Overview

Hype:

Medieval Chamber is a fun canyoneering adventure with a dramatic ending! The approach is fairly boring with quite a bit of sandy walking. The first rappel deposits you into a large, deep chamber that has a narrow exit. Almost immediately after the first rappel, you come to the top of Morning Glory Arch. There is a tree anchor where you can rappel under the arch, but the more adventurous will choose to set up a simul-rappel and rappel directly from the arch.

Canyon Rating: 3A

Time: 2-4 hours

Length: 5.0 miles one way

Longest Rappel: 100 ft

Gear: Bring (1) 200-foot rope if rappelling from the side of the arch or (2) 160-foot ropes and a 160-foot pull cord if doing the simul rappel. The simul rappel will also require a toggle device.

Fees: Sand Flat Recreation Area entrance fee

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

Getting There

Navigate to 38.584613, -109.487119.

Park a shuttle vehicle at the Grandstaff Trailhead then proceed to the trailhead. The trailhead is accessed through the Sand Flats Recreation Area, which charges a fee for entrance.

Route

Approach

From the trailhead, follow the wash northwest (downhill) for 1.63 miles until you reach the top of the first rappel. There is quite of bit of loose sand hiking.

Alternatively, if you have any friends who are rock crawlers, you could have them drop you off from the Fins & Things Safari Route and cut out most of the approach hike.

Canyon

The canyon portion is incredibly short - less than 500 feet long.

Rappel #1: Rappel 100 feet from a two-bolt anchor into a large, deep chamber that has a narrow exit. This is the Medieval Chamber.

Almost immediately after exiting the Medieval Chamber, you come to the top of Morning Glory Arch. You have a couple of rappel options.

Rappel #2 Option 1: Rappel 100 feet from a tree anchor. The tree is quite a ways from the edge, so make sure to bring at least 50 feet of webbing.

Rappel #2 Option 2: Rappel 100 feet directly off the arch. This will require (2) ropes that are 165 feet long plus a toggle and 165-foot-long pull chord. Make sure to use a toggle device to minimize rope grooves on the arch.

Exit

Once you're down Morning Glory Arch, follow the well-traveled trail down Grandstaff Canyon (formerly Negro Bill Canyon) to the Grandstaff Canyon Trailhead.

Maps

Closest City or Region: Moab, Utah

Coordinates: 38.592605, -109.508165

Interactive Guide Map

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July 7, 2019 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Killian Wagner,

Logistics

Start: 8:55 a.m.

End: 3:40 p.m.

Story

Since we had 4 kids with us between the ages of 3 and 9, we decided to do a short canyon that didn't involve too much hiking and was also dry. The approach hike took about 2 hours because Cooper refused to hike, and we refused to carry him. For the record, he did eventually complete the portion of the hike that we told him he had to.

Once at the first rappel, I rappeled down first. We couldn't see if the rope reached to the bottom of the drop because of a ledge part way down. We were concerned about Savannah and Madilyn being able to transition from the first drop to the second drop by themselves, so I went down to the bottom while Tara helped out at the ledge. It took quite a bit longer than normal for this reason. At the bottom of the rappel, in the chamber, there was a shallow puddle of water and a bunch of wet sand. Someone on a previous trip had made a very inticate sand castle with bridges and tunnels and doors and roofs, and the girls had a really fun time adding to it while we waited for the rest of the group to come down.

Once we all made it down teh first drop, we headed out to the top of Morning Glory Arch. We rigged a rappel rope with me as a meat anchor so Ondy could rappel down first and be a fireman belay for Savannah and Madilyn. Ondy was super sketched out rappelling more than a hundred feet from a meat anchor that was just sitting on the top of the arch, but she eventually did it. Once Ondy was down, we sent Savannah down then Madilyn. That left Tara and me to bring up the rear with the two 3-year-olds. We rigged the rope for a simul rappel, and Tara went over one edge of the arch with Cooper attached to her while I went over the other edge of the arch with Killian attached to me. Killian screamed and cried the whole way down, but Cooper had a good time. 

We packed up the ropes and played around for quite a while at the spring and pond below Morning Glory Arch then we hiked down to the shuttle car. Because of all the poison ivy, the whole hike down we played a game with the kids called "don't touch anything green".

About a week later Tara developed a horrible rash on her knees. She must have brushed up against some of the poison ivy under the arch. Whoops!

Pictures