North Fork 3A

[Dwayne27]

A great introduction to technical canyoneering, although the exit route may be difficult. Beautiful narrows, good downclimbing, simple rappels, and a lot of fun.

Rating: 3A III
Time Required: ~6-8 Hours
Longest Rappel: ~50 Feet

Permit Information
No special permits required for canyoneering.

Camping/Lodging
The only camping in the area is the White Roost Trailhead. Instead of turning left at the access road for North Fork, continue south. The road will begin to curve and head west, and 2.7 miles past the NF access road there will be a fork with a small dirt road coming in from the left (south). Head down this smaller road for 0.8 miles. This is the White Roost Trailhead with a pull out large enough for several vehicles. Camp here.

Preferred Season
Spring to autumn, when rain isn't threatening. Summer is OK but can be hot.

Water Concerns
Shouldn’t encounter any water

Special Challenges
Route finding back to the car, there are different exit options that can require moderate climbing and partner assists

Equipment Suggestions
Standard Technical Gear (harness, descending device, helmet, multiple locking carabineers, slings, etc), at least 100’ rope, ~ 35 feet of webbing, rap rings/links, ascenders

Topographic Maps
USGS 7.5' Maps ‘Point of Rocks East’

Directions to Trailhead
Just south of mile marker 136 and the turn off to Goblin Valley State Park on UT 24, turn east on the dirt road for the Hans Flat Ranger Station & Rooster Flats. Follow this road ~15 miles to the top of ‘Texas Hill’ where you see a road coming in on the right (south). Turn right here, after about .75 miles you will have to open a gate and shut it behind you, and continue for about 4.5 more miles until you see a small dirt road coming in on the left (east). If your vehicle can continue, drive down this road for 0.8 miles and park on the side of the road.

Trailhead UTM Grid Coordinate
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Approach
From your parked car, continue down the 4x4 trail for over a mile. You will scramble down a dirt hill and encounter the wash, turn right and head down canyon as you see the rock start to come out of the sand and you will soon find the first rappel.

Canyon Entry UTM Grid Coordinate
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Description: Standard Route
From your first rappel, continue down canyon. You will have some good down climbing and some very scenic rappels, none over 50 feet. The canyon is fairly simple for technical canyons. After the final rappel, you will have a few more narrow and beautiful hallways, and then the canyon widens. You will see another large drainage entering on your left hand side. Continue down canyon to begin your exit.

Variations
There are two different exit routes, one is more difficult and will require multiple sections of partner assisted climbing. After you see the large drainage coming in on your left, keep an eye out on the north wall of the canyon for your exit opportunities. The first slot coming in on the right hand side is a difficult exit requiring stemming and partner assisted climbing. Head up the slot and defeat obstacle after obstacle until you reach the rim of the canyon.

Exit
If you continue about .25 miles past the difficult slot exit, you should see another narrow exit option on the right. It may not look as good, but should be an easier way out. You will still have some climbing and may need a partner assist here and there. After reaching the canyon rim using either exit method, head north looking for an old 4x4 track. Follow this track north. Eventually it seems to come to an end, but continue in the same direction and shortly after you will see your car. From the canyon to your car will be over 1.5 miles across the desert.

Canyon Exit UTM Grid Coordinate
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[rcwild]

Reserved for accident reports from this canyon

[Dwayne27]

Descended this canyon 7/12/08. Everything was completely dry and HOT.

There are 4 mandatory rappels. Most anchors were in good condition and had the easiest rope pulls I've encountered. The first one had a nice loop of webbing wrapped around a good rock. There was some extra webbing tied to the loop that wasnt in the best condition and didnt seem to do anything other than complicate things, so we removed that little bit.

There was another ~8 foot drop that there was a very loose screw sticking out of the rock for an anchor. Definitely was poor quality and needless. We set up a meat anchor with my wife and her brother and i rappelled down, then assisted them with downclimbing the short drop.

The next rappel had two cairn anchors equalized well. All the webbing looked good and the anchor looked good as well. My wife backed it up as i went over because i am larger than the average canyoneer. Then her and her brother went over with no problems.
Next anchor was two bolts. One very old and rusted, and one seemed new and solid- no problems there.

After some good downclimbing and fun narrows, we came to the last rappel. It is in a very beautiful section. The anchor was 3 equalized bolts. 2 were loose and one was solid. I didnt see anything at all for a natural anchor, but since there was a good solid bolt i didnt really look either.

After that drop it was just a stroll through some good narrows.

The exit is a different story. There seems to be at least 2 exit options, and 1 harder than the other. We only found one option and it seems that was the harder one. After some very narrow stemming and climbing up- things got wider, but more difficult. At least 5 or more times i had to let my wife and her brother climb up me and then push them up to where they could set up an anchor with our packs, as well as themselves, drop a rope to me, and i ascended... After a couple hours of that- we reached the rim, and after having dropped and broken one water bottle, we were out of water as we trecked across the desert. I knew we were headed in the right direction, but none-the-less, i was very happy and relieved to see our truck, and the hot water waiting in the bed of the truck was the best i ever tasted.