We descended the East Fork of Leprechaun with a party of five on St. Patricks day 2006. One member of our party had extensive mountaineering and climbing experience. The other four had zero to moderate climbing experience. We were all ready for an adventure and in good physical condition. This would be our first true canyoneering trip, and I don’t think we had any idea how addictive it would prove to be.
That morning, we woke to gray skies and a 40% chance of rain. This was our only day to descend the canyon before having to return to work. We had spent the first half of the week floating the upper San Juan and now we were almost out of time in S Utah (one of my favorite places on earth). We had studied the East Fork and read guidebooks and websites for weeks before the trip and we really wanted to do the East Fork. We talked to a climber whose party consisted of some experienced canyoneers who weren’t concerned by the weather and were going forward with their planned Middle Fork and East Fork descents that day. That made us feel a lot better.
We started hiking around 11 AM. A couple members of our party used a piece of webbing to assist them on the very first scramble right near the North Wash camping area. This scramble was the most challenging part of the approach hike. As we hiked and looked down on the East Fork of Leprechaun we all commented on how plain the canyon looked from above. The hike took us almost 2 hours because we were going slowly to make sure we took the best route up the slickrock.
We arrived at the start of the East Fork, verified our GPS waypoints, and looked up at the clouds. The sky was still gray and cloudy as we stood looking down R1. Since North Wash has a fairly small drainage area and other experienced canyoneers weren’t concerned about the weather, we decided to do it. For about 30 minutes, we evaluated the anchor for R1. There was no webbing left behind, but it didn’t seem like we could pull the rope without using webbing. The possibility of downclimbing it wasn’t very appealing, so we hooked up webbing and a rope.
When the first person went down, he yelled enthusiastically about how awesome it was down there, and we all started getting really excited to go into the canyon. For some of us, this was the first time we had ever rappelled. R1 went smoothly for everyone. We moved further into the canyon. Emotions ran high as we scraped through the narrows. We gazed around in wonder and euphoria. We looked warily up at the gray sky. The adrenaline flowed as we downclimbed, stemmed and chimneyed as quickly as we could. We took turns going first down the technical stuff, and we discovered how different it feels to go first rather than follow someone else. We loved the feeling of being totally self sufficient and not knowing what was around the next corner. We rushed to descend the canyon before the weather turned on us. We would have loved to linger and enjoy the canyon but it just felt safer to keep on moving.
We soon arrived at R2. It was another easy one. There was webbing and a rappel ring already in place. Somewhere between R2 and R3 we encountered a completely dry pot hole which we easily climbed into and then out of. We were glad it wasn’t full of water; it might have been a full swim. R3 was more challenging than R1 or R2, but still no biggie. There was webbing and a rappel ring in place. R3 has a wee bit of an overhang, but no one had any trouble.
Right after R3 there’s a downclimb which is a little exciting because you can’t see the bottom of it when you start climbing and you’re very confined while downclimbing. Everyone completed it without any trouble but we agreed the last few minutes (R3 and the last downclimb) were the most challenging sections of the East Fork. Shortly after the last downclimb, the East Fork intersects dramatically with the Middle Fork. To the left of the intersection the canyon opens up to a wash with easy hiking back to the road and then a short road stroll back to North Wash camp. I think we were actually in the canyon only a little over 2 hours.
An hour after we finished, emotions and adrenaline were still gushing through us, making it somewhat difficult to drive or even think clearly. We stumbled around the convenience store in Hanksville, unable to decide on breakfast supplies for the next day. The guy behind the counter watched us curiously as we wandered back and forth in the store. That day we came to understand the euphoria that makes canyoneering so addictive. Maybe we will have to quit our jobs to allow for more canyoneering time.
“Do you know about this canyon?” A man approached us at a parking area for Leprechaun canyon, on Saint Patrick’s Day, holding a printout from Tom’s website. His son scrambled around on nearby slickrock that looked like more fun than any man–made playground. The man, Brent, was referring to the Middle Fork of Leprechaun canyon.
We spoke with Brent further, and found out he and his son, Cully, loved rock climbing but had never been canyoneering before. They were on a trip for Cully’s 11th birthday. They planned to do the Middle Fork of Leprechaun that day, but we asked them to join us in Shamrock instead. We were happy to meet new canyoneers, and we felt better having a couple more people along. The meeting worked wonderfully for all of us.
They agreed, saying they still had time the next day to do the Middle Fork. We felt really excited about inviting them, since the previous day Penny and Dave had shown us a wonderful time in Not Mindbender in the Robber’s Roost area. Dave, in a very kind gesture, had even let us borrow a rope to do Shamrock since he couldn’t do it with us. He had just met us that day! He told us we could just mail the rope back to him. Such kindness must be passed on. (Dave—your rope is somewhere on its way home, with a surprise!)
