Canyoneering Route Description

Mighty Mouse Canyon - 3A II
Zion National Park, Utah.

Quick Facts

08-19-12, 6 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 7.25 hours) Pictures Icon Time for combining Deadeye Dick and Mighty Mouse Canyons.

Time Required - Mighty Mouse Only - 5 hours
Allow 7 - 8 hours for doing both Deadeye Dick and Mighty Mouse.
Distance - 7.6 miles Total, 0.2 miles Technical
Rappels -  Rappels, Longest Rappel 80 feet.
Elevation Range - 5875 - 5475 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger can (High Clearance recommended), 4WD if bad roads Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 80 feet and 50 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

A big Thank You to Kip Marshal for finding then sharing Mighty Mouse Canyon with us.  Thanks Kip!

Mighty Mouse is a very short canyon but offers a punch in the short distance.  Kind of like Mighty Mouse himself, Little......... but Powerful!

 Mighty Mouse Canyon is so short it is likely not worth the long hike in to do only Mighty Mouse.  Luckily it makes a great canyon to tack onto the end of the Deadeye Dick Canyon route.  Both canyons can be done in one day as a combination route.  Mighty Mouse is a short canyon that will add only an hour to your day if you decide to do it during your exit of Deadeye Dick.  The simplest route option is to do Deadeye Dick Canyon first then do Mighty Mouse Canyon after exiting Deadeye Dick.

This route description is written for Mighty Mouse only and describes doing Mighty Mouse only.  If you decide to do both Deadeye Dick and Mighty Mouse as a combo route, follow the description for Deadeye Dick all the way to the bottom of Deadeye Dick Canyon.  Follow the Deadeye Dick exit info to the start of the Mighty Mouse route where it leaves the Virgin River Narrows.  At that point refer to the Mighty Mouse Canyon route description and start reading in the approach section from where it says "Starting up Out of the Narrows. 

Warning:
The dirt portion of the North Fork Road can become impassable with rain.  The road has a lot of clay content and becomes very slick with just a little rain.  Even 4WD vehicles quickly become useless.  If there is a high likelihood of rain, consider opting out of this route that day.  Afternoon showers at some times of the year can create an impassable road in a very short time.  We got stuck overnight only 0.5 miles from pavement (4WD vehicles included).

Both the Deadeye Dick and Mighty Mouse routes are outside Zion National Park so no permits are needed.  While you do not need a permit please keep groups to 12 people or less, travel in water courses or use trails where possible to avoid land wear, pack it in - pack it out and clean up any un-needed anchor material.  The more we take care of what we have the less likely it is that land management entities will regulate us.

Both Mighty Mouse and Deadeye Dick Canyons are safe and easy to descend with natural anchors.  Please refrain from adding bolts to these canyons.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the East Gate of Zion National Park, travel 2.4 miles east on highway 9 to the turn for North Fork (wEngDP-01).  Turn Left (north) toward North Fork.

Drive 5.3 miles on the paved North Fork Road to the turn for the Ponderosa Ranch. The pavement ends (wBirchHlwDP-01) a few hundred feet past the turn for the Ponderosa Ranch. 

From the turn off for the Ponderosa Ranch continue on the North Fork Road for 3.1 miles to a large turn out on the left (west) side of the road which is the trailhead for Birch Hollow (tBirchHollow).

From the turn off to Birch Hallow continue on the North Fork road for 3 miles to a turn off (extOrderville) on the left (west) for the Upper Orderville Trailhead.

From the turn off to the Upper Orderville Trailhead continue on the North Fork Road for 1.6 miles to a turn off (extCotageWoods) on the right (east) that goes up to a community called Cottages in the Woods.

From the turn off to Cottages in the Woods continue on the North Fork Road for 0.9 miles to a turn off (pkBulloch1) on the left with a brown road marker signed as 90 and 92.

From the turn off at (pkBulloch1) veer right (northeast) and continue on the North Fork Road 2.8 miles to a signed turn off (ExtNarowsTopTH) for the Upper Narrows Trailhead.

Turn left at the turn off and drive west 0.4 miles to a gate (tNarrowsGate1).  Drive through the gate and close it behind you. 

Continue west another 0.4 miles to a fork in the road (wNarrowsDP-01) with a sign saying left to go to the upper trailhead for the Virgin River Narrow.

Turn left at the fork and drive about 700 feet to the upper trailhead for the Virgin River Narrows (tNarrowsTop).  Park here.

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.

Map Link Icon
Click the links for maps of the route. Map Over view of the Drive to the Trailhead.
Map Zoomed in for First part of Drive.
Map Zoomed in of last part of drive and first part of Approach.
Map Zoomed last part of Approach and Technical Section.

Details

The Approach:
From Upper Narrows Trailhead (tNarrowsTop) follow the the trail / dirt road southwest along the Virgin River. 

About 1.3 miles down the road will be a small building on the left right next to the road (wNarwsBuild-1).

Continue down the road / trail for 1.1 miles to a meadow on the left (south) side with an old broke down cabin about 100 feet from the road.  The cabin is called Bulloch's Cabin  (sBullochsCabin).  The meadow and the cabin sit at the end of a drainage dropping down into the narrows from the left (south)  Shortly after Bulloch's Cabin the road fades away and you will be hiking a series of trail and water course as you continue down the Virgin River Narrows.

Note:
From Bulloch's Cabin is where you start the map and the terrain for navigation.

0.6 miles past Bulloch's Cabin is another drainage joining in from the south (wDeadeyeRP-01).  Pass this drainage by and continue west down the Narrows.

0.4 miles farther is the bottom of the second side drainage(wDeadeyeRP-02) on the left (south) side downstream of Bulloch's Cabin.  If you were headed up to Deadeye Dick Canyon this is the drainage you would start up.  To continue down to Mighty Mouse Canyon stay in the Virgin River and continue downstream.

About 0.5 miles down canyon the river will make a big bend to the right almost making a a full U-turn.  At the U-Turn bend the river goes from going south to almost going north.  At the apex of this bend (jMightMouse) on the RDC (north) side are some large obvious rock outcroppings.

Note:
If you go too far and pass this bend you will get to a side canyon on the right (north) about 1000 feet down canyon of the climb up spot.  The canyon on the right is the bottom of Mighty Mouse.  If you get to the bottom of Mighty Mouse just turn around and walk about 1000 feet back upstream to the climb out spot with the outcroppins.

Starting up Out of the Narrows:
From the apex of the bend (jMightMouse) walk up a steep dirt slope then scramble up onto the ridge. 

Example Pic. To leave the Virgin River and start up to Mighty Mouse Canyon follow the blue line shown to get up onto the ridge.

As you get to the top of the dirt hill there will be a section of sandstone to upclimb / scramble up about 25 feet.  The scramble is easy with lots of features as you scramble up a chute like section.  Be careful of lots of loos stuff and check what you are grabbing ahold of.

At the top of the scramble (wMightyMRP-01) you will be in a flat dirt area an up on the ridge near the outcroppings you could see from the river.  After the scramble up follow northwest up the ridge though light brush with large patches of crypto biotic soil around.  As always, STAY OFF THE CRYPTO.

About 300 feet up the ridge scramble up a slick rock slope to a highpoint on the ridge (wMightyMRP-02) where the ridge levels off.

From the highpoint continue northwest along the ridge about 400 feet to a saddle (wMightyMRP-03).  Between the highpoint and the saddle is one section to scramble down.  There is still large areas of crypto, please try to avoid walking on it.

From the saddle continue northwest in the same direction over to the top of a steep slope about 300 feet away.  The slope runs down into the top of Mighty Mouse.  Route find your way a little over 200 feet down the steep dirt slope continuing northwest down into the Mighty Mouse drainage.

At the bottom of the slope you are in the top of Mighty Mouse Canyon (yMightyMouseTp).

The Canyon:
After dropping into Mighty Mouse (yMightyMouseTp) turn left and walk south down canyon.  After a short distance you will start to see sandstone pop out and the canyon begin before you. 

