Pine Creek Canyon – Summer 2012
Jay and I take a few weekends a year for some outdoor adventure and some “man” time. (I would say “much needed man time” but that would be a lie, my WONDERFUL wife lets me do this kind of stuff all the time, and honestly if she loved doing this stuff too, she would totally be invited!)
Anyway, one of our trips this year included some canyoneering in Zion National Park! One of the three canyons we did was Pine Creek Canyon. This canyon is one of my favorite canyons ever. It is just a short and very sweet canyon. It only takes a few hours to do, and just has some amazingly scenic slots.
It was my friends first time ever doing a technical slot canyon. We have been on many adventures, but canyoneering was never really on the radar, until now! Jay seemed to love what he saw. we were VERY fortunate to be in this canyon when the lighting was just right. Some of my favorite canyon photos came from this trip. Enjoy
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MTN_DUDE
that looks much warmer than my trip through Pine Creek last week!
Blake Merrell
A short video from this trip:
Jimmy Olsson
Okey, thanks again for the info. Sounds like a good idea to try join up with someone who’ve been there before or have plans to go there.
cirrus2000
Not that I know of – not offered at the main rental companies. I think there’s just too much liability involved in something so easily damaged. You just have to win the 120′ rope from Imlay Canyon Gear, for joining this website, and pick it up from Tom when you get there! Better yet, since I expect to win the rope, keep posting here, and see if you can join up with other members when you have solid dates for your trip…
Jimmy Olsson
Thanks for the info! Does anyone of you guys know if there’s possible to rent the heavy stuff like ropes and so on in Zion? I’m going back to the states next summer for a road-trip and think I’m just gonna be able to bring some harnesses on the plane (dont have packing space for all gear) so would be good if it’s possible to rent gear just for a day or so. Maybe it’s damn expensive within the NP?
/Jimmy, Sweden
cirrus2000
Yeah, those beams are beautiful indeed! I’m often there at that time of year, but maybe never that time of day – probably sleeping off a hangover, still. (Kidding!! Sort of…) Jimmy Olsson The first time I went through Pine Creek was solo, about my 4th or 5th canyon ever. If you have solid rappel skills (free hanging), know how to set up off a bolted anchor, and can stay warm enough, it is a great choice.
Nick Woolley
Awesome pics, and awesome to know the timing for those beams!
Jimmy Olsson
Is it easy to find the anchors and bolts in the canyon? I’m wondering if I would need to bring someone who’s familiar with the canyon and know where to go once I’m gonna to visit Pine Creek, or is it easy to navigate in the canyon? What would you say? It seems to be an amazing canyon to visit during a trip to Zion! I would really love to see it.
Ram
The canyon is very straight forward, with a technical section that is .8 kilometers (half a mile) long. The last rap has 2 options, but both work most times (ice and snow can restrict options). The canyon’s lower section, the hike out, is a boulder maze that gets easier as you go at about 3.2 KM (2 miles). While not hard, it has been rough on a lot of friends over the years, hurting a fair share of feet and ankles, but all that is needed is care and patience. The whole package can take as little at 2.5 hours or as much as twice that, if crowded, or if one wants to take their time or if one is less experienced. A half day classic, that fits well adding the even shorter Keyhole canyon (usually first) to the mix to create a fuller day.
Ram
Marlowe
Yeah, that is really cool with those light rays!!
Dan Ransom
Amazing shot Blake!
Louis Johnson
love the shot. You were there at the perfect time.
Ram
Which leads me to ask what exact date and approx what time of the day please, if you know? Guessing mid afternoon?
Blake Merrell
Thanks all for the kind remarks! We felt pretty lucky to be in the canyon when we were. It was the prettiest I have ever seen it.
So we were in the canyon on May 18th, and the time stamp embedded in the camera details says it was taken at 11:17 AM. That seems about right. that morning we had done Keyhole, and headed starting for Pine Creek. It would have been about noon when we were in there.
After those two canyons (My friends first tech slots ever) we headed to Kolob reservoir for an afternoon of canoeing and fishing! It was a wonderful weekend!
Ram
Thanks for the info. I think most know where i was going with this. In addition to May 18th, the same sunlight angle can also be found on July 25th. Probably a few days on each side of those two dates too, for those interested. I can tell you, we did not have that sun angle on February 10th! Oh right, it was cloudy that day! 😉
Ram
Bill
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ratagonia
nice pics… T
John Styrnol
You’ve been in Pine Creek this year already and no snow, ice?
Blake Merrell
I apologize, this was from last summer. May 2012 if I remember correctly.