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Canyoneering Route Description

Angel Slot - 3A II
Angel Cove area, Utah.

Pictures 12-05-10

Quick Facts

12-05-10, 2 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.3 hours)

Time Required - 3 to 4 hours
Distance - 2.26 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet.
Elevation Range - 4900 - 4170 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - High Clearance Permit Required - No

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 100 feet and 40 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Angel slot is a fun and short adventure.  If you only have a few hours this is a good route.  The start of the canyon gives the impression there will not be much in the way of a technical slot but looks can be deceiving.  The technical areas are short but scenic, fun and easy enough to be a quick fun run.   

After exiting the second of the two upper narrows you can make the route shorter by exiting and heading back making this a very short route.   

Continuing down canyon to complete the rest of the route involves a long walk in wide open wash then a short 50 or 80 foot narrows to one more rap.  The final rap drops down a few hundred feet from Beaver Wash which makes a great place to play in some cool water if the day is hot.   The exit route after the final rap loops back up to the main wash just above rap 4 (the final rap).  Then you walk back up the wash to find the exit you could have taken after exiting the second of the upper narrows.

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

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highway 95 and highway 24 in Hanksville Utah, drive 10.2 miles south on highway 95 to an un-named dirt road on the left (extAngelTrlRd).  The road has a BLM sign saying it goes out to the Angel Trail.  Turn left (east) on the Angel Trail road and ignore smaller dirt roads that branch off.  

2.4 miles from the highway will be a Y in the road (extAngel-Bever).   Turn left at this Y and continue toward the Angel Canyons.  

5.8 miles after the Y is a turn to a dirt road on the right (extAngelSlot).  Turn right at this turn then drive 0.3 miles south east over to the end of the road.  Where the road ends is the trailhead for the Angel Trail with a register box (tAngelTrail).  Park here to start the route.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Maps

Map showing drive in.

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Map showing canyon route.

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GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From the register box (tAngelTrail) at the Angel Trail trailhead, walk southwest down the trail.  About 0.2 miles from the trailhead the trail will cross over a small patch of red dirt then another 250 feet to where the trail drops down a short hill to a wide open flat area (wAngelRP-01).  

When the trail drops to the wide open flat area (wAngelRP-01) turn right to leave the trail and follow down some minor drainages southwest.  About 350 feet after leaving the trail the minor drainages will meet with the main drainage for Angel Slot (yAngleSlotTp). 

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
When you get to the main drainage for Angel slot (yAngleSlotTp), turn left (south) and walk down the wash about 380 feet to the top of rap 1.  

Rap 1 (dAngelSlotR1) is where another drainage joins the wash.  Rap 1 is anchored from a large rock under a ledge about 10 feet back from the drop.  Rap 1 drops about 85 with a ledge about 15 feet from the top.  The second portion of rap 1 is down a wide fluted slot.   

Note:
When rigging the anchor webbing leave it long enough so the rapid hangs just over the edge.  This will make the rope pull easier and save the sandstone from rope groves.  This will make the start of the rap awkward.  To assist with getting on rap a hand hold loop can be tied in the anchor webbing about 6 inches back from the drop to let you over the ledge with.  

About 150 feet down canyon of rap 1 are a two down climbs of 4 feet then 6 feet.  After the down climbs the canyon stays narrow for about 300 feet.

About 450 feet down canyon of rap 1 the canyon starts to widen out again and again has a wide open desert feel.  Continue down the wide open wash about 400 more feet to the top of a deep narrow slot which is the top of rap 2.  

Rap 2 (dAngelSlotR2) is about 800 feet down canyon of rap 1and is anchored RDC from a large rock about 15 feet back from the top of the drop.  The large anchor rock looks like a conglomerate dirt clod but is a solid rock about 5 feet in diameter.  Be sure to set the rope length for Rap 2 so the rope hangs over the edge at the top of the drop to keep wear and tear to a minimum on both the rock and the rope.  To make starting rap 2 easier, walk RDC to where it is an easy hop down of about 3 feet to a ledge.  Then follow the ledge back over to the top of rap 2.  Rap 2 drops about 85 feet down a vertical wall into a deep narrow section of the canyon.  

From the bottom of rap 2 walk down canyon now in a deep narrow section which is in huge contrast to the wide open spaces at the top of the rap.  Down canyon of rap 2 is a long windy corridor.  In this corridor are a couple of down climbs spaced about 150 feet apart.  The first is about 6 feet and is an easy elevator style down climb.  The second is 12 feet and is an easy elevator style down climb for all but the last 4 feet which bells out a little.  

A little further down canyon is another down climb of about 10 feet.  This drop starts down a winding tight slot then has a drop of about 5 feet which has no foot holds etc.  An option here is to turn around and use an arm bar in the tight section you started down to lower yourself.  There is also a choke stone which could be slung to assist with a hand line.  

Shortly down canyon (still in a tight corridor type of feel) is another drop of about 30 feet that is broken up into 3 easy down climbs of about 10 feet each.  At the bottom of this is another long corridor to walk in.  Continue down canyon to the top of a drop that is about 50 feet which is rap 3.  

Rap 3(dAngelSlotR3) is approximately 900 feet down canyon of rap 2 but this is VERY approximate.  Rap 3 is a drop of about 50 feet down a tight section.  Rap 3 can be down climbed by good down climbers but may be difficult so it’s labeled as a rappel.  The first 15 to 20 feet is easily down climbed.  After the first part the shape of the slot forces you out to where it can be difficult to down climb safely.  There are several choke stones along the drop which can be rigged as anchors to rappel this drop.  Be careful to set the webbing so that the rope has a clean pull line.  There are a few possible pinch points for the ropes here around the choke stones.  

