Canyoneering Route Description
Blarney Canyon - Left (west) Fork - 3B I
North Wash, Utah.
Pictures 05-22-10
Quick Facts
05-22-10, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2.5 hours)
Distance - 2.3 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 40 feet.
See the
Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page
for an explanation of how the technical mileage or the gear used
list is determined.
Gear Used for Canyon
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 40 feet, and 20 feet of 1†webbing for sling placement.
General Comments
Blarney Canyon is a quick, fun run 2 rappels and a few down climbs
with some fun narrows to play in. There is nothing overly tight or
challenging. The canyon is quite pretty inside and worth a run
through.
Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking
To get to the Trailhead
From the junction of Utah highways 276 and 95, drive South on
highway 95 about 1.5 miles to a turn off to a short dirt road (extBlarney).
The road drives straight back from the highway about 300 feet
then turns left to drop down into the wash. Park after the 300
feet of straight road before it turns (pkBlarney). Optionally
you can park out on the road and walk the 300 feet in.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle required. This is done as a loop route.
Maps
Map showing entire route.
Click for High-Res version.
Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.
GPS Waypoint Information
Approach Waypoints
extBlarney
Exit for the dirt road into the bottom of Blarney Canyon.
N38 01.226 W110 32.696
pkBlarney
Park here on the dirt road a short distance from the highway to
start and finish Blarney Canyon.
N38 01.272 W110 32.687, Elevation 4503 ft.
wBlarneyRP-01
Base of a sand stone slope leading up to the ridge between two
drainages.
N38 01.316 W110 32.723
wBlarneyRP-02
Smooth sand stone high point on the ridge.
N38 01.438 W110 32.659
wBlarneyRP-03
Another high point along the ridge that looks more like a rock
out cropping.
N38 01.491 W110 32.664
wBlarneyRP-04
At the base of a huge rock face. Travel around the left (west)
side of the rock face following a well worn trail.
N38 01.525 W110 32.664
wBlarneyRP-05
Scramble up a section of slick rock to find where the trail
continues.
N38 01.598 W110 32.647
wBlarneyRP-06
Another slick rock slope to scramble up to find where the trail
continues again.
N38 01.647 W110 32.639
jBlarnyShilela
Junction where the trail forks for either the West Fork of
Blarney to the right (north east) or the East Fork of Shillelagh
to the left (north west).
N38 01.851 W110 32.561, Elevation 4838 ft.
wBlarneyRP-07
Another trail junction. Left is a fain path not well travelled.
To the right (east) is a still well used path following the rim
of the West Fork of Blarney.
N38 01.983 W110 32.400
yBlarneyLtFkTp
Top entry for the left(west) fork of Blarney Canyon. This is a
side entry near the actual head of the canyon. The trail crosses
the wash here.
N38 02.046 W110 32.321, Elevation 4857 ft.
If down climbing into the head to bypass rap 1
wBlarneyRP-11
Alternate entry down into the Left Fork of Blarney Canyon. The
drop at the head of this drainage can be down climbed starting
down the a slope LDC then working back into the drainage as you
down climb. Contue down the drainage to drop to the canyon
floor.
N38 02.030 W110 32.281
Canyon / Technical Section Waypoints
yBlarneyLtFkTp
Top entry for the left(west) fork of Blarney Canyon. This is a
side entry near the actual head of the canyon. The trail crosses
the wash here.
N38 02.046 W110 32.321, Elevation 4857 ft.
dBlarneyLtFkR1
Rap 1 - Blarney Left Fork. Anchored from a large boulder about
20 feet back and drops about 40 feet from the lip.
N38 02.023 W110 32.326
wBlarneyRP-08
Top of a deep narrow slot. Down climb about 25 feet down into
the slot. The down climb is a chimney and is not too difficult.
N38 02.009 W110 32.319
dBlarneyLtFkR2
Rap 2 - Blarney Left Fork. Anchored from a choke stone and drops
about 35 feet.
N38 01.947 W110 32.372
jBlarneyLtRt
Junction where the left and right forks of Blarney join.
N38 01.701 W110 32.445
wBlarneyRP-09
A short side drainages joins in from RDC.
