Just went through Neon Canyon 7/2/2019. We went through with a party of 3, 10.5 hours car to car. Sunny day with temps in the low 90’s. One with a drysuit, One full wetsuit, One in a shorty. All were fine. The person in a shorty were a little chilly toward the end but bearable.
We went through with the intention to take the direct route to Neon Canyon and drop down the Sport Entry. We somehow ended up on the Fence Canyon Trail. The trail was clearly marked and beautiful. We were not able to locate the Sport Entry but ended up going down what we believe was the More Fun Entry, rappelling off a slinged hoodoo. The canyon was beautiful and full of water and all the potholes were full or easily overcome. We filled our water bottles with filtered water from the Escalante River. We took the direct route back to the parking lot in the hopes of shaving off some distance and therefore time in our exit. The uphill climbs in the steep Sandhills were brutal. It felt as if all our energy was zapped from the first couple of Sandhills. The heat was unbearably hot with very little cloud cover. To make it worse the direct route had an additional sandstone uphill section. In hindsight I think I would take the “direct route” to Neon and then exit out Fence Canyon which I believe is a more gentle rail and much better defined.
Trip Report
2065toyota
Last time we spent the night and hiked out at 5am
I would at least wait until dark and headlamp it out in the summer
ratagonia
If the tiny flying biting beasts allow…
Canyonero
Ugh….Neon in July. Sounds terrible. Glad you survived. I bet I’d blow through 3 liters of water between the river and the parking lot on the way back.
carla merrill
I noticed what could be 2 potential “keeper potholes” and the 3rd one right before the cathedral rappel. The first one was easily passable. The second had about an 18 inch lip out of the water which could be difficult for some without assistance. The third keeper pot hole (right before the cathedral rappel), the one I was most worried about, you could swim right out of. Let me quantify the swims by saying I’m very short, 5’1″ and a very good swimmer. There were 4 sections where I had to swim but only one which was of any length, maybe about 15-20 yards? This was in the section b/w the More Fun Entry and the Sport Entry which was about 40 yards total of water but only 15-20 yards of it we had to swim through.
ratagonia
Thanks for the report. Did you even notice the keeper potholes? Long swims?
Tom