|
Fry Canyon - Cedar Mesa, Utah
Summary: |
A short
technical canyoneering trip with swimming
through a canyon with a nice, though very short,
section of narrows as well as some Anasazi
ruins. To complete this canyon you will need:
100 ft of rope, webbing, harness & descending
gear. A wet suit may be desired during cooler
weather. Leave the bolt kit at home, this canyon
is already bolted. |
Directions: |
Fry Canyon is
a tributary of White Canyon and is located on
Highway 95 between Natural Bridges National
Monument and Hite Marina. Drive on Highway 95 to
milepost 72 which is located just south of Fry
Canyon Lodge (sells gas and ice). Park at a pull
off on the southeast side of the bridge which
spans the canyon. |
Road Conditions: |
Passenger Car - paved all the way |
Navigation: |
Easy |
Length: |
~2 miles |
Date Hiked: |
June, 2002 |
Weather Conditions: |
Warm
& sunny |
Required Skills: |
|
Hike Description: |
From the
parking area, walk across to the west side of
the bridge (if you look down as you cross you'll
see the first short section of narrows below
you). Turn left (south) and walk for 5 minutes
until you reach a shallow spot that will allow
you to walk down into the canyon. Head down
canyon into the slot. There is a little down
climb then a small pool you'll likely have to
wade as you walk under the bridge you crossed
earlier. The canyon then widens and it's a sandy
slog for a while. About 5 minutes after you pass
a prominent side drainage that enters from the
left, the ground will become hard sandstone for
a short distance until you reach a point where
water has cut a narrow slot into the layer. This
is your one rappel point. There are two bolts
and hangers on the right side of the canyon.
You'll need ~90' of rope for this drop, which
consists of a 30' free rappel into a pot hole.
Pull your rope and perform a 20' down climb
along a slippery log into a nice, cold water
filled chamber. Swim the 30' pool and continue
to wade & or swim through the remainder of the
short narrows. The canyon widens immediately
below the swims and there are some nice ruins on
the right hand wall a short distance beyond. A
10 minute walk will bring you to the
intersection with the main drainage of White
Canyon. Turn right and walk up White Canyon
another 10 minutes looking for some prominent
cairns on the right. There is a well defined
hiker trail which leads up some break down to a
ledge. Back track down canyon along the ledge to
a point where you can continue to work your way
up through the layers to the top of the mesa.
You'll come out on top of a flat slick rock
expanse. Locate Fry Lodge in the distance and
walk directly towards it, keeping Fry Canyon
fairly close on your right. Try to stay on the
trail where the path crosses cryptobiotic soil
to avoid crushing more of it. |
Rating (1-5 stars): |
Short and sweet, the author and his wife
completed this canyon in a leisurely 3 1/2
hours. |
Maps: |
None used |
Photos: |
Click picture for larger view, click your browser's 'Back' button to return to this page. |
|
|
|
The upper narrows. |
View across
the swim. |
The short wet narrows. |
|
|