PARUNUWEAP CANYON

September 30 to October 2, 2011

Jen, Ken, Addison, Ria McCarthy

In September of 1872 John Wesley Powell was following the East Fork of the Virgin River through a deep narrow canyon just east of what is today Zion National Park.  He named the canyon with a word from the Paiute Indians who lived in the area.  He called it Parunuweap meaning "Roaring Water Canyon".  One hundred and thirty nine years later, almost to the day, we dropped into the same canyon. 

Mr. Powell entered the canyon from the top following the East Virgin in from the Mt Carmel Junction area.  We chose a different more exciting entrance.  We parked the van near the top of Mineral Gulch, where it crosses Highway 9, the back entrance to Zion National Park.  We got there at 9:00 at night so we threw a big tarp on the ground, pulled out our sleeping bags, and studied the constellations before going to sleep.  In the morning we hefted our packs and started down into the gulch.  Mineral Gulch is not a normal place to enter the Parunuweap Canyon for two reasons.  One, the first mile is blocked by private land and two, a mile and a half down the gulch from highway 9 the canyon takes a pretty dramatic dive into a narrow walled slot.

We got around the private land by coming in behind the private land.  No big deal.  But the number two reason not many people enter here was a big deal.  I had heard it was a 100 foot drop to the canyon floor but when we got there and looked down it was immediately apparent that it was much farther.  We had brought a 200 foot rope but if we wanted to take our rope with us it would need to me much longer.  

THE REPEL

We were walking down a shallow wash going down hill very gradually when the floor of the wash turned to solid rock.  In the middle of the creek bed there was a crack in the rock cut by the water.  When I first saw it I thought it was going to wind down a ways and then drop off but as we approached it was obviously going down much quicker.  We dropped our packs and lay on our bellies on the edge of the crack and peered in.  It was a good thing I was laying on my belly because it did a serious flip when I realized how big the drop was.  Ria had a small panic attack and had to go sit down.

Jen and I walked around looking for some other option but nothing jumped out at us.  We got out the rope and throw one end down into the obis.  It took some looking to decide that the end was actually touching the bottom.  We had less then 20 feet of rope left on top.  It was at least 180 feet straight down.  We took another look around for more options.  It might be possible to hike down canyon a ways and find a place with a shorter repel but that wouldn't be easy with the steep tree covered sides of the canyon.  What if we just repelled here and then left the rope?

All this debate was adding to Ria's panic attack.  I think she was thinking hiking back to the car was a good idea.  She just sat on her rock with her head in her hands.  Once again her imagination was working real well.  Addison was happily bouncing around making me just a little nervous but she was keeping a safe distance between her bounces and the cliff edge. 

We decided to send Jen down to see what it was like.  She would find out how the landing was, mud, water, etc. and if all look okay she would remove the packs from the rope when I lowered them down.  The rope was an 8 mm climbing rope.  That means it is very thin (smaller then Ria's pinky finger) and stretchy like a rubber band.  It is very strong, good for around 4,000 lbs but when hanging on it it's heft is underwhelming.  There were beads of sweat on Jen's forehead as she back over the edge but once hanging she relaxed and said it was all good now.  She slid off into the obis.  By going down the back of the water crack it gave the wall just enough tilt to be able to keep her feet on the rock which is very helpful.  When she reached the bottom she let out a kind of yell/squeel/grone kind of sound like someone would make who just stepped in a big cow pie.  Her reply to my query about the sound, "MUD".  I couldn't see her but I assumed it was deep.

She unhooked from the rope and scouted the area.  She had missed the pool of water as we had hoped.  It wasn't deep mud, it was sticky, slippery mud.  While she worked on finding sticks and rocks to try to keep from getting everything and body covered in mud we on top prepared to lower all four backpacks.  We were carrying a lot of water so they ranged in weighed from about 25 lbs to 65 lbs.

