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Canyoneering Route Description

Miss Piggy Canyon (aka Hog 4) - 3A II
North Wash, Utah.

Pictures 11-12-11

Quick Facts

11-12-11, 9 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 6.9 hours) - Time for both Miss Piggy (Hog 4) and Hog 3 (Razorback) combined.

Time Required - 3 - 4 hours
Distance - 2.9 miles Total, 0.5 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 85 feet.
A couple of the down climbs may be arguably rappels adding to the count.
Elevation Range - 5175 - 4355 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - High Clearance (possibly 4WD depending on road conditions) 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 85 feet and 40 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  Wet suit bottoms might be nice ONLY if there were recent rains AND it is cold out.  Even in cooler months a wet suit will likely not be needed since the water is only in small patches and only to waist deep and mostly avoidable.

General Comments

The Hogs are a collection of 4 routes along the northeast rim of Hog Canyon.  Hogs 1, 2 and 3 are separate drainages dropping down into Hog Canyon and are labeled in order from northwest to northeast.  Hog 4 is actually a side drainage of Hog 1 so the numbering can get a little confusing.

Hog 1 is also referred to as Boss Hawg. 
Hog 2 is only known as Hog 2. 
Hog 3 is also referred to as Razorback. 
Hog 4 (which is a side drainage of Hog 1) is also referred to as Miss Piggy.

So far the route description is for access to the Hogs from the top.  There are options to access the Hogs from the bottom which I hope to complete sometime and add the routes here.

Hog 4 (Miss Piggy) can hold a little water but will only be waist deep in a couple spots and only knee deep in others.  So if you feel the need for cold water protection just the lower part of your body needs anything.

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

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 276 and 95, travel south on highway 276 for 3.6 miles to a dirt road turn off on the left (east) side of the road (extLandOZ-Hogs).  Turn left (east) onto the dirt road and drive about 2.1 miles to the crest of a small hill (pkHogsUpper).   This spot is also where the road starts to veer from east to south east.  Park along side the road to start the hike over to the Hogs.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle required.  The Hogs are done as loop routes.

Maps

*****************DONT FORGET TO ADD MAP LINKS AND DELETE THIS LINE*********

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical and exit sections.

GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkHogsUpper) walk across the open desert north west at a bearing of 30 degrees for about 0.8 miles over to the rim of the Hog Canyon system (wHogsTopRP-01).  This is also where the southern end of a short sandstone cliff band starts.   From here you have a good view to the east over the Hog Canyon routes.

Note:
About 0.4 miles from the parking spot you will pass kind of near (jHogStndExTop) the head of a drainage on the right (east).  This drainage is used as one of the exits up out of the Hogs.  You likely will not notice it when hiking in on the approach route but I thought it worth mentioning as a helpful hint if you are navigating by map and written route description only.

When you get to the sandstone cliff band along the rim (wHogsTopRP-01) walk north along the rim for about about 0.2 miles to the top of a wide gently sloped drainage leading down southeast from the rim here.  This is the top of the Hog 4 / Miss Piggy route (yHog4-MsPigyTp).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the head of Hog 4 / Miss Piggy (yHog4-MsPigyTp), drop down from the rim and follow southeast down the wide gentle sloped dirt drainage.

About 300 feet down the drainage the slick rock starts at the top of a ledge (wHogFourRP-01) looking down over a slot cutting down into the slick rock below.  To get down to the slot below the ledge, find your way down the sloped slick rock about 100 feet to the right (south west).

After getting down to the head of the slot continue down canyon in the slot.  You will need to galumph along as you move down the shallow but narrow V shaped slot.

About 100 feet down into Miss Piggy is a drop of about 25 feet (wHogFourRP-02).  The drop is a steep exposed slithering chimney down climb.  All but the last person can be given a hand line from above.  Optionally this drop can be anchored LDC in a sand filled pothole at the top of the drop.

At the bottom of the down climb is a second down climb of about 15 feet that is much easier than the first one with good features to use as hand holds.

About 100 feet down canyon is a wide open area (wHogFourRP-03) in the slick rock.

The first 300 feet after the wide open area starts down into the next slot galumphing along in the next wide V shaped slot.  Along this slot will be a moderate down climb of about 10 feet, then a long pot hole to bridge across (maybe thigh deep if full) and then another down climb of about 12 feet to kind of slide down into a pothole (wHogFourRP-04) that may be about waist deep if full of water (with a bit of skill you can slowly traverse the LDC edge around the pothole).

Continuing down canyon are a couple short down climbs and a few small shallow potholes (knee deep if full) before getting to a down climb of about 12 feet in an easy slot to chimney down.  At the bottom of the chimney down climb is rap 1.

Rap 1 (dHogFour-R1) is about 150 feet down canyon of the pot hole you slide down into, is anchored from choke stones about 5 feet back from the drop and drops a total of about 60 feet down a vertical wall including a ledge of about 8 feet at the bottom.

Shortly after rap 1 is a down climb of about 12 feet in a crack that feels exposed.  It is not as difficult as it looks and the trick is to really slither down the crack using friction from your whole body. 

After the down climb is a winding S like turn before getting a ledge looking down over a pothole.  Looking down from the top the pothole looks like a big heart stretching from wall to wall.  Slide down a gently sloped crack about 6 feet down to the heart shaped pool and slide on in.  The pool is about waist deep when full of water.

On the other side of the heart shaped pool is gently sloped pour off winding down to rap 2.

Rap 2 (dHogFour-R2) is about 200 feet  down canyon of rap 1.  The anchor for Rap 2 is rock debris in a pool at the top of the rap that can be about knee deep when full.  The water can make rigging and inspecting the anchor a little difficult.  Rap 2 drops about 85 feet over two stages both down sloped walls.

At the bottom of rap 2 scramble along a low ledge for about 30 feet over to the floor of the canyon where the Hog Four (Miss Piggy the drainage you were in) drops into a larger drainage which is Hog One.  This is the end of the Hog One (Miss Piggy) slot (yHog4-MsPigyBt).

To complete the route turn right and start south down the lower portion of Hog One.  Continue down canyon over a few small pools that are easily stemmed over.  About 250 feet from the junction of Hog 4 and Hog 1 is the top of an elevator down climb into a deep narrow slot (wHogOneRP-06).

The elevator down climb into the narrow slot is about 30 feet and has walls smooth enough to allow a fun fast elevator down.  The bottom of the slot has a flat sandy floor to walk on and is narrow enough that you will likely need to take your back pack off to continue through. 

As you continue down canyon in the slot the walls are twisted and scenic and slowly widen out.  A couple of spots can hold water about shin deep and can be easily stemmed over if you don't want to get your feet wet. 

About 250 feet down canyon of the elevator the walls widen out allowing easy walking in a wide slot.  Continue down canyon as the walls continue to get wider as the canyon makes a slow long sweep to the left.

Continue down the now wider canyon with some vegetation about 500 feet to the confluence of the bottoms of both the Hog 1 and Hog 2 canyons (yHog-1and2-Bt).

The Exit(s):
When you get to the confluence of the bottom of the Hog 1 and Hog 2 canyons (yHog-1and2-Bt), you have two choices for an exit route.  Option one is the standard exit which climbs up a ravine southwest of Hog 4.  Option two is to climb up the slick rock between Hogs 1 and 2.

Exit Option One - Standard Exit Route:
Option one is the standard exit and is about 1.6 miles back to the parking spot for the top entry to the Hog System.  This option climbs up out of the Hog Canyon area in a rocky ravine to the flat desert above.  This exit is shorter but involves more scrambling up boulders in the ravine.  This route also does not involve the difficult up climb that the other option has. 

If you entered the Hogs from the top and are done for the day this is the shortest and easiest route back to the car.

To follow option 1, continue down the wash about 0.4 miles to a canyon joining in from the left (northeast) which is the bottom of Hog 3 (yHog3-Bt).

Note:
Walking down canyon all the way to the bottom of Hog 3 is optional and is about 0.5 miles longer than need be.  However I have not done the shorter version and can not give details on it.  If you wish to route find your own way for this short cut.....

From the bottom of Hog 1, continue down the wash about 600 feet then climb the left (west) side of the drainage.  After finding your way to the top continue southwest and route find your way about 600 feet over to way point wHogStndExRP-3.  When you get to waypoint wHogStndExRP-3 continue on the remainder of the route as described.

From the bottom of Hog 3 (yHog3-Bt) walk west directly across to the other side of the drainage you dumped into.  Route find your way up the bank on the west side up onto the desert above.  The bank is about 40 or 50 feet high and a mick of dirt and sandstone.

When you get to the top of the bank (wHogStndExRP-1), walk north west traversing up and along the dirt covered hillside. 

After about 400 feet the route will begin to level off a little into a mix of rolling desert and slick rock.  As the route levels off you begin to get good views toward the exit gully /ravine to the north west.

Note / Visual Navigation Note:
As you get to a point where you have good views of the entire area you will be able to see Hog 3 to the northeast and see over toward the area for Hogs 1 and 2 to the north.  Look north west for a large ravine / gully running north west up to the rim.  This gully / ravine is the exit route.  To the left (south or southwest) will be a larger drainage with an obvious huge vertical head wall.

This is walking toward the standard exit gully.  Hogs 1 and 2 are to the right, the exit gully is center image.  Note the bottom of another canyon on the left which has a huge vertical head wall which can be seen as you continue the walk to the exit gully.

About 0.25 miles after getting up out of the drainage at the bottom of Hog 3 the route toward the exit gully will cross over (wHogStndExRP-2) a wide slick rock drainage.  The point marked here for crossing the drainage is located at a fork in the drainage where the north fork goes up to the exit gully and the west fork goes over to the side canyon with the huge head wall. 

Cross over the drainage and start traveling up the slick rock running up along the north side of the drainage.  Following up out of this drainage avoids obstacles down in it.

About 450 feet after crossing the drainage you will get to what feels like a top out in the slick rock (wHogStndExRP-3) where you have a good view over to the exit gully.  From this top out on slick rock do not climb any higher.  Instead traverse along whatever route feels comfortable to get over and into the exit gully a few hundred feet ahead.

Scramble and hike your way up the exit gully for about 0.3 miles.  There is a lot of scrambling on the way up this gully but non of it is overly difficult, just a lot of it.  As you get near the top of the gully you will notice it begins to get a lot steeper.  Keep an eye on the left (southwest) wall and look up high for an obvious rock pinnacle.

Keep an eye on the left wall as you get near the top of the exit gully.  Look for this rock pinnacle for a clue when to start climbing the left side wall along ledges.

As you get roughly parallel with the rock pinnacle look for a series of ledges to climb up to get to the ridge just above the pinnacle.  There are multiple ways to climb up the ledges.  Some of the spots to climb up will feel a little exposed and make you think a little to complete the moves.  There are only a couple spots that may be moderately difficult but over all an easy series of ledges to get up.  About 80 feet up you will get to sloped dirt to walk up.

After getting up onto the ridge above the pinnacle (wHogStndExRP-5) walk up the sloped dirt ridge about 250 feet to join the approach route in the rolling desert (jHogStndExTop).

After meeting with the approach route (jHogStndExTop) veer left and walk about 0.45 miles southwest on a bearing of 216 degrees back to the parking spot for the top entry to the Hogs (pkHogsUpper).

Exit Option Two - Alternate Slick Rock Exit:
Option two is begins with a difficult up climb on steep slick rock (generally rated as a 5.7) then becomes an over all easy route following up slick rock to the desert above.  This route is the longer option back to the cars at the top entry coming in at about 2 miles.  This is a good exit to use if you plan to do more than one Hog in a day.  Using this exit gets you to the desert above the Hog system between the tops of Hogs 1 and 2 making the traverse over to any of the Hogs easy.

If you are planning to do a second Hog after your exit up, this exit is a good choice as it will get you to the rim in a spot to quickly head over to the head of any of the other Hogs.

To follow exit option 2....  When you get to the end of Hog 1 at the confluence of Hog 2 (yHog-1and2-Bt) turn left (east) and start into the bottom of Hog 2.  Look for a smooth steep sloped section of slick rock starting up the nose between Hogs 1 and 2.  The base of the climb is on a ledge above the vegetated canyon floor next to Hog 1.

Note / Warning:
The first 25 to 30 feet of this exit involves a steeply sloped almost smooth section of slick rock and is generally rated as a 5.7 up climb.  If you are confident of your skills for a slab style up climb for about 30 feet you are good to go.  If you are not confident in your ability you should have someone along on the route that is if you intend to use this exit.  The first person up can tie a rope to them selves and offer a meat anchored hand line for every one else.

The good thing is the hardest part of this route is the very first 30 feet.  If you check out the climb up and decide it is not what you want to do you have not committed too much time to the effort.  If you check it out and decide you do not want to make the climb you can turn around and follow the standard exit up out of the Hog system.

If you make it up this climb the rest of the route up is easy and will get you to the rim between Hogs 1 and 2 ready to go over to the head of another Hog.

This is is the first 30 foot climb up the slick rock exit.  If you make it up this the rest is an easy up hill slog on slick rock to the rim.

After getting up to the top of the 30 foot up climb (wHogAltExRP-1) route find your way north up the wide wandering slick rock ridge.

About 0.35 miles up the ridge you will begin to see a distinct pointy slick rock peak about 0.2 miles ahead. 

Continue the 0.2 miles up the slick rock to the top of the peak (wHogAltExRP-2).  From the peak the route levels off and continues north along the now dirt covered ridge.

A little over 500 feet after the peak is the base (wHogAltExRP-3) of a sandstone cliff band about 40 feet high.  To continue the exit up and back to the cars parked at the upper parking area, find a spot to climb / scramble up onto the top of the cliff band then continue north west about 600 feet to meet up with the route that travels along the tops of the Hogs (jHogSlickRkEx).  There is no specific landmark here.

Note:
From the base of the cliff band (wHogAltExRP-3) if you plan to go over to Hog 2 or Hog 3 do not climb up the cliff band.  Instead veer right and follow the ledge system about eastish about 700 feet over to the head of Hog 2.  Or continue beyond the head of Hog 2 wrapping around south east then south down to the top of Hog 3 about 0.5 miles away.

After meeting up with the approach route turn left and head west about 250 feet over to the head of Hog 1 (yHog1Tp).

From the top of Hog 1 roughly follow the rim and route find your way west then wrapping around southwest through the rolling desert.  About 0.35 miles from the top of Hog 1 will be a wide dirt ravine / drainage dropping down from the rim and heading down southeast.  This is the top of Hog 4 (yHog4-MsPigyTp).

Note:
From the top of Miss Piggy the top entry parking area is about 1 mile southwest on a bearing of 208 degrees.

Continue south along the rim crossing over the top of a small sandstone cliff band (wHogsTopRP-01) about 700 feet away.

After crossing over the sandstone cliff band route find your way southwest through the desert back to the road where you parked your cars at the top entry (pkHogsUpper).

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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