N38 01.690 W110 32.499
wBlarneyRP-10
Side drainage that joins in from LDC.
N38 01.578 W110 32.523
yBlarneyBt
Bottom exit of Blarney Canyon. This is just after a short tight
narrows of about 100 feet long.
N38 01.504 W110 32.571
Exit Route Waypoints
yBlarneyBt
Bottom exit of Blarney Canyon. This is just after a short tight
narrows of about 100 feet long.
N38 01.504 W110 32.571
pkBlarney
Park here on the dirt road a short distance from the highway to
start and finish Blarney Canyon.
N38 01.272 W110 32.687
Details
The Approach:
From where you parked on the dirt road (pkBlarney) you will see the
dirt road continue on into the wash that leads up into Blarney.
Walk north west across the road and follow a faint path up out of
the wash the road was going up. You will find yourself on a high
spot between the wash the road was following and another drainage on
the right (south west).
Continue north west between these two drainages. About 350 feet
from the car will be the base of a slick rock slope
(wBlarneyRP-01). Scramble north up the sandstone slope to gain
access to the ridge running between the two drainages. After about
375 feet the slope levels off a little but still continues
climbing.
After another 450 feet is a smooth sandstone high point along the
ridge (wBlarneyRP-02). From this smooth high point is a view of a
huge rock face ahead about 500 feet away.
Then another 300 feet is another high point that has more of a rock
out cropping look (wBlarneyRP-03). Skirt around the left (west)
side of the high point and continue toward the huge rock face.
After another 200 feet you will be at the base of the huge rock face
(wBlarneyRP-04). Follow a well worn trail around the left (west)
side of the rock face.
Another 550 feet will be a scramble up a section of slick rock
(wBlarneyRP-05). At the top of the slick rock the trail continues
north and is still easy to follow. The trail here is following the
rim of the canyon on your right which is a side drainage of Blarney.
About another 350 feet will be another slick rock slope
(wBlarneyRP-06) to scramble up about 50 or 60 feet high. A cairn
may be at the top to help guide you. At the top the trail continues
still roughly following the rim on the right (east) side.
From the junction continue right toward the Left Fork of Blarney.
About 0.3 miles along the still easy to follow trail is another
trail junction (wBlarneyRP-07). The left is faint and not well
traveled. Instead continue right (east) on the still well worn
trail following the rim of the Left Fork of Blarney. You will have
good views down into Blarney shortly before reaching this trail
junction.
About 650 feet after the trail junction the trail crosses over a
drainage (yBlarneyLtFkTp). This is the drainage you will drop into
to start down the Left Fork of Blarney.
The Canyon / Technical Section:ical Section:
Rap 1 for the Left Fork of Blarney (dBlarneyLtFkR1)
is anchored from a large boulder about 20 feet back and drops about
40 feet from the lip of the drop. Rap starts down a fluted trough
for about half the rap then down a rough wall with a short spot of
free hang. At the bottom of Rap 1 you are on the main canyon floor
in a wide open area.
Note:
Rap 1 can be bypassed. If you are a good down climber the enter
Left Fork of Blarney can be down climbed. To bypass rap 1, walk
about 250 feet east to the head of another drainage dropping down to
the canyon floor (wBlarneyRP-11). To down climb the drainage,
follow a gentle slope down the LDC side then work back up into the
drainage. Continue down the drainage to the bottom where you will
need to jump down about 3 feet to the canyon floor.
About 100 feet down canyon of rap 1 is the start of a narrow slot
(wBlarneyRP-08) with a down climb to get down into the slot. At the
top of the down climb is a large boulder choke stone wedged between
the walls. Down climb under the choke stone through the hole then
chimney down about 20 or 25 feet. It is possible to climb over the
choke stone but the start down into the chimney is exposed and has a
sketchy start.
After the down climb into the slot the canyon stays only a few feet
wide most of the way with a couple down climbs along the way. The
first down climb is about 10 feet and is an easy straight forward
chimney. The second down climb is about 15 feet and can be a bit
awkward starting over a rough boulder choke stone. Stemming down
LDC next to the choke stone is simple then followed by a reach under
the choke stone with your legs for the opposite wall. notehr
option on this second down climb is to stem between the canyon walls
and go up and over the choke stone then stem down to the floor.
Shortly after is a drop of about 4 feet just before reaching the top
of rap 2.
Rap 2 (dBlarneyLtFkR2) is about 500 feet down canyon of the start of
the narrow slot after rap 1. Rap 2 is anchored from a choke stone
and drops about 35 feet. Rap 2 drops down into a slightly tighter
section with a flat soft sandy bottom. The section just below rap 2
is tighter now and the walls twist a little on the way up so there
is little light getting into this spot. ot.
Down canyon of rap 2 are a few more down climbs. The first and
second down climbs are 10 to 12 feet each and are easy. The third
is an elevator of about 20 feet. We found webbing here on the first
trip through showing some people call this down climb a rap. This
is a short fun elevator, so rapping it robs you of some fun.
Shortly after the 20 foot elevator the canyon widens slightly but is
still a narrow walk between the walls.
The junction with the Right Fork of Blarney (jBlarneyLtRt) is about
0.3 miles down canyon of rap 2.
Down canyon of the junction the canyon stays wide and is easy
walking along sand and slick rock.
About 275 feet down canyon of the junction is a side drainage that
joins in from RDC (wBlarneyRP-09).
Another 0.2 miles down canyon another drainage joins in this time
from LDC (wBlarneyRP-10).
Another 500 feet down canyon is the start of another narrows that is
only about 100 feet long. At the lower end of the narrows is what I
have marked as the bottom exit for the Blarney Canyons (yBlarneyBt)
since the rest of the route is wide open easy walking in sand.
The Exit:
After exiting the 100 foot long narrows (yBlarneyBt) continue down
canyon about 0.3 miles back to your car.
GPS Waypoint Information
In the future I may start to have GPX
files for down load but not quite yet.
Most
GPS units and mapping software use the common gpx file format
including Google Earth.
National Geographic TOPO! hides the feature
to import GPX files. To find the feature........
1. Click on "Handhelds" in the menu at the top.
2. Select the option for "Import (from GPS or .txt)
Wizard..
3. Select "In a .gpx file....... and click
on Next
4. Use the window that opens to navigate to the GPX file
you wish to open.
Garmin MapSource will open a GPX file in
the same way it opens other formats by simply using the File
then Open.
If you wish to convert between formats to
get your data from one software title to another you can use the
free GPSBabel software.
Elevations are approximate. Waypoints with no elevation
data will display NaN in place of the elevation.
Elevations are in meters so multiplying by 3.28083 is necessary
to get elevations in feet.
The first letter of a waypoint denotes the type of point.
Rappels start with d. Technical top and bottom of canyons
start with y. the letter w denotes a generic point.
Scenic spots start with s. Trailheads start with t.
Junctions of trails or canyons start with j.
Notes for GPS information:
Waypoint coordinates are listed with
WGS84 datum and in Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° format.
Waypoints are listed alphabetically by waypoint name
(not in order on the route).
BEFORE entering coordinates from this website, please ensure
your system (GPS or mapping software) is set to the same datum
used here (WGS84). Entering coordinate information with
inconsistent datum's can result in the waypoints being off by
hundreds of feet. It is important to keep this in mind
when entering waypoints from any source.
tStrike2Cyn |
- Place to start up the wash toward Strike 2 Canyon. Be sure to check out the incredible arches on the hills to the west. Walk up under them to see double arches and incredible views.
- N37.87477252073586 W-111.04432057589293
Elevation 1,776.98
Meters - (for feet multiply by 3.28083)
|
yStrike2Tp |
- Top entry for Strike 2 Canyon on a saddle. Rap 1 starts from here and is anchored from a rock about 15 feet back embedded in dirt at the base of the saddle. Rap 1 drops about 200 feet to the top of a down climbable slope IF the webbing is extended a minimum of 30 feet down from the anchor. A longer extension is recommended, see route description.
- N37.876566667109728 W-111.04138330556452
Elevation 1,812.34
Meters - (for feet multiply by 3.28083)
|
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