We got the packs and then Addison down into the mud.  It was going pretty well.  Things were moving.  But we still hadn't solved the rope problem.  As Ria tied into the rope and started down I debated the options.  It would take me at least and hour to clamber down the canyon and find another shorter repel.  It would take about the same to hike back into this place in three days when we had finished the trip.  If we went for the second option we wouldn't have a rope the rest of the trip but we shouldn't need one.  I also wouldn't have to carry the six pound rope for the next three days.  That settled it.  We would just leave the rope hanging and hope no one happened to come by this way.

WOW! A page and a half and it's only the first morning.

After the repel things went along pretty smooth.  We stopped for lunch at the bottom of "Seven Arches Canyon"  And then took a side hike up to a beautiful little alcove up the canyon.  Not long after lunch I notice clouds building out to the west.  Water was coming down Meadow Gulch and we were excited about having water that night at camp but a mile or two down canyon the water dried up.  But just before camp it came back. 

Because not many people travel this gulch and most that do are just day hiking.  I was a little worried about the canyon slotting up and becoming too narrow for us to get through with our packs.  I was pretty sure we wouldn't need a rope but what if we had to take our packs apart and pass all the contents through piece by piece?  It would take a long time.  The map showed three places in the lower canyon that slotted up.  I was glad to find that the slots were beautiful and big, eight to ten feet wide at the narrow places.

SNAKES AND SPIDERS

Addison and Ria were leading and Jen and I were walking behind and suddenly they both screamed and jumped back.  Just as they did we heard the unmistakable sound of a rattle snake.  It was a big one and it was lying right in the middle of the dry creek bed.  He shook his tail at us and we took his picture before he slid off into the brush on the side. 

I was leading through a narrow spot in the canyon when from behind I heard another squeal and turned to see a very big, black, hairy, spider crawling across the path I had just walked.  This was the second tarantula we have seen in the last two fall desert trips we've taken.

The map also showed a cave just before the confluence with the E. Virgin and I had planned to camp there.  By the time we got there the sky was completely full of dark menacing clouds.  The cave was well above the flood level of the river/creek and the idea of having the cave to get out of the weather was very appealing.  We had plenty of thunder and lightning and wind but only a small amount of rain actually fell on us.  But we felt smug in our little cave.  The clouds had pretty much moved on before dark so we pitched our tents just outside the cave entrance.  I'm not that excited about sleeping with all the critters that come out at night in caves.  If it was rain out it would be one thing but it wasn't so outside was good with me.

THE CONFLUENCE

We were only fifteen minutes above the confluence of Mineral Gulch and the East Virgin.  I walked down to take a look after dinner and it was flowing pretty well.  They came together at a shape bend in the Virgin with steep walls on both sides so the only thing to do was step in and wade.  It was muddy and looked pretty deep.  I reported back that we might be getting wet right away.  So in the morning when we reach the confluence we were all prepared.  We had collected sticks to help us wade in the swift water.  We stood on the edge of the river and evaluated the situation.  No one wanted to be the first to step in to the cold rushing water.  Finally I took my stick and probed the water.  I poked at the bottom farther and farther from the edge and there wasn't anyplace deeper then about six inches.  I stepped in and it wasn't cold either.  We were all feeling a little sheepish for worrying about six inches of warm water but better to be surprised that way then the other.

We only had about five miles to travel on this day and no major obstacles that we knew of.  That would come the following day.  This was a beautiful day of wading and walking.  The rock was a reddish color and gave the whole canyon a red glow.  It made for impressive light.  I couldn't stop taking picture.  Every time we rounded a bend there was another amazing photo opportunity.  The red cliffs and green leaves of the trees and vines contrasted making both more brilliant.  The light streaming in from above enhanced the red glow from the rocks and made the water sparkle.  The water was just warm enough to not freeze our feet and the air temperature was perfect with a long sleeved shirt on.

At first we had tried to find paths along the edge of the river but soon we found it was easier to just wade down the river.  It had an impressively sandy bottom and was quite easy going.  But of course there were those places that the sand became too soft or penetrated with water or something and it turned into quicksand.  Sometimes it was just hard enough for the first person to make it across then the next person would sink to there knees.  We learned to feel it coming and avoid it if possible.  We stopped and found a panel of petroglyphs under some trees on a very red wall.  We stopped again on a little sand beach and had some lunch. 

