor Cowboy, and Urban Cowboy has a nice ring to it.” þ | |
| Duckett Slot | Dave Pimental | Dave Pimental wrote: “Because of the location of the canyon near Ducket Crossing, it was named for Joe and John Duckett. In 1898 Joe and John made a claim in the White Canyon area that they named Dolly Varden and is today named Happy Jack on USGS 7.5 min topographical maps.” þ | |
| The Bluffettes | Dave Black | Dave Black wrote: “I was doing them back in 1999 and 2000 and didn’t have names for them. They were so short and all led to Bluff, so I called them the Bluffettes and gave them numbers. Jared Hillhouse started doing them a couple of years later and gave them individual names.” þ | |
| Dinosaur Nat’l Monument & Vicinity | |||
| Outlaw Canyon & Outlaw Arch Canyon | Scott Patterson | Outlaw Canyon & Scoggins Draw ² | Scott Patterson wrote: “In 2006, I named the Outlaw Canyons in Dinosaur National Monument. Since the canyons were near Outlaw Park I just used those names. The northern one was tagged Outlaw Arch Canyon because of the arch in there. I tagged the name plain old ‘Outlaw Canyon’ on the southern system.” cf. Scoggin Draw for an earlier name of Outlaw Arch Canyon. Link to account þ |
| Scoggin Draw | Scott Patterson wrote: “I found out from a local rafter that some of the river rafters refered to what I called ‘Outlaw Arch Canyon’ as ‘Scoggin Draw’ after the 1941 Scoggin inscription near the mouth of the canyon. It was made by Charles Scoggin, a researcher from the University of Colorado who contributed substantially to the Dinosaur National Monument archeology in the years just prior to World War II. Since the Scoggin Draw name preceeds ours, I changed the name on the webpages I made for the canyon.” (also known as OUTLAW ARCH CANYON) þ | ||
| Carcass Canyon | A.J. Pastula & Scott Patterson | Scott Patterson wrote: “Carcass Canyon was named in 2006 because we found a few carcasses of a porcupine and deer in the canyon. The canyon is west of Mantle Cave in Dinosaur National Monument. I think it was AJ who suggested the name.” þ | |
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Information has been contributed by Steve Allen, Bo Beck, Bill Bees, Kent Beverly, Dave Black, Mike Bogart, Joe Braun, Steve Brezovec, Shane Burrows, Lloyd Bush, Brian Cabe, Ryan Cornia, John Diener, Luke Galyan, Tom & Jennifer Gillette, Sam Goodhue, Rick Green, Harvey Halpern, Steve Howe, Rick Ianniello, Tom Jones, Michael R. Kelsey, Kyle Knight, Kip Marshall, Penny Martens, Malia McIlvenna, Hank Moon, Matt Moore, Bruce Neumann, Scott Patterson, Jason Pease, Dave Pimental, Dave Pitney, Steve (Ram) Ramras, Dan Ransom, Mike Schasch, Dick Shear, Nat Smale, Nick Smith, Kurt Sparenberg, Dennis Turville, Jenny Hall ( AKA West), Derek Wolf, Bill Wolverton, Jonathan Zambella, and others. | |||
| REFERENCES: †¹ Allen, Steve. Canyoneering 1: The San Rafael Swell. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1992. †² Allen, Steve. Canyoneering 2: Technical Loop Hikes in Southern Utah. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1995. †³ Allen, Steve. Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah’s Escalante. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1997. ⚕ Allen, Steve. Utah’s Canyon Country Place Names, Vol. 1 & 2. Durango, CO: Canyon Country Press, 2013. ℣¹ Ianniello, Rick. Las Vegas Slots Las Vegas, NV: Inlo Publishing, 2014. ℤ¹ Jones, Tom. Zion Canyoneering. Mt Carmel, UT: CanyoneeringUSA, 2006. ‡¹ Kelsey, Michael R. Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau. 1st Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 1986. ‡² Kelsey, Michael R. Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau. 4th Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 1998. S Kelsey, Michael R. Hiking and Exploring Utah’s San Rafael Swell. 3rd Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 1999. R Kelsey, Michael R. Hiking and Exploring Utah’s Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost. 3rd Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 2009. ° Kelsey, Michael R. Non–Technical Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau. 5th Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 2006. ¹ Kelsey, Michael R. Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau. 1st Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 2003. ² Kelsey, Michael R. Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau. 2nd Ed. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 2008. £ Lambrechtse, Rudi. Hiking the Escalante. Salt Lake City: Wasatch Publishers, 1985. ℥ Milligan, Tanya & Beck, Bo. Favorite Hikes in & around Zion National Park. Boulder, CO: Sharp End Publishing, 2012. ℳ Wolfe, Derick A. Moab Canyoneering. Boulder, CO: Sharp End Publishing, 2014. ω Collected from website or webforum. þ Personal communication. | |||
| CANYON NAME DATABASE: compiled by Stefan Folias | |||
| DATABASE ARCHIVES: | |||
| August 2016 June 2009 September 2008 June 2008 | |||