Canyoneering Route Description

Bushwax Canyon - 3A I
North Wash, Utah.

Quick Facts

10-15-18, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2 hours)

Time Required - 1.5 to 3 hours
Distance - 1 miles Total, 450 feet Technical
Rappels - 0 to 1 Rappels, Longest Rappel  25 feet.  Depending on skill level the one drop of 25 feet can be downclimbed.
Elevation Range - 43901 - 4650 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, 20 feet of webbing incase an anchor needs to be set and a 60 foot rope incase someone needs help or decides a rappel is needed.  Those comfortable with downclimbs in a skinny crack will not need rope.

General Comments

Bushwax is a short canyon that will take most parties a couple hours and is totally worth the visit. It is surprising how fun and pretty this short slot is.  The canyon is short but offers narrow undulating walls where you will need to stem and galumph a few feet up feeling like you are in a much longer more committed canyon, but only for a brief time in this 450 foot long slot.

Depending on skill level of the group no ropes will be needed, however a 60 foot-ish piece of webbing or rope should be on hand in the event someone wants an assist with a downclimb. One drop of about 25 feet is a downclimb in a skinny crack and those comfortable with this style of downclimb can provide a meat anchor for those who prefer a rope. 

Just after the last drop in the canyon is a lot of thick vegetation to find your way through. By paying attention to use trails it is possible to find an easy way through but it is also easy to get forced into some bushwhacking if your take a wrong turn.

Warning:
The stemming movement through Bushwax Canyon is more challenging than the typical North Wash area canyon.  Bushwax Canyon is short but not recommended for a group comprised of all beginner canyoneers.  Bushwax Canyon is better suited for those who have a experience with stemming and are comfortable with stem style downclimbs at heights up to 25 feet.

Thanks to Matt Williams for sharing info on the canyon. Matt had this to say when asked about the name and their trip through.....
"Bushwax was named for the bushwhack at the bottom, while keeping with the Thrax theme. First known D was Schasch, Julie J, and me (Matt Williams) on 4/13/18"

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 95 and 276 (about 25 miles south of Hanksville) drive southeast on highway 95 for 3 miles and park (pkBushwax) on the side of the road near the mouth of Bushwax Canyon.  Bushwax Canyon will be on the north side of the road.  No particular spot to park just find a place along the shoulder to get off the road.

To visually check that you have the correct canyon you can drive about 0.3 miles west from Bushwax and look at the canyon there where you should be able to see a large ponderosa up in the canyon.  Next you can drive about 0.15 miles east from Bushwax Canyon and see that the canyon there is a wide open wash where you can see a large bowl shaped cliff for the head of the canyon.  Bushwax Canyon has a lot of vegetation and trees densely growing in the drainage.

Bushwax viewed from the road.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

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

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the entire route.

Details

The Approach:
From the road (pkBushwax) walk north from the road up the wash into Bushwax Canyon.

About 425 feet from the road start up a sand slope (Bushwax01) on the RUC (east) side of the drainage.

In about 175 feet when route the gets closer to the cliff (Bushwax02) on the right (east) side, follow use trails going up canyon and slowly going up closer to the cliff base.

About 175 feet farther just before getting to a bowl like indent in the cliff side, turn hard right and start walking up (Bushwax03) a ramp and ledge system up the cliff side south back toward the road.

A little over 200 feet up the ledge and ramp system is the top of a minor ravine (Bushwax04). Turn hard left and start route finding your way north roughly following the canyon in large rolling slickrock.

About 375 feet farther the route crosses over a minor drainage (Bushwax05) then up moderately steep slickrock continuing north. Route find north up along more rolling slickrock.

About 370 feet farther is a small sand filled drainage (Bushwax06) to walk up continuing north.

About 220 feet farther is a small saddle (Bushwax07) where you gain views over the top of Bushwax Canyon.

About 260 feet farther is the head of Bushwax Canyon (yBushwaxTp). 

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
At the head of Bushwax Canyon (yBushwaxTp) you can cross the canyon between two potholes. The second pothole is very large and may be a partner assist out of in some conditions with a drop of about 15 feet just after. This can make a fun practice area for pothole stuff if desired. These potholes and the drop are easily bypassed by walking the RDC (west) rim about 250 feet over to a shallow side drainage to walk / scramble down to the canyon floor.

From the top of the RDC side ravine (Bushwax08) scramble down into Bush Wax Canyon on the RDC side.

Once at the bottom of the side drainage (Bushwax09) the canyon gets narrow where galumphing is required. The next 100 feet of canyon has a silo like feature where tall people can stem over and short people will need to downclimb into it about 6 to 8 feet, followed by a wide section that most people can galumph through at about 10 feet off the deck followed by a wide gapping feature that is easy to stem galumph down about 8 feet then back up about 5 feet where a spicy downclimb is found on the other side.

The spicy downclimb (Bushwax10) of about 25 feet is down a vertical crack that looks intimidating from the top but has good features to control the descent. Some may prefer to rappel this drop using a meat anchor provided by others or an anchor could be set using one of the pockets in the canyon wall a significant distance back.

After the spicy downclimb (Bushwax11) the next 200 feet of canyon starts with a gently sloped long winding and well featured downclimb that feels more like a playground than a canyon.  Followed by short horizontal section leading to a sideways slanted slide down of about 15 feet to a small pothole that most people will be able to just hop over.  Followed by a section of galumphing to where the walls widen out just before the last drop.

The the walls widen out a bit  (Bushwax12) with easy travel over to the final drop at the end of the canyon.

The final drop (yBushwaxBt) in the canyon is a partner assistable downclimb of about 8 feet down a slightly sloped wall followed by an easy scramble down to the wash below.

The Exit:
From the end of the canyon (yBushwaxBt) route find your way down the wash navigating sections of thick vegetation and intermittent use trails back to the road.

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Bushwax (1) - Entire Route

pkBushwax          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.00861   W -110.52214        Elev: 4,390 Feet Park on side of road to start Bushwax Canyon. No particular spot to park just find a place along the shoulder to get off the road. From the road walk north from the road up the wash into Bushwax Canyon. Bushwax01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.00967   W -110.52146        Elev: NaN Feet Start up a sand slope on the RUC (east) side of the drainage. Bushwax02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01014   W -110.52152        Elev: NaN Feet When the route gets closer to the cliff on the right (east) side, follow use trails going up canyon and slowly going up closer to the cliff base. Bushwax03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01058   W -110.52127        Elev: NaN Feet Just before getting to a bowl like indent in the cliff side, turn hard right and start walking up a ramp and ledge system up the cliff side south back toward the road. Bushwax04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01009   W -110.52084        Elev: NaN Feet Top of a minor ravine. Turn hard left and start route finding your way north roughly following the canyon in large rolling slickrock. Bushwax05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01085   W -110.52023        Elev: NaN Feet Route crosses over a minor drainage then up moderately steep slickrock continuing north. Route find north up along more rolling slickrock. Bushwax06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01183   W -110.51982        Elev: NaN Feet Small sand filled drainage to walk up continuing north. Bushwax07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01237   W -110.52006        Elev: 4,620 Feet Small saddle where you gain views over the top of Bushwax Canyon. yBushwaxTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01307   W -110.52000        Elev: 4,610 Feet Top of BushWax Canyon where you can cross the canyon between two potholes. The second pothole is very large and may be a partner assist out of in some conditions with a drop of about 15 feet just after. This can make a fun practice area for pothole stuff if desired. These potholes and the drop are easily bypassed by walking the RDC (west) rim about 250 feet over to a shallow side drainage to walk / scramble down to the canyon floor. Bushwax08          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01309   W -110.52081        Elev: 4,650 Feet Top of a shallow side drainage to walk . Scramble down into Bush Wax Canyon on the RDC side. Bushwax09          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01271   W -110.52034        Elev: NaN Feet Canyon gets narrow where galumphing is required. The next 100 feet of canyon has a silo like feature where tall people can stem over and short people will need to downclimb into it about 6 to 8 feet, followed by a wide section that most people can galumph through at about 10 feet off the deck followed by a wide gapping feature that is easy to stem galumph down about 8 feet then back up about 5 feet where a spicy downclimb is found on the other side. Bushwax10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01243   W -110.52044        Elev: NaN Feet Downclimb of about 25 feet down a vertical crack that looks intimidating from the top but has good features to control the descent. Some may prefer to rappel this drop using a meat anchor provided by others or an anchor could be set using one of the pockets in the canyon wall a significant distance back. Bushwax11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01238   W -110.52048        Elev: NaN Feet After the spicy downclimb the next 200 feet of canyon starts with a gently sloped long winding and well featured downclimb that feels more like a playground than a canyon. Followed by short horizontal section leading to a sideways slanted slide down of about 15 feet to a small pothole that most people will be able to just hop over. Followed by a section of galumphing to where the walls widen out just before the last drop. Bushwax12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01216   W -110.52098        Elev: NaN Feet Walls widen out a bit with easy travel over to the final drop at the end of the canyon. yBushwaxBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.01195   W -110.52130        Elev: 4,510 Feet Bottom of Bush Wax Canyon. The final drop in the canyon is a partner assistable downclimb of about 8 feet down a slightly sloped wall followed by an easy scramble down to the wash below. Route find your way down the wash navigating sections of thick vegetation and intermittent use trails back to the road. pkBushwax          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.00861   W -110.52214        Elev: 4,390 Feet Park on side of road to start Bushwax Canyon. No particular spot to park just find a place along the shoulder to get off the road. From the road walk north from the road up the wash into Bushwax Canyon.