The river had flooded only a week or two earlier.  The water had raged through the canyon depositing all kinds of debris all along the banks.  It had flattened the vegetation high above the present water line.  In some places the high water mark was seven or eight feet above where it was.  All the side canyons and even just the walls showed signs of a huge rainstorm.  It made us keep an eye on the sky.

None of us were used to caring big packs and we were having some shoulder and hip soreness but no one was complaining.  Ria came with a bad ankle and on the first day she had trip and twisted it again but she didn't complain about that either.  It was really fun having Ria and Addison along and be so able to do everything.  Who of their friends could have come along and done this trip?  First to be able to do the 180 foot repel and then hike with a big pack though snake and spider infested canyons and we weren't even done yet.

We got to the mouth of Poverty Wash mid-afternoon.  I wanted to take a hike up Poverty Canyon so we decided this would be the place to camp.  We relaxed on the beach awhile but the clouds were building again so we put up the tents just in time to crawl in before the rain started.  It poured down rain just long enough for Jen and I to think "How high do we have to get".  Then it stopped raining and we took a short nap just to be sure it was over.

The skies cleared and it was time to go exploring.  Ria and Addison said they didn't want to go so we left them to pump some water and Jen and I started up Poverty Wash.  I don't think you can call it a wash in this part of the canyon.  Slot is more like it.  It got narrower and narrower and the water got deeper and deeper until we were finally stemming off the walls to keep from swimming.  We finally came to a big, deep pool and a 30 foot tall wall.  We had to turn around.

I had been watching for it all day but here in Poverty Slot I found it, poison ivy.  Being very susceptible to it I always keep and eye out for the stuff.  I had just brushed my arm against it but I knew it and went straight to the water and washed.

THE " BOULDER OBSTACLE"

Ria doesn't like surprises.  She tends to worry about the future.  The fact that we knew there was a thing called the "boulder obstacles" ahead was weighing on her mind.  She had read the description of it many times and knew more about it then I did.  The first boulder could be skirted by climbing up and around but why when just below there was no way around the waterfall.  You would have to swim.  She had been worrying about this swim from day one.  She was not going to be able to relax until we were past the boulder obstacle. 

We were now in the deepest narrowest part of the canyon.  The rock changed from red to a grey/black.  To me it seemed more sinister and dark.  There wasn't that bright red glow anymore and now we woke knowing we had to deal with the "boulder obstacles" before the sun had a chance to warm the canyon.  We had a long way to go this day and didn't have the option of waiting.  For one thing we didn't know how long it would take us to get past the "boulder obstacles".  Then we had to climb 1,500 vertical feet up out of the canyon and over the White Cliffs, then drop down to the highway where we then hitch hike back to our car 15 miles up the road.

The canyon was still very beautiful.  The walls were so tall and in many places overhanging.  There were fewer trees but the ivy and other greenery were even more lush covering big sections of wall and climbing out over the river on fallen trees and branches.  It was hard to believe we were in the desert.  It was more like a jungle paradise.  Cattails and tall grass lined the river edge and yes the poison ivy had appeared all over the place.  The good thing is that it changes color early and most of it was a bright yellow or red and was pretty each to spot.  Given that we had the "boulder obstacles" just ahead everyone was in high spirits.

We got past the first obstacle and look down on the second.  It was an eight or ten foot wide slot between the two walls with a ten foot waterfall into an obviously deep pool.  There was a very large log jammed into the top of the falls.  It had quite a lot of current pushing through the pool.  If you didn't have a pack you might be able to lower yourself over one edge onto a rock in the edge of the falls and then slide into the pool from there and swim across the pool.  But you wouldn't be doing any of that with a pack.  We didn't have a rope and there wasn't much chance of anyone helping from in the pool because of the current.  It looked pretty serious.  Jen said something about climbing up and out of the canyon but then where would we be?  That would be serious too.

