One day two-fer: Cassidy Arch and Zero Gravity

Interesting combo right? Bryce (JollyGreen) and I had been talking about the trip at work. The original plan was a one day blitz of Cassidy and Nagah fork of Shinob (chuckle). The night before, we were chatting at work about the weather and other options for the trip. We talked about several near-the-road alternatives in several locations. Bryce printed beta for several other canyons in different areas around the state. We decided to bring wetsuits as a last minute thought, a choice we’d later appreciate.

We met in Farmington at 6 a.m., picked up one more of our group in Murray and were on our way. Several in our group had never been to Capitol reef, se we dicided to head that way. Short of doing a canyon, at least we’d be able to see some sights. We got into the park and grand wash was still open. So we went for it. At the TH, it was raining lightly but no flowing water was visible. Cassidy has a short approach so even if the skies opened, the hike wouldn’t be a complete waste. Once atop the arch, we assessed the drainage area and determined that it was only the size of a football field and short of a microburst directly over us, the flood potential was a manageable risk. We ghosted rap one and were committed. A slight trickle accompanied us through parts of the canyon but it was not a continuous flow in the canyon, we had a few shallow wades and it added to the whole experience. We made it out without incident. Once back at the car, we discovered a note from the park service indicating that grand wash was closed and we needed to be on our way. We’d have to do the Nob another day… We decided we’d drive through the park out to Hanksville and fly by the seat of our pants from there. We had the beta for Zero G in our stack and once the Swell/reef was in view, the skies were breaking and things were beginning to dry out. Zero G seamed like a reasonable choice. With a short approach along the rim of the canyon, we’d be able to assess the canyon as we hiked. At the point where the road crosses the wash, the stream was flowing at about 10-15cfs. We cringed but decided to do the hike and take a look. It was just after 4p.m.. We could hear the water but at no point did it seam like too much to deal with. The drainage area was free from any threatening clouds and the weather was tracking in a northerly direction with skies to the south being blue. We decided we were were in the clear and spotted areas of high ground and escape routes from the rim (the responsible thing to do). We hiked down to the creek assessed the flow, donned our wetsuits and in we went. Let me just say that I haven’t had that much fun in a canyon in a while. The whole thing had slowed down as the area drained and we had a diminishing flow through the canyon. All the pools were tip top full and all the down climbs and squeezes were made much more interesting by the flowing water. We took our time and played in every pool, climbing back up to repeat the jumps several times (after the obligatory depth check of course). We hollered and carried on all the way down the canyon, jumping and splashing as we went, smiles from ear to ear on every face in the group . It seems we made the best possible decision given the situation. By the time we reached the exit point, we realized that the flow had diminished significantly, and that had we been there earlier in the day, this canyon would have been a definite no-go. Our gamble of a one day blitz canyon trip during a week of active and volatile weather paid off in a big way. Images to follow shortly.