Canyoneering Route Description
Shillelagh Canyon - Right (east) Fork - 3A I
North Wash, Utah.
Pictures 05-29-10
Quick Facts
05-29-10, 6 people, 2 Day (Travel time in route 2.25 hours)
Distance - 2 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 110 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 110 feet and 60 feet of 1†webbing for sling placement.
General Comments
The view from raps 1 and 2 make you think there is a big adventure
ahead. Truth is, after these raps it is a long walk with very
little down climbing excitement to complete the canyon. Take your
time around raps 1 and 2 since it is the best part.
Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking
To get to the Trailhead
The Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh Canyon uses part of the same
approach as Blarney Canyons.
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 needed. 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.
wShillRp-01
Trail ends at the rim where there is an easy down climb.
N38 01.959 W110 32.515
yShilelahRtFkTp
Top entry for Right (east) fork of Shillelagh Canyon. Part way
into a narrow section.
N38 01.909 W110 32.572
Canyon / Technical Section Waypoints
yShilelahRtFkTp
Top entry for Right (east) fork of Shillelagh Canyon. Part way
into a narrow section.
N38 01.909 W110 32.572
dShillRtFkR1-2
Raps 1 and 2 - Shillelagh Right Fork.
Rap 1 anchored from a rock RDC and drops about 45 feet.
Rap 2 anchored from a rock LDC about 30 feet back from the lip
and drops about 110 feet from the lip of the drop.
N38 01.901 W110 32.593
wShillRp-02
A couple small side drainages join in.
N38 01.801 W110 32.646
wShillRp-03
Not Left Fork of Shillelagh. Large drainage joins in from RDC
then another smaller one from LDC.
N38 01.710 W110 32.710
wShillRp-04
Not Left Fork of Shillelagh. Large drainage joins in from RDC.
Canyon is very wide open here.
N38 01.636 W110 32.851
yShillelaghBt
Bottom exit for both fork of Shillelagh Canyon. Junction of the
right and left forks of Shillelagh Canyon.
N38 01.544 W110 32.967, Elevation 4549 ft.
Exit Route Waypoints
yShillelaghBt
Bottom exit for both fork of Shillelagh Canyon. Junction of the
right and left forks of Shillelagh Canyon.
N38 01.544 W110 32.967, Elevation 4549 ft.
tShillelaghBt
Bottom trailhead for Shillelagh Canyon where the wash meets the
road.
N38 01.253 W110 32.905
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.
After the last slick rock scramble follow the well worn path about
0.3 miles to a junction in the trail (jBlarnyShilela). To the left
(north west) leads to the Right Fork of Shillelagh Canyon. To the
right (north east) leads to the Left Fork of Blarney Canyon.
From the junction veer left (north west) and follow the path toward
the head of the Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh Canyon. About 700
feet later the trail will end at the rim of the Right (east) Fork of
Shillelagh Canyon (wShillRp-01). From here down climb to the canyon
floor below.
Once on the canyon floor, travel down canyon about 400 feet where a
narrow section starts (yShilelahRtFkTp). Part way into this narrow
section is labeled as the top entry for the canyon. The narrow
section is not deep and leads to a wide open wash to walk on the
other side.
The Canyon / Technical Section:
From the narrow section (yShilelahRtFkTp), continue down canyon
about 100 feet in an open wash to rap 1.
Rap 1 (dShillRtFkR1-2) is anchored RDC from a boulder at the head of
the rap. Rap 1 drops 45 feet to a large ledge where lots of people
can fit.
Rap 2 is from the ledge right below rap 1. Rap 2 is anchored from a
large rock LDC and back about 30 feet from the top of the rap.
Webbing should be slung from the anchor rock over to the edge of the
rap to avoid rope pull issues. The drop for rap 2 is 110 feet from
the lip. Rap 2 has a large grotto feel to it and is very pretty
while on rappel. Take the time to look around and enjoy it.
Down canyon of rap 2 the canyon is narrow but with walls that flare
out quickly so it does not feel closed in. Travel is easy walking
in sand with a few easy down climbs ranging from 5 to 10 feet each.
About 800 feet down canyon of rap 2 a couple small side drainages
join in (wShillRp-02). Another 800 feet down canyon a large side
drainage joins in from RDC (wShillRp-03). This large drainage is
not the Left Fork of Shillelagh. Shortly after a smaller drainage
joins from LDC.
Next is a tighter narrow section that is about 100 feet long or so.
Another 800 feet down canyon is another drainage joining in from RDC
(wShillRp-04). This drainage is also not the Left Fork of
Shillelagh. The canyon at this point is very wide open.
Down canyon of this drainage, follow down a narrow section with a
series of small potholes.
Another 900 feet down canyon is a huge drainage joining in from RDC
(yShillelaghBt). This drainage is the Left (west) Fork of
Shillelagh Canyon. This is marked as the bottom exit for both forks
of Shillelagh Canyon.
The Exit:
From the Junction of the 2 forks of Shillelagh Canyon walk the wash
0.4 miles back to the road (tShillelaghBt). Next walk south 0.2
miles back to where you parked near the bottom of Blarney Canyon.
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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