The north side of the river was impassible at least without a rope.  The south side had more flaws.  There was a gully that could probably be climbed.  There was a huge flake (a boulder three stories tall leaned against the main wall) that formed the left side of the falls that could be reached from the gully.  I couldn't see the cleft between the flake and the wall but at least it was a flaw.  I crossed the river and climbed the gully to where I could get to the flake.  I looked up at the last 20 feet of the flake.  It was climbable without a pack.  It would be tough for the girls.  I had no idea what was on the other side.  Then I looked down toward my feet.  I was standing beside a dark hole in the rock.  I bent down and peered into the hole and I could see out the other side.  Excitedly I squeezed down through the hole into a cavern behind the flake.  In less then a minute I was standing at the edge of the pool below the falls.  We could do it!

I backtrack to where the girls were waiting and told them we had a plan.  How good a climber are you?  Jen said, "if I tell you the swim is really bad will it make you a better climber”?  It was a tight squeeze getting backpacks and all through the cleft but it was a lot easier then the alternatives.  We were dancing and laughing on the sand below the falls in less then half and hour.  And the best part was we were dry and warm.

 Ria informed us that we had less then a mile to the exit point from the canyon.  We got there before noon but I still had a couple more objectives.  I wanted to find the Powell Memorial Plaque and I wanted to see the Labyrinth Falls.  The plaque was pretty easy.  It was right near the exit point on the side of a large boulder.  It reads:

 

Ria had not planned on going to Labyrinth Falls.  It wasn't in her plans so she was pretty uneasy about going down there.  The half mile down to the falls was a very imposing part of the canyon.  Much of  the way we couldn't see the sky because of the narrow overhanging walls.  The walls were dark black-grey with very little sunlight making it through to the bottom.  The river had more gradient and perhaps a little more volume.  It made a lot of noise as it rushed between the confining walls.  The falls were a little disappointing maybe because we didn't quite get too them or because it is more a series of boulder choked drops then and actual falls.  In any case we got stopped by the boulder drops in the heart of this deep gorge.  It is only about a half a mile beyond the falls and the canyon opens into a "U" shaped valley.  Nine miles below that the river meets the main Virgin River just above the town of Rockville.  This last nine miles of the canyon is closed by the national park service for some kind of study.  That means we have to go up and out just above the park boundary.

THE HIKE UP AND OUT

We changed our shoes, had some lunch and started up.  Ria and Addison had a hard time believing this was the trail.  It was more like rock climbing with a heavy pack.  It didn't take too long to heat up and start to sweat.  We gained a 1,000 feet in the first mile.  It was remarkable to see the difference in the feel of the country from down in the canyon then up on the side.  It was a whole different place.  We could hardly tell that green tropical place was right down below up from up on the high rocks.

 There is not a designated trail out of the canyon.  It is a "route".  There are cairns all over the place but you can't follow all of them.  Some places you can find a trail but when it goes onto rock it all goes away.  Carefully following the map and GPS is important and we did both.  We manage to take a pretty direct and quick route out.  The temperature was actually almost perfect although it felt pretty warm carrying our loads and climbing but as soon as we sat down for a rest the temp. was great.  

We walked almost all the way around the Checker Board Mesa.  We only missed the east side.  On the second day we had looked up and saw some people sitting on the rim of the canyon high above us.  They were the only people we had seen since we had stopped for dinner on our drive down from Heber.  Going down the canyon half a mile above the road we ran into a couple sitting on a rock.  They acted very surprised to see us.  Fifteen minutes later we were back to civilization walking along the side of the road cars passing use every few minutes.   We walked along the road for about a half mile to the Checker Board Mesa view point.  The first pickup truck that come by stopped and pick us up.  We were having dinner at the Thunderbird Inn in Mt. Carmel Junction by 5:30 that evening.

 THE ROPE

After dinner at the diner we drove back to our little side road and threw the big tarp out on the ground again.  Jen and I got up and headed back down into the canyon around seven in the morning.  We got to the drop off in the bottom of the wash and there was our rope hanging just how we had left it.  We pulled it up and headed back to the car.  The girls were still in there sleeping bags but we were loaded and on the road by 9:00 am and home at 2:30 PM.

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