Canyoneer Shenanigans Canyon North Wash BLM, UT

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This is a technical canyon. If you are unfamiliar with how to build anchors or the gear required for canyoneering do not attempt this route.

Spot the end car here (38.0419649,-110.5182338), and the start of the canyon is here (38.0639055,-110.4867893). We had trouble getting all the way to the trailhead because of the sandy road, but this only gave us about a half mile of additional walking and otherwise even a passenger car would work for this canyon.

Follow the gully to the head of Shenanigans Canyon, where you downclimb on the left to reach the first rappel. The canyon teases you with a short section of very skinny narrows, and if this is too skinny, you can escape when the canyon opens up briefly because it only gets more narrow from here. Another rappel drops into a colorful section of the canyon. After the rappel, there's a 20 foot drop, and some guides mentioned that you could down-climb, but it seemed sketchy, and we were happy to have a 70m rope to make the rappel a two-tier, since there wasn't anywhere to set an anchor in this spot.

The canyon continues to get more narrow and we encountered a million daddy long-leg spiders, and it was overall incredibly cool. Not for larger people or those scared of enclosed spaces. I'm 5'9'', 175lbs, and there were a couple of sections I had to climb up a few feet because I couldn't fit through, so be careful not to get stuck. The narrows end with a rappel through a narrow crack, and the pool at the bottom was avoidable for us.

From the last rappel, continue down canyon past Olympic Arch, and look for a trail leading northwest into a Class 3 gully that takes you to the rim above and back to the second car.

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Starting down the wash from the car.

Downclimb on the left to get to the first rappel.

First rappel.

First section of narrows. If this is too narrow for you, exit when you can. It gets much more tight later.

Cinnamon roll rock.

Some down climbing obstacles.

Entering a very narrow section.

Ridiculously pretty lighting on the walls.

When the canyon opens up, you can exit somehow, but I'm not sure how. The following rappel leads to really narrow stuff.

Two-tiered rappel, otherwise a rappel and sketchy downclimb.

The narrowest section. Spiders everywhere.

Last rappel.

Grotto at the end of the last rappel.

Head down the canyon for a while, looking out on the right.

Olympic Arch!

Approaching the escape route.

The escape route on the right.

Class 3 scrambling. Follow the cairns, not the trail.

Top of the scramble.

Looking back the way we came up.

Open desert back to the second car.

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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!