On the way to rap 1 is a downclimb of about 15 feet over a chokestone that would be overall easy but is made difficult by very slick rock.  Be careful on this drop.

Rap 1 (dMightyMR1) is a short distance into the sandstone section and about 150 feet down canyon of the drop in.  From the top of rap 1 there is an interesting arch down canyon level with the top of rap 1.  Rap 1 is anchored from a large chokestone at the top of the drop that feels like it could be pulled free if care is not taken.  Rap 1 drops about 35 feet with the last 15 or so being vertical.

At the bottom of rap 1 you are in a very pretty slot that is short with a downclimb of about 8 feet as the slot ends.  Where the slot ends you are in back in a wide dirt bottom wash with trees and bushes.

Rap 2 (dMightyR2) is about 350 feet down canyon of rap 1 and is anchored from a tree at the top of the drop.  Rap 2 drops about 80 feet down a vertical wall into a deep slot.

Rap 3 is about 50 feet down canyon of rap 2 and is anchored RDC from a pinch point between a boulder and the canyon wall.  The start of rap 3 is awkward as it goes over the boulder with some loose sand to make it slick before going free hang for a few feet.  Rap 3 drops a total of 50 feet with the lower portion on a slightly sloped wall.

Rap 4 (dMightyMR3-4) is about 50 feet down canyon of rap 3, can be anchored from rocks or logs and drops about 20 feet.  Rap 4 can be downclimbed through a rabbit hole on the LDC side but be careful since the rock is very slick here.

After rap 4 walk about 250 feet down to the Virgin River at the end of Mighty Mouse Canyon (yMightyMouseBt).

The Exit:
From the bottom of Mighty Mouse Canyon (yMightyMouseBt) turn left and walk east back up the Virgin River 4.1 miles back to the trailhead where you left your car (tNarrowsTop).

GPS Waypoint Information

Downloadable GPX files available at BG-Gear Store (easier than manual entry and a great way to support Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.  Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format. 
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
Mighty Mouse (1) - Drive in to Trailhead
  1. wEngDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.23934   W -112.83230        Elev: 5,869 Feet
    Turn to the North Fork off Highway 9.
  2. wEngDP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27285   W -112.87304        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn left, to the Ponderosa Ranch.
  3. wBirchHlwDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27620   W -112.87358        Elev: NaN Feet
    Paved road turns to Dirt road.
  4. wBirchHlwDP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.30654   W -112.86085        Elev: NaN Feet
    Dirt road / ATV trail leaves main road. Follow this to start an alternate route into Birch Hollow.
  5. tBirchHollow          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.30973   W -112.85655        Elev: 6,740 Feet
    Trailhead for Birch Hollow. It is a very large turn out on the west side of the road.
  6. extOrderville          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.33710   W -112.83050        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn off for Orderville from the North Fork road. 11.4 miles from highway 9.
  7. extCotageWoods          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.35044   W -112.83240        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn off of the North Fork Road to go to Cattages in the Woods community.
  8. pkBulloch1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.35896   W -112.84125        Elev: 6,745 Feet
    Turn off of the North Fork Road to get to the start point for the Bulloch Canyon approach route. Road sign post labeled as 90 and 92.
  9. ExtNarowsTopTH          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.39057   W -112.82569        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn off of the North Fork road to drive down to the upper trailhead for the Narrows.
  10. tNarrowsGate1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.38990   W -112.83293        Elev: 5,900 Feet
    Gate near Chamberlins Ranch on the way to the upper trailhead for the narrows. Close the Gate Behind You.
  11. wNarrowsDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.38694   W -112.83844        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn left here where the sign says to trun to the Narrows Trailhead.
  12. tNarrowsTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.38524   W -112.83897        Elev: 5,875 Feet
    Top trailhead for the Narrows. This is also the location for the Zero Mile Mark on Zion Adventure Companies Narrows Map.
Mighty Mouse (2) - Approach
  1. tNarrowsTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.38524   W -112.83897        Elev: 5,875 Feet
    Top trailhead for the Narrows. This is also the location for the Zero Mile Mark on Zion Adventure Companies Narrows Map.
  2. extNarwSrtCtBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37806   W -112.84739        Elev: NaN Feet
    Bottom end of a road that can be taken down into the Narrows farther down than the standard trailhead. Need 4WD to handle washed out section. Bank owned land an may be illegal to use this road.
  3. wNarwsBuild-1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37737   W -112.85367        Elev: NaN Feet
    Small building.
  4. sBullochsCabin          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37092   W -112.86658        Elev: 5,645 Feet
    Bulloch's Cabin. An old broke down cabin in a meadow just off the road on the south side.
  5. wDeadeyeRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37129   W -112.87614        Elev: NaN Feet
    A drainage joining in from the LDC (south) side. This is 0.6 miles down stream from Bulloch's Cabin. This is the 3 mile mark down from the upper trailhead.
  6. wDeadeyeRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37016   W -112.88270        Elev: NaN Feet
    Bottom of the second side drainage on the south side down stream of Bulloch's Cabin. To approach Deadeye Dick leave the narrows here and travel south up this drainage. To continue down the Narrows toward Mighty Mouse stay in the Narrows and continue downstream.
  7. jMightMouse          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.36940   W -112.88693        Elev: 5,510 Feet
    To get up to Mighty Mouse Canyon leave the Virgin River here and scramble up to the ridge line to the RDC (north) side. The scramble route is slightly up canyon of a large obvious outcropping at the apex of the bend in the river here.
  8. wMightyMRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37000   W -112.88706        Elev: 5,540 Feet
    Top of a 25 foot scramble as you get up onto the ridge. The upclimb / scramble is easy with lots of features as you go up a chute like section. Be careful of loose rock though.
  9. wMightyMRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37057   W -112.88768        Elev: 5,680 Feet
    High point on the ridge on the way up to Mighty Mouse.
  10. wMightyMRP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37147   W -112.88837        Elev: 5,690 Feet
    A saddle along the ridge on the way to Mighty Mouse.
  11. yMightyMouseTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37286   W -112.88907        Elev: 5,675 Feet
    Top of Mighty
Mighty Mouse (3) - Canyon and Exit
  1. yMightyMouseTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37286   W -112.88907        Elev: 5,675 Feet
    Top of Mighty
  2. dMightyMR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37258   W -112.88935        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 1 - Mighty Mouse Canyon. Anchored from a chokestone (which feels loose) and drops about 35 feet with teh last 15 feet being on a vertical wall. Down canyon of rap 1 is a very pretty but short slot area with a downclinmb of about 8 feet at the end.
  3. dMightyMR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37181   W -112.88972        Elev: 5,570 Feet
    Rap 2 - Mighty Mouse Canyon. Anchored from a tree at the top of the drop and drops about 80 feet down a vertical wall into a deep slot.
  4. dMightyMR3-4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37152   W -112.88979        Elev: NaN Feet
    Raps 3 and 4 - Mighty Mouse Canyon. Rap 3 anchored RDC from a pinch point between a boulder and the canyon wall. Rap 3 drops a total of 50 feet with the top being an awkward start over the boulder and the lower portion on a slightly sloped wall. Rap 4 is the place for this waypoint and is about 50 feet down canyon of rap 3. Rap 4 can be anchored from rocks or logs and drops about 20 feet. Rap 4 can be downclimbed through a rabbit hole on the LDC side but be careful since the rock is very slick here.
  5. yMightyMouseBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.37089   W -112.88965        Elev: 5,475 Feet
    Bottom of Mighty Mouse Canyon where it dumps into the Narrows.
  6. jMightMouse          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.36940   W -112.88693        Elev: 5,510 Feet
    To get up to Mighty Mouse Canyon leave the Virgin River here and scramble up to the ridge line to the RDC (north) side. The scramble route is slightly up canyon of a large obvious outcropping at the apex of the bend in the river here.
  7. tNarrowsTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.38524   W -112.83897        Elev: 5,875 Feet
    Top trailhead for the Narrows. This is also the location for the Zero Mile Mark on Zion Adventure Companies Narrows Map.

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