Down canyon of rap 3 the canyon gets a lot tighter and darker.  The walls lean to the LDC side making travel a bit awkward.  There are a few short simple down climbs in the dark section after rap 3 but they are awkward due to the slant of the walls.  After the dark slanted section the canyon continues down a long narrow corridor with a soft sandy bottom you can run or walk along.  This section is very scenic so take the time to enjoy.   

After a few hundred feet of the long scenic narrow section down canyon of rap 3, the canyon widens out again (wAngelRP-02) to very wide soft sandy wash with high walls on either side.  

About 200 feet down canyon after it widens out is where you can exit the canyon to return back up to the trailhead (jAngelExit2).  The exit up out of the canyon is on the LDC side with an up climb of about 8 feet then an easy walk up steep slick rock.  

Note:
At this exit point you can exit and go back up to the trailhead.  To exit now skip down to the exit description below.  Or you can continue down canyon to do the lower section of the canyon and loop back up to this point to exit afterward.   The bottom portion of the canyon is wide open with the exception of one short slot of about 50 feet and a rappel down near Beaver wash.  The trip down canyon and back up to this exit point is 0.8 miles so if you have a little time it is worth the run down there.  

For the lower portion of the canyon continue walking down canyon in the very wide open wash.  About 0.2 miles down canyon is another wash (wAngelRP-03) joining in from RDC (west).  

About another 250 feet down canyon the sandy wash meets sand stone again (wAngelRP-04).  The wash here leads into a short but narrow slot of about 100 feet long and only about 8 or 10 feet deep.  At the other end of the slot is the final rap for the Angel Slot route, rap 4.  

Rap 4 (dAngelSlotR4) drops about 90 feet out of the end of the slot and drops under a huge ledge.  The anchor for rap 4 is a dead man anchor.  If there have been any recent rains you will likely need to build another one by farming rocks from the wash up canyon.  The anchor washes out of this slot frequently.  Another option is to take a volunteer who to provide a meat anchor and wait for everyone to return via the exit route.  If everyone in the group wants to go and no one wants to build another anchor, you can have a person meat anchor everyone down.  Then when someone comes back up they can provide meat anchor for the last person and wait for them to loop back up via the exit route.  

If you do have a dead man anchor you can leave your rope rigged after rapping.  No need to pull your rope.  The exit route out will take you very close to the top of rap 4 when you can walk over to pull it up.  

From the bottom of rap 4 walk about 200 feet down canyon to the bottom of a steep sandy slope on the left (east).  The bottom of this slope (yAngelSlotBt) is where you will start the exit up out of the canyon.  

Note:
Before exiting the canyon you might want to take a walk down to Beaver Wash to do a little sightseeing.  The wash is about 200 feet down canyon of the exit point.

The Exit:
From the bottom of the sandy slope (yAngelSlotBt) scramble up to a flat shelf about 35 feet up out of the wash.  From the top of the sandy slope walk east along the sandy shelf and follow roughly along the cliff side on your left (north).   

About 300 feet from the top of the sandy slope will be a break in the cliff band on your left (wAngelRP-05).  Scramble up the drainage at the break in the cliff band to get to the top of the cliff.  The drainage leading up will start north and turn west and top (wAngelRP-06) out about 400 feet from where it started with an elevation gain of 60 or 70 feet.  

After topping out walk about 250 feet back down to the wash of the main canyon (jAngelExit1) just above rap 4.  If you left your rope at the top of rap 4 now is the time to go back and pull it up.  

After dropping back to the wash in the main canyon turn right (north) and start walking back up canyon.  Walk about 0.3 miles back to the exit option (jAngelExit2) that was after the canyon widened out down canyon of rap 3.  

At the exit point (jAngelExit2) there is a short section of about 8 feet to up climb to access a steep sloped slick rock drainage exiting up out of the canyon on the LDC (east) side.  Climb up the first 8 feet then start walking east up the sloped drainage.  

About 400 feet after leaving the canyon the slope will meet a cliff face (wAngelRP-07).  When you get to the cliff face, you will need to sweep left around a slick rock bowl like area before being able to continue mostly north.  

After sweeping around the slick rock bowl you will find the start of a long shelf continuing north (wAngelRP-08).  Continue north up on top of this shelf which will stay 100 to 200 feet from the main canyon you were in earlier.  Continue north along the most natural line of travel.  

About 375 feet later you will be able to look directly across to the other side of the main Angel Slot Canyon and see a deep looking slot running down to join the main Angel Canyon you were in earlier.  

After seeing this side slot continue north on your route about another 200 feet to the bottom of a slope (wAngelRP-09) leading up to the right (north east).  As a land mark the slope will have a lot of dark brown conglomerate rocks strewn all over that resemble dirt clods.  

Walk north east up the slope with all the brown conglomerate rocks strewn around about 250 feet then turn left (north) and cross over a small drainage or run-off.  After crossing the run-off, continue north about 100 feet and look for a well defined trail (wAngelRP-10).  

After finding the trail walk north about 375 feet toward a slick rock buttress or ridge.  When you get near the base of the ridge (wAngelRP-11), walk around the left (west) side of it.  

Walk about 325 feet along the left (west) side of the ridge to get to the bottom of a drainage (wAngelRP-12) leading up and slightly right (north east).  Scramble about 250 feet up the drainage.  At the top of the drainage will be an up climb of about 6 or 8 feet before it levels off in a small shallow wash in relatively flat desert (wAngelRP-13).  

Next walk about 250 feet north along the desert to find the main trail that you hiked in on (wAngelRP-14).  Turn left (north east) and follow the trail back up to the trailhead where you left your vehicle.

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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