The approach hike was pretty easy. We stayed to the left of the highest slickrock point, and then followed the ridge. This was a pretty easy route, other routes would have been more difficult. Erik and Brent demonstrated some good navigational skills, and found the canyon. Erik, with a GPS, verified it was indeed Shamrock before we took a snack break and prepared for the first rappel. The approach had taken about 1.5 hours, and we had moved at a pretty leisurely pace.
During the snack break, an interesting conversation ensued about helmets. Brent and Cully hadn’t brought helmets. A friend told them to do the Middle Fork of Leprechaun as their first canyon, and also told them helmets were not necessary. I had to disagree. I have hit my head too many times crawling under rocks caving and canyoneering! A difference of opinions, but it sounded like they were planning to bring theirs on future trips.
R1 was an easy 30–foot rappel in a slot. Maybe it can be downclimbed if you’re really good, but we decided we’re not that good. The webbing extended beyond the lip to ease pulling the ropes and made it a bit more interesting to get on rappel. We rigged up.
Culley was fearless! He headed for that first rappel before dad could even check the gear. Dad held him back, checking everything, then down he went. He certainly had a lot of energy and was rarin’ to go. He went down quick, and got really excited about what he saw at the bottom—narrows, high rock walls, rocks to scramble over—an 11 year old boy’s dream playground!
Erik was the last to come down R1, and he shot a photo at the bottom. Later we realized it was a time for really great photographic light in a really beautiful slot, but all we had was a photo of the slot, no people in it! We vowed to come back again and get pics of people rappelling there. It was about 2 PM. We get excited over good photos. We just can’t help it.
About 100 feet downcanyon, we come to rappel 2. Of course, this was AFTER we had decided to remove our harnesses so they didn’t get scraped up. This rappel was about 15 feet, and it’s another possible downclimb if you’re really good. We, again, decided we were not that good.
Some very nice downclimbing comes after that. One downclimb in a slot looks a little interesting from the top, especially if you haven’t been canyoneering before. Brent and Cully ended up doing this one first, and they stemmed out along a little nub to the side of the slot. Good rock climbers, they made it down, and it looked pretty difficult. Brent stood at the bottom, spotting me as I prepared to make my way down. I had no reservations about my technique for this downclimb. I wedged myself tightly in the slot and scooched down, chatting with Brent along the way. Erik did the same, and doing it that way it was an easy downclimb. Technique, technique—it allows novice climbers (like myself) to descend intermediate canyons and feel pretty safe doing it. Brent taught me something, too—a prussik to use while rappelling when Erik and I do canyons alone and there is no one to belay from the bottom. You can learn something new from everyone you meet.
Rappels 3 and 4 were both pretty simple, about 15 feet, once again downclimbable if you’re good. After that, the Main Fork intersects. Then it starts to get tight. After a little while, we arrived at the coolest downclimb I have ever seen (I haven’t seen that many)—a mostly dark descent into ‘Belfast Boulevard’ where you can’t see the bottom very well. Sweet! Down we all slid, without headlamps. More exciting that way. Cully and Brent were just loving this! They had never done anything like this and they just couldn’t stop smiling. They loved every minute.
We slithered like snakes under a chock stone in the dark, it was tight, then moved through slanted, very tight narrows, the tightest part of the canyon. It was cool and semi–dark in those narrows—wonderful! We imagined the first descent of this canyon and how those people must have wondered if the narrows would ever open back up. Of course, they do, and we popped up in a small open area with tons of light. Sitting there on a large boulder were a couple hikers from down below. We’re glad we hadn’t met them in the narrows coming up, because someone would have had to turn back!
We continue out of the open area, into more semi–dark narrows. They last for a while then open up a bit at the confluence with the east fork of Leprauchaun. After that, more narrows. We never get tired of them, we love the narrows! The walls then open up dramatically into a very beautiful wide canyon. The high walls are streaked with color, the heat and sunshine making us strip off some of our clothes. It’s amazing how much hotter it is here than the dark, cool narrows. We walked about 10 more minutes, and then we were back in the wash where we started the approach. From here, another 15 minutes of walking brings you back to the parking area.
Belfast Boulevard is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced! It was my favorite part of the canyon. Scraping and slithering through it reminded me of caving. Also, the joy, delight and smiles from new canyoneers brings back memories of my first canyon and all the fun I had that day. Inviting new people is really delightful! Give it a try!
Lisa
© 2006 Lisa Jennings