Overview

Hype:

This primitive camping site has amazing views of Happy Canyon, especially at sunset.

Time:

Fees: None

Recommended Ages:

	0-3
	4-11
	12-19
	20-49
	50-69
	70+

Recommended Months to Visit:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Location

Closest City or Region: Robbers Roost, Utah

Coordinates: 38.201262, -110.280887

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October 19, 2023 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Anthony Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Jaren Wagner, Killian Wagner, Calliope Wagner, Matt Laurendeau, Amanda Laurendeau, Alex Laurendeau, Caleb Laurendeau, Rose Laurendeau, Lila Laurendeau, Trey Laurendeau,

Story

Thursday - I had a shareholder meeting in the morning, which I attended virtually, then we finished packing. The Laurendeaus brought two vehicles to our house, their van for all the people and their truck for all their gear. We transferred their gear into our truck and then drove down to our campsite together in Robber's Roost. We stopped for lunch in Price. On our way to camp, we stopped and did Upper Twin Corral Box Canyon. The Canyon starts with a couple of down climbs through a narrow V slot. The kids did great, and the adults did some squeezing. I carried Lila on my lap as I went down, and when I went under a boulder, I got my backpack pinched so I was holding her below me but I couldn't get through. Luckily the person below me could grab Lila and then I could unstrap my bag and get through. We made it down to the start of the lower obstacles, but we were running short on daylight, so Matt, Amanda, and most of the kids turned back while Tara, Savannah, Caleb, and I explore down canyon quickly. We made it almost to the rappel at the bottom of Upper Canyon and then we turned back and caught up to everybody right as they were finishing the up-climb. Matt ended up doing this strenuous climb up and down four times to shuttle gear and people, so he got his money's worth. We took a few quick pictures right as the sun was setting and then walked back to the cars. Ondy and Jaren were driving past right as we were getting in our vehicles, so we all went to camp together and set up tents and fixed dinner. We camped right on the edge of the plateau and had an excellent view of the Henry Mountains and a bunch of canyons below us. Anthony, Miller, and Killian got to camp after we were in bed.

Friday, October 20 - We woke up to an amazing sunrise. After breakfast, we all went to the North Fork of Lost Spring Canyon. The canyon was rated for 2-4 hours, and it took us 3 hours, which we were pretty proud of. At the start, we rimwalked around the side before dropping in below the first drop. There are a number of drops that could have been down-climbed, but we chose to rappel them since the kids were excited to do some rappels. Everyone had a really fun time. After the canyon, we went back to camp. Most of the people chose to stay at camp while Anthony, Ondy, Matt, Savannah, and I went to Blue John Canyon. We started at 4:00 p.m. and went down Squeeze Fork and up East Fork. We weren't 100% sure that we would be able to make it up East Fork but we gave it a try anyway. Squeeze Fork was a lot of fun and very squeezy but not too bad. Anthony has lost a lot of weight this summer so he was pretty proud of making it through at ground level. As we were making our way up East Fork, the hardest obstacle was a 23 ft rappel. Our feet were pretty muddy and wet, so we weren't able to just climb out. We first attempted a three-person stack with Anthony on the bottom, Matt in the middle, and me on the top. I almost made it up the climb at the top but couldn't quite make it, so we tried again with four people. This time it was Anthony on the bottom, then Matt, then me, and Ondy at the top. She made it out and boosted me up . Then we used a rope and Micro Traxion to hoist the others out. Savannah took a video of the whole attempt, and it was pretty fun to analyze what worked and didn't work after the fact. The rest of East Fork was pretty straightforward as we bypassed the 50 ft rappel. We made it back to the truck shortly after dark and made it back to camp in time for a late dinner.At camp, Tara wasn't feeling super energetic, so while the kids played, she snuggled up in the tent and read a book for a few hours.

Saturday, October 21 - On Saturday morning, we got all of our canyoneering gear and lunch packed, and while we were waiting for everyone else to finish getting packed, we did a little bit of camping gear packing as well. Once everyone was ready, we went and did Sam's Mesa Box Canyon as a large group. Matt stayed behind with the two youngest and did some packing around camp. Sam's Mesa Box Canyon was short and sweet. The hardest part was the overland approach and exit hikes because there were a ton of prickly pear cactuses, and the kids kept getting spines through their shoes. Instead of rappelling all the drops, this time we did some teamwork with down climbs and lowering. There was just one puddle that we had to shuttle people across, but everyone stayed dry, and we had a great time. For the very bottom section, Anthony and I took a handful of kids down the last couple of obstacles to the top of the big rappel and then we all retreated back up canyon and exited for the hike back.After we finish the canyon, we went back to camp and got all of our stuff loaded up and then we drove home. We stopped in Green River for street tacos for lunch and then got home by bed time. We are all pretty exhausted by that point, so we didn't do any unpacking.

Pictures