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Canyoneering Route Description

Das Boot - 3B III or IV (depending on exit route)
Zion National Park, Utah

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Pictures 08-15-09

Quick Facts

08-15-09, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 8 hours - exiting up the standard Subway approach.)
06-13-10, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 10.75 hours - exiting down Subway)

Distance - 7.3 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical - exiting up the standard Subway approach
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 25 feet. (bring about 70 feet of rope).

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the technical mileage is determined.

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, 200 foot rope, 30 feet of 1” webbing for sling placement, and wet suits (3 mills full at a bare minimum in the heat of summer with low water conditions).

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the gear used list is determined.

General Comments

Not too technically challenging but oh so scenic and fun.  In low water conditions the canyon is scenic and fun with only a couple swims but is a ton of fun when full. Do not underestimate the cold of this canyon.  It is short and sweet but it is cold.  In the heat of summer and low water conditions a 3 mill full wet suit is the bare minimum.

Entry to Das Boot follows a large portion of the standard Subway approach then branches off to enter the Left Fork about 0.6 miles up canyon of Russell Gulch.  Das Boot follows down the Left Fork to Russell Gulch.  To exit you can climb out at Russell Gulch and go “up” the standard Subway Approach or you can continue down the Subway.

The following route description is for low water conditions.  When water levels are higher there will be A LOT more swimming and wading rather than walking.  This canyon has a lot of water holding capacity and changes the game when full.  If wading through when it is full be careful of a few surprise rocks in the way.

Warning:  Route finding to the start of Das Boot can be a bit tricky.  This route will get you down into Das Boot with no rappels to get down in the canyon.  A lot of people do not find the same way in and end up rappelling down in at various points.  So if you are one of the unlucky few that miss the easy way down you may find one of many slings on trees up and down the side of Das Boot.  The longest rappel  in Das Boot is only 25 feet.  But if you decide to use one of the trees slung to get into the canyon these raps may be longer.  Keep this in mind when considering the amount of rope you brought along.

Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking

To get to the Trailhead

From the South Gate of Zion National Park, drive about 14 miles west on highway 9 to the turn off for Kolob Reservoir (Kolob Reservoir Road).  Drive about 15.6 miles to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead.  Park your car and start your route.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

If traveling back “up” the standard Subway Approach there is no need to leave an exit vehicle.  You will return to the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead.

If continuing “down” the Subway route you will exit at the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.  From the South Gate of Zion National Park, drive about 14 miles west on highway 9 to the turn off for Kolob Reservoir (Kolob Reservoir Road).  Drive about 8.2 miles to the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.  Park the exit vehicle here then continue up to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead to begin the route.  Leave a vehicle here as the escape pod.

Maps

Map showing entire route.

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Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.

Map showing mostly the technical section.

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Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.

GPS Waypoint Information

Waypoint coordinates are given with the WGS84 datum and in Lat/Lon hddd° mm.mmm' format unless otherwise noted.

Details

The Approach:
From the Wildcat Canyon trailhead (tWildCatCyn) follow the trail about 1 mile to the Northgate peaks trail junction (you will pass the HFrom the Wildcat Canyon trailhead (tWildCatCyn) follow the trail about 1 mile to the Northgate peaks trail junction (you will pass the Hop Valley connector trail junction shortly before the Northgate junction).  Turn right (south) at the junction (jNorthGatePks) and follow the Northgate Peaks trail.   

400 or 500 feet after turning onto the Northgate Peaks trail will be a signed junction for the Subway route (jSubwayRte).  Turn left (southeast) and follow the trail leading to a wide open slope of white slick rock.    line below.  Continue southeast at an angle down the slick rock slope.  There should be a few cairns along the way to mark the route to a trail that starts east through the trees (wSubWayRP-01).  This trail into the trees is about 0.2 miles from the Subway junction on a bearing of 142°.  

From here follow the trail through alternating sections of trail and slick rock.  Route points wSubWayRP-02 through wSubWayRP-05 are points where the trail starts back up after a slick rock section.  From where the trail started into the trees it follows a generally southeast direction as it winds through the landscape.  There are multiple use trails cut into this area so you may find a slightly different route upon subsequent visits.  

About 1 mile from the Subway junction the trails and cairns should lead you to a long steep drop (wSubWayRP-06) to the shelf below.  

After dropping down to the shelf below, continue southeast about 600 feet to where the trail crosses a large wash (yRussellGlchTp).  The wash is Russell Gulch.   

