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Canyoneering Route Description

Woody Canyon - 4B II
North Wash, Utah.

Pictures 09-17-11

Quick Facts

09-17-11, 7 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 5 hours) - Tippy top full water level so no keeper potholes.

Time Required - 4 to 6 hours
Distance - 5.3 miles Total, 1.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 15 feet.
Elevation Range - 4300 - 4840 Feet
Shuttle Required -Optional 0.9 Miles Vehicle - Passenger 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 15 feet.  Also bring a few potshots, some webbing and partners to assist with short drops and pothole escapes.  Wet suits are recommended except in hot weather.

General Comments

Information originally came from the Mini-Slot Guide to the Colorado Plateau.

Use a little creativity in getting down some of the drops here like potshot or pack anchors or assisted down climbs.  Please refrain from adding bolts to this canyon.  All the drops can be overcome without the use of bolts.

Woody Canyon is a side drainage of Woodruff Canyon about a mile and a half east of highway 276.  Be prepared for escaping some potholes and being creative with getting down a few short drops.  Woody Canyon alternates between sections of wide open easily escapable wash and narrow pothole filled slots.

On the my first trip through Woody there had been a lot of recent rains so the canyon was tippy top full.  Woody Canyon is a fun playful romp when full of water!  There were a few challenging drops to creatively get the group down but no keeper potholes or major challenges.  With Woody being completely full we not only missed the keeper but also swam up to and climbed over the top of an arch that was then under water. 

At present this route description is for Woody Canyon when it is full of water.  When going down Woody be prepared for some effort to get up out of a couple potholes.  If the water is low you will be faced with some pothole escapes.

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

To get to the Trailhead

From the Junction of highway 95 and highway 276 (about 26 miles south of Hanksville Utah) drive south on highway 276 for 13 miles to a turn out on the right (west) side of the road with a sign large sign titled Mount Hillers.  The Mount Hillers turn out is where you will start the route for Woody Canyon (pkMountHillers).

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

From the Junction of highway 95 and highway 276 (about 26 miles south of Hanksville Utah) drive south on highway 276 for 11.8 miles to a turn out on the left (east) side of the road (pkWoody).  This turn out is about 0.2 miles north of mile marker 12 where a dirt road labeled 13850 leaves the highway headed west.

Optionally you do not have to use a shuttle vehicle.  You can start from the start parking area leaving no exit vehicle.  After completing Woody Canyon and getting back up to the highway where the exit vehicle would be, walk south on highway 276 for about 0.9 miles back to the start of the route.

Maps

Map showing entire route.

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GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From start parking area (pkMountHillers) walk across the highway and continue east into the desert.  Walk across the desert and route find your way east for about 0.6 miles to a gently sloped rim (wWoodyRP-01) with a view east over a small valley like area full of light colored sandstone.

Once at the rim turn left (northeast) and follow along the top of the rim as it curves around east.  About 0.6 miles along the rim look for a gentle slope you can scramble down (wWoodyRP-02) to get to a drainage in the sandstone below.  Look for a spot to scramble down to the drainage where it will be easy to cross over to the other side and start traversing the sandstone up the other side. 

Scramble down the slope for about 250 feet down into the drainage below (wWoodyRP-03) then continue south across the drainage and up the slick rock on the other side.  As you ascend out of the other side of the drainage traverse south then curve around to the left (east) to skirt around a hill side to the north.  As you skirt around the hill, route find your way along the sandstone for easier travel.

 As you get around toward the eastern end of the hill you have been skirting around, continue east down the slick rock slope to the obvious sandstone drainage.  When you drop down into the drainage you are at the top of the Woody Canyon route (yWoodyTp). 

The entry for the canyon (yWoodyTp)This point is about 0.8 miles after crossing the drainage on the west side of the hill that was traversed around.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Once in the drainage for Woody Canyon (yWoodyTp) walk north down stream scrambling around short drops or easily bypassed pools.  As you continue down canyon there will be multiple side drainages joining in from both RDC and LDC.

About 0.35 miles down canyon will be the start of the first obvious very narrow section (wWoodyRP-04).  The narrow section is about 200 feet long and has a few pools that can be about chest deep when full of water. 

After the narrow section is more wide open spaces for about 350 feet to the start of another narrow section with a drop into some potholes just before it (dWoody-R1).  The drop down to the pothole is about 12 to 15 feet depending on how much sand / water is in the hole.  The first person can be let down the

Rap 1 (dWoody-R1) uses a pot shot or backpack as the anchor for the last person, everyone else can use a meat anchor.  Rap 1 drops about 15 feet (depending on sand level) to the pool below.  The pool at the bottom can be waist deep or a swimmer depending on sand levels.

After rap 1 is a series of potholes in a narrow section.  A short distance down canyon is a down climb of about 10 feet.  The down climb has a nice pocket part way down on the RDC side to assist with getting down.  The narrow section below rap 1 has a few potholes that range from knee to chest deep and is about 150 feet long before the canyon widens out again.

About 400 feet farther down canyon is the start of another narrow section (wWoodyRP-05) that is about 350 feet long with nothing technical.  At the end of this narrow section is a pool that can be a swimmer for a few feet if full of water.

About 500 feet down canyon after the last narrows the canyon takes a sharp left turn as it starts down into another narrow section (wWoodyRP-06).  This is the start of where the fun begins.  In the first 550 feet this narrows has multiple down climbs of 4 to 8 feet followed by a pothole that will require a partner assist to escape if empty, then a small arch LDC that can be crawled through, followed by a drop of about 12 feet (dWoody-R2).

Rap 2 (dWoody-R2) drops about 12 feet and can be down climbed by skilled down climbers.  Use a potshot or back pack as a an anchor or use a large hook in a small pocket on the LDC side about 5 feet back from the drop.

Just after rap 2 is a larger arch that can be climbed over if the canyon is full of water or climbed under if the water levels are low.  If the canyon is full of water you may never notice this larger arch as you swim up to the arch it will look like nothing more than a lip to climb up out of a pothole.

After the larger arch the canyon stays narrow for a short distance and offers a few swims (if full) before widening out briefly.  About 80 feet in the wider area is a large pothole (wWoodyKeeper).  If full the keeper is easily swam across and climbed out of.  If empty you will need to get creative to escape the other side.

About 200 feet down canyon of the keeper is the start of another narrows (wWoodyRP-07).  It is possible to escape the canyon up a slope LDC just before entering the narrow section.  This narrow section will have water only waist deep if full and goes for about 200 feet to a brief wide spot where it is again possible to escape the canyon up a slope LDC (wWoodyRP-08).

About 80 feet farther down the narrow section is a side drainage that dumps into Woody on the RDC side (y4PotWoodyBt).  The side drainage is about 300 feet long and is said to have about 4 very large potholes that would be difficult to escape when dry.

About 250 feet farther in narrow canyon is rap 3 (dWoody-R3).  Use a pot shot or back pack for an anchor.  Rap 3 can be down climbed so you could also use your better down climber as the anchor and have them down climb last.  Rap 3 drops about 10 feet.  Rap 3 drops out of the narrow slot into a large chamber like area with a lot of large rock fall debris.

Scramble down canyon over the rock fall debris as the canyon gradually gets wider.  About 260 feet down canyon is an obvious drainage dropping down the wall on the LDC side and the canyon is now a large sandy wash getting wider and wider (wWoodyRP-09).

Continue walking down canyon for about 0.3 miles toward Woodruff Canyon.  As you get closer to Woodruff climb up over sand banks and walk toward the LDC (west) wall of Woody.  As you approach Woodruff Canyon hug the west wall of Woody and drop down the sand slope right next to the sandstone wall down into Woodruff Canyon (yWoodyBt).

The Exit:
After dropping down into Woodruff Canyon (yWoodyBt), turn left (west) and start walking upstream in Woodruff.   About 5 or 600 feet up canyon in Woodruff you may notice some cow trails running up the banks on the left (south).  These cow trails can be used to access the top of Woody Canyon if you decided to begin your route by walking down Woodruff from the road to start the route.  The route from here up to the head of Woody is a bit convoluted as it winds around the slick rock domes.

About 0.5 miles up Woodruff is narrow slot on the left (south) side which is the bottom exit of Woodsy Canyon (yWoodsyBt).

About 0.25 miles farther up Woodruff is a wide drainage on the left (south) side (wWoodyRP-10).

About 0.3 miles farther up Woodruff is a small slot on the right (north) side (wWoodyRP-11).

About 0.3 miles farther up canyon is the confluence of a couple forks of Woodruff Canyon (jWoodruff-01).  Stay right and continue west up the right fork.  From the confluence it is about 0.75 miles to the road where the exit vehicle was parked (pkWoody).

GPS Waypoint Information

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