UT: Zion – Frog Hollow

My sister in law had flown in from North Carolina on Saturday and wanted me to take her hiking Sunday. With all the snow the last couple of days Zion was a little on the cold side and the road above Silver Reef sucks when its wet. We had been talking about Frog Hollow for a while but had never actually went. It was a good fit for a little bit of a chilly day. The approach and the canyon would be brutal in the summer so I would save it for a cool day.

We put a quick plan together and 7 of us headed out Sunday morning for a little fun. The approach took us about 1.5 hours to get to the area where we could hike down into the canyon. We immediately hit the first obstacle which could be downclimbed, but our feet were muddy and the penalty points would be about a 15′ drop into a 2′ deep pool full of rocks. So to be on the safe side we found a good tie off point and rapped down. While looking for good tie off, I stumbled upon a geocache hidden in some boulders. It was an old army box and inside was full of stuff. The log book was dated back to 2004 with the latest entry being January of 2011. We entered our names and date and returned it to it’s hiding place.

A fun little downclimb then the big rap. I had researched a bit and the best info I found was 240′ – 260′ on the drop. I had bought a new 300′ rope but hadn’t used it yet because Eric’s 340′ rope just seemed to work so good all the time. And he likes to pack it . So I biner blocked the 300′ and toss it over for it’s maiden voyage. I hook up and head over the edge and about 15′ I feel something weird in my hand, but I know exactly what it is. A knot in my rope and I’m 230′ off the ground. Not sure how it got there, but it was. I bought the rope and I stuffed it in the rope silo and it hadn’t been out since. I decide that since I’m only 15′ down the easiest would just be to go back up, so Eric lowers me another rope to clip in and he top belays me as I climb back up the vertical face.

We get the rest of the group down and continue down the canyon. A few small downclimbs and a hike down a long open canyon brings us to the next drop. A two stage, both into pools which we really didn’t want to get wet. I get volunteered to go first, since it was my idea to come here. I get down and the first isn’t deep at all and you can get around the water. The next pool is 30′ wide and looks deep. I am precariously able to traverse around the pool using a few climbing bolts. It looks as if this entire canyon was first done as a climbing route for interested. I find a good anchor and set up another rope and set up a guided rap.

All the rest goes well as we continue down the remainder of the canyon with a couple of raps and downclimbs. Definitely not as scenic as the Zion sandstone slots, but so much better than sitting at home. And this is a perfect time of the year to go do it before the heat comes.

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