Continue across Russell Gulch and follow a sandy trail up to another slick rock section.  Looking straight ahead (southeast) you will see a small peak sandstone peak on the other side of the sand stone.  The peak will have a large slot running down it with lots of trees growing in it.  Follow along the slick rock toward this peak with a forested slot running down it.  The slick rock through here has a lot of cross bedding running along it.  Some of this cross bedding forms natural sidewalk like sections to walk on.  As you get closer to the peak you will be able to see a saddle to the left (east) of it with a beehive at the top.  

Walk up the slope to get to the beehive (sSeagullSlopTp).  The beehive marks the top of what I call Seagull Slope.  Looking down (southeast) Seagull Slope the cross bedding in the slick rock looks like currents in the ocean.  Going down Sea Gull Slope (when doing the standard Subway approach) it feels like you are a sea gull flying over ocean currents.  That is why I named it Sea Gull Slope.  

From the beehive at the top of Seagull Slope, turn northeast and look across the pink slick rock.  Along the ridge ahead of you (about 400 feet away) you should notice a boulder on the far left of the ridge.  To the right of this boulder is protrusion sticking up resembling a beehive.  To the right of the beehive is the peak of the ridge.  Travel across the slick rock to find a faint path between the peak and the beehive (wDasBootRP-1).  

This faint path between the beehive and the peak of the ridge goes starts out heading northeast then up another section of slick rock then across a shallow bowl with very defined lines along it.  After this bowl as the slick rock begins to top out, the route starts curving east then southeast.  Look for a well defined white sandy trail starting through a section of trees (wDasBootRP-2).  The start of this trail is about 1000 feet from the ridge with the beehive like rock on it.  

Follow the trail as it heads southeast about 600 feet to where it fades out and drops you onto another section of slick rock.  Continue southeast down the slick rock and look for two large rock features mostly covered with a black glaze sitting out near the end of the ridge ahead of you.  Drop down off the ridge and go around the left (east) side of the black covered rock features.  

As you get to the east side of the rock features (wDasBootRP-3) you will find a wide slope that begins to look more like a set of two drainages.  Travel down the left (east) drainage.   

As you descend southeast down the left (east) drainage, stay mostly to the right (south).  As you get closer to the bottom you will be able to see a trail in the sandy bottom of the drainage.  To get to this trail you will need to get almost to the floor of the drainage where you will find a steep drop.  Then turn west and work back up the drainage to find a gentler angle to drop in (wDasBootRP-4).  

After dropping to the drainage follow it about 0.3 miles.  When you are about 150 feet from where the wash you are in meets the Left Fork of North Creek look for a use trail leaving up out of the wash on the right (north east). 

The use trail is faint so if you miss it, you will go about 125 feet and find a drop off down into the Left Fork of North Creek (there will likely be a tree slung at the drop).  If this happens just go back up the wash about 125 feet to find the faint use trail. 

A few feet into the use trail (wDasBootRP-5) you will be able see a large flat sandy ledge along the rim of the canyon.  Do not travel over to this ledge it is only a visual land mark.  Instead traverse up canyon about 50 feet to a ledge that cliffs out and prevents further up-canyon travel.

From the ledge that cliffs out, turn left (north) and climb along the ledge for about 230 feet to the top of a ravine (wDasBootRP-6).  Cross over the ravine then follow down the other side of the ravine about 260 feet down to the Left Fork of North Creek where the Das Boot Route starts (yDasBootTp).  The route down is class 3 at most most. You should find a wide sandstone slick rock bank along to change into wet suites and get a snack before walking down into Das Boot.

The Canyon / Technical Section:
From the top of Das Boot (yDasBootTp) remember to look up canyon for more great scenery before walking into the water and starting down canyon. 

A short distance down canyon it widens a little where a large chute drops to the canyon floor LDC.  Then quickly gets narrow again.  With the canyon again narrow you are treated with more narrow winding twisty walls.  There are sections of green moss on the sides of the walls in places adding just enough color to add accents to already beautiful walls.  There are a few pools to wade through but nothing much over waist high if water levels are low.  If water levels are high some of these pools will definitely be swimmers.

Rap 1 is about 0.25 mile down canyon of the drop in.  Rap 1 is anchored from logs and drops about 15 feet down a log jam.   Rap 2 (dDasBootR1-2) is about 50 feet down canyon from rap 1 and is also anchored from logs and drops down a log jam. 

Rap 2 is easily down climbed by taller people so this could arguably be called a down climb.  The total drop is only 8 feet.  

Just below rap 2 is a window about thigh high RDC.  The window is just large enough to allow one to squeeze through with a pack on.  Take time to look at how thin the wall is that this window is cut through.  

About 200 feet down canyon of rap 3 is another drop of about 7 feet with an overhang.  A hand line is very helpful here unless you like jumping down drops this high.  In low water conditions the pool at the bottom is only calf deep but will be significantly deeper with high water conditions.  

After the 7 foot down climb there are a few easy down climbs mixed in with several narrows with water to walk, wade or swim through depending on water levels.  

About 250 feet after the 7 foot down climb is a very large pool.  After climbing down a few choke stones to get to it step in and start swimming around a corner to the right to see the rest of the pool and down canyon.  This pool is a swimmer even when water levels are pretty low.  

About 200 feet after the swim through the pool, keep your eye out on the right side of the canyon for a large side crack.  This crack is dark and you cannot see the back of it.  If you have a head light, turn it on and step into the crack for a look around.  It goes back a lot further than you might think and turns a sharp left then right just before ending.  

After the side crack there are a few more easy down climbs (one of them drops under a large choke stone overhead) and some shallow of water in slotted sections.  The water is shallow during low water conditions but can turn to swimmers when water levels rise.  

About 250 down canyon of the side crack is a section that looks as though the canyon is coming to a dead end (wDasBootRP-7).  As you get close to what looks like the dead end the canyon makes a sharp right turn and continues.  

After the sharp right turn where the canyon looks like it dead ends it gets tight and twisty again.  There are down climbs and water along the way still.  One of the down climbs is about 7 feet and best done with a hand line since it has a bit of an overhang.  At the bottom of the down climb is a wedged log to climb about 6 feet up and over to continue down canyon.   

About 400 feet after the canyon looked like it had a dead end there is a long pool to swim (even in low water conditions).  There is a down climb over some boulders in a slot to the pool then a swim to the right around a corner to see the rest of the long swim.  I would like to take this moment to remind you “Do Not Underestimate How Cold This Canyon Can Get”.  Even in the heat of summer, this water feels ice cold.  Be sure to bring along a wet suit.  

After the long swim the canyon opens up a little and lets in some sunshine as you walk along a wash like bottom with a couple short sections where it slots up then opens again.  

Near the end of the open section (about 500 feet down canyon of the long swim), you will find a drop into a slot with an almost perfectly round choke stone wedge overhead in the slot.  This drop is rap 3.  

Rap 3 (dDasBootR3) drops about 25 feet down to a pool in the slot.  There is a small pothole to climb down to then out of to get to the top of Rap 3.  Rap 3 is anchored from webbing tied to a choke stone above the pothole so the webbing for the anchor makes for a great hand line to get down into the pothole at the top of the rap.

After rap 4 there is another long pool to swim.  Then the canyon starts to open up again.  About 400 feet down canyon of rap 4 is Russell Gulch coming in from the right (north).  Where Russell Gulch joins (ySubWayTp) is the top of the Subway Route and is where you have 2 options to exit the Das Boot route.

After rap 4 there is another long pool to swim.  Then the canyon starts to open up again.  About 400 feet down canyon of rap 4 is Russell Gulch coming in from the right (north).  Where Russell Gulch joins (ySubWayTp) is the top of the Subway Route and is where you have 2 options to exit the Das Boot route.

The Exit:
From the junction of Russell Gulch and the Left Fork of North Creek (ySubWayTp), the exit route has one of 2 options.   

The first option is to continue down the Subway Route and exit at the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.  For the down Subway option, look at the route description for The Subway route.  Use the beta there to guide you down The Subway then up to the exit vehicle at the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.

The second option is to exit “up” the standard Subway approach and go back to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead.  For a description of the route “UP” the standard Subway approach, keep reading.

To exit “up” the standard Subway approach, start going up (north) Russell Gulch.  About 250 feet up canyon will be a large grotto area with a pool at the bottom of it (sRuslGlchGroto).  To the right of the pool is a steep climb up out of Russell Gulch.  Part way up, the climb out will turn right (east) and continue to the top out.  Along the way is lots of loose dirt and rock with a couple scrambles mixed in.  

Once at the top of the climb out (wSubWayRP-10), look for a trail heading north.  Follow the trail about 0.3 miles to where it crosses a patch of slick rock (wSubWayRP-9) and continues north on the other side of the slick rock.  About 600 feet later the trail will cross another patch of slick rock (wSubWayRP-8) and will be heading slightly east of north.  Another 400 feet or so and the trail crosses a wash (wSubWayRP-07).  After crossing the wash you will soon have a good view of Sea Gull Slope from the bottom.  Climb to the top of Sea Gull Slope then retrace your route back to Wildcat Canyon trail head. 

There are a few use trails that all go basically the same place.  Follow the trail mostly northwest about 1.3 miles back to the junction where the Subway route leaves the Northgate Peaks trail.  From there follow the Northgate Peaks trail, then the Wildcat Canyon trail back to the trailhead.

Links to Pictures are at the top of the page.

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