Bogley

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:23 am Post subject: Hackberry Canyon

After my failed attempt at the Zion Narrows, I'm ready to get out there and try my next misadventure. My friends, a couple of nephews and I are going to do Hackberry Canyon via the Round Valley Draw the weekend of Oct 7-9. Should be fun. I was up late last night uploading waypoints into my GPS. Here is the beta:
Utah Trails-Hackberry Canyon
(Also featured in last month's Backpacker magazine.)

Roads out there can be blocked for months because of storms, check current road conditions for Cottonwood Canyon Road here:
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Road Conditions

I have only been to that part of the Grand Staircase once before during the Olympics. We tried to do Round Valley but was turned back when it snowed 6 inches the night before. I am excited to get a chance to do it again.

If anyone wants to hang out with some foul mouth people and do a great Southern Utah over-nighter, then please come along. We do not discriminate.

James

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11254 Location: The Rubbish Bin

That should be cool. Good luck. Hope everything goes as planned (or better).

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7626 Location: Local Bordello

Looking forward to a TR when you return. This canyon has been on my to-do list for a long time.

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 11:43 am Post subject:

Well we made it. Full TR and pics to come later. Short version is it was a lot longer than I imaged. But more beautiful than I imagined. I am very sore after the 20 mile trek.

James

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11254 Location: The Rubbish Bin

Everything go well?

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:07 pm Post subject:

Sombeech wrote: Everything go well?

Everything went fine. Good weather, no injuries or incidents. The problem was I vastly underestimated the time it would take me to do the route. Due to a bum leg I hike extremely sloooooow. I usually take time estimates and multiply them by X1.5 to get my times. But this time it took me better than double. As a result we were hiking until 6:30pm yesterday and then had to collect the shuttle, drive back to SLC and then I took my nephew home at the top of Emigration Canyon. Needless to say I am very tired today. But aside from that it was a good trip.

James

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:21 pm Post subject: Test Post

Still trying to figure out the whole picture thing.

JamisJockey · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 1023 Location: Woodbridge, VA

Very cool looking, any more pics?

I always advocate a person cruise at thier own pace. Getting out of your comfort zone defintely takes the fun out of it.

Whats the bum leg from?

rockgremlin · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 3824 Location: Hotel California

That looks like a really cool slot opening up there. Did you get into it at all?

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:05 pm Post subject: Finally the TR

Trip Report- Hackberry Canyon

Beta:
Utah Trails-Hackberry Canyon

Current Road Conditons:
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Road Conditions

We were on the road by 3:30 Friday after some traffic and some wandering around for a campsite made it to the trailhead of the Round Valley Draw at 10:00pm. Found a great little place to bed down just up from the Round Valley Seep. Leonard, my nephew Eric and I started out at 10:00am Saturday morning wile Cody and Brad set the shuttle. After a short walk you reach the head of the Round Valley Draw and your greeted with a 15ft downclimb. I have been out of canyoneering practice and feared getting down there and finding worse. While I sat there thinking about what to do a group of three sixty-year-old men from Vermont came by with there tour guide from Bryce Canyon. With a little coaching from their guide the three men made there way down the downclimb. I couldn’t get showed up by old people from Vermont, so with a little help from my Leonard I made it down. Turns out that was the most difficult obstacle in the draw.

Round Valley Draw is awesome. The upper parts remind me of the Bull Valley Gorge or Ding Canyon. The lower parts remind me of the hike from Baptist Draw to Fault Line Canyon in the Upper Chute Canyon. The canyon had opened up wider shortly before meeting Hackberry Canyon. From there it was a long (but pretty) slog down the dry canyon. I was surprised to find fresh ATV tracks in the canyon, and even more surprised to find the ATV (and riders) still down there. I talked to them, turns out they are range ranchers down there to build a fence to stop there cows from wandering too far down canyon. The canyon has a rockfall about half way down that cows and ATV’s can not go passed. I asked him if he had seen anyone ahead of me (besides Eric and Leonard). He said I was the first person he had seen besides his brother and father that he had left further down canyon. I was getting concerned because I though it would not take long for Brad and Cody to catch us after they set the shuttle.

It took until 5:30pm until Brad and Cody caught up to us at the same time as the other two ranchers on horseback passed us. Turns out that Brad was not conformable bringing his Siberian Husky, Kaiser, down the slot part of the Round Valley Draw. They had followed hiked along the rim to a side drainage that lead them down to the canyon floor below the slot. I guess the by-pass on the rim was very overgrown and slow going.

With everybody together it still took until 8:30 before we made it to the Cowboy Camp and the first of the running water. After a great night’s sleep we continued down the canyon that had changed from a wide dry sandy wash to a narrower, wet and lush canyon. It was easiest to just walk right in the creek that never got deeper than 5 inches. This is were my 5.10 Canyoneers shine.

It took us from 9:30am to 6:30pm to cover the 10 mile down to the car where Hackberry Canyon confluence with Cottonwood wash. Most of that time was my fault being that I hike very slow, plus we I lost an hour trying to short-cut through the tamarisk, and we took a long lunch at the Watson Cabin. Saw to other groups camping in the canyon that had hiked up from the bottom.

It was a great canyon and I recommend it to anyone. Maybe not quite as pretty as Coyote Gulch but far less crowded. But that is not saying it is not beautiful for the most part the canyon is untouched. Unless you are used to banging out 10+ miles a day backpacking I would suggest spending two nights in the canyon. There are plenty of side canyons to explore. The problem is that you would still have to hike 10 miles the first day to get to water.

James

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:21 pm Post subject:

more pics

James_B_Wads2000 · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:32 pm Post subject:

JamisJockey wrote:
Whats the bum leg from?

A spine injury causes me to walk with a limp.

JamisJockey · Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 1023 Location: Woodbridge, VA

James_B_Wads2000 wrote: JamisJockey wrote:
Whats the bum leg from?

A spine injury causes me to walk with a limp.

Ouch.

Great pics!

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11254 Location: The Rubbish Bin

Nice pics man. Thanks. That looks like a cool little canyon to do (even one I could get through)

rockgremlin · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 3824 Location: Hotel California

Sweet canyon! I've heard rumors about Hackberry, and always wondered what it was like. Thnx for the fresh beta! :2thumbs: