Overview

Hype:

Bushwax Canyon in Utah’s North Wash is a short technical slot canyon with tight stemming, a 25-foot rappel/downclimbs, and a more demanding style than many of the area’s more beginner-friendly routes. Those comfortable with stemming and downclimbing can do the canyon without any gear. However, that does not mean that Bushwax is necessarily beginner friendly or family friendly. Although short, the canyon packs a small punch. The canyon can hold small pools which may need to be bridged over. 

Because the canyon can be done in 1-2 hours and is close to the Sandthrax campin garea, Bushwax is a great add-on canyon to round out a day.

Canyon Rating: 3A PG

Time: 1-2 hours

Length: 0.5 mile approach, 0.1 mile canyon, 0.25 mile exit

Longest Rappel: 0-1 rappels up to 25 ft

Gear: Recommended to bring a harness and a 25-foot rope for group members not comfortable with longer downclimbs.

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

Links: https://ropewiki.com/Bushwax_Canyon
https://www.bluugnome.com/cyn_route/north-wash/north-wash_bushwax/north-wash_bushwax.aspx

Getting There

Navigate to 38.008719, -110.522167.

Park on the shoulder of the road.

Route

Approach

0.5 miles, 20 minutes.

From the shoulder of the road, walk to the mouth of the canyon. On the right side is a weakness in the cliff that you can zig-zag up.

Once on top of the slickrock, make your way to the top of the canyon.

Instead of dropping directly into the top of the canyon, circle around the top and drop in using the small drainage to the west.

Canyon

0.1 miles, 30-60 minutes.

Bushwax canyon starts off with some easy but sustained stemming. A couple wider areas over water may require some more exposed stemming. 

A 25-foot-tall elevator downclimb will require a rope for those less comfortable with exposed downclimbing. There isn't a fixed anchor at this drop, so a skilled climber will want to provide a meat anchor for the group then downclimb.

Exit

0.25 miles, 10 minutes.

Follow the wash down to the road.

Maps

Closest City or Region: North Wash, Utah

Coordinates: 38.012760, -110.520325

Interactive Guide Map

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March 13, 2026 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Matt Laurendeau, Marci Parker, Callie Parker, Chris McPhie,

Story

Friday, March 13 - When the kids got home from school, we loaded into the truck and drove down to North Wash for the Sand Patrick’s Canyoneering Rendezvous. Trent Carlisle and I were the hosts, but really it was mostly Trent. We set up the trailer, then I met up with Chris, Marci, Kelly, and Matt, and we did Bushwax Canyon. It ended up being a lot of fun. There were a couple of stemming spots that were pretty tricky for Marci and Kelly, but Chris helped them through it and they were just fine. Tara and the kids hung out at camp and went to bed. When I got back to camp, I hung out around the campfire for a little bit, then went to bed around 11:00.

Saturday, March 14 - We were aiming to leave at 9:00, but it took a little bit to get everyone ready, so we left camp around 9:30. We drove up to the Hog Canyons, and I took us on a really bad dirt road that was not a good idea. We had to turn around and go back to the highway, which was kind of tricky in the deep sand. When we got to the trailhead, we hiked across to the top of Hog 2. We had a group of 10. We descended Hog 2 at a medium-slow pace. There was quite a bit of downclimbing and a few rappels and lots of skinny narrows. We climbed the Nose back up to the plateau top. That climb was kind of tricky, and Tara had to give me a foot support so I could make it up. Then I lowered a rope so everyone else could climb up. At the top of the canyon, we split up into two groups. Five people went back to camp, and the other five of us descended Hog 1 Canyon. We started off going a little bit faster but had to slow down because one of the group members was struggling a bit and getting quite tired. That canyon had several optional rappels, which we mostly downclimbed. I used the rope twice as a hand line but never put on my harness. Once at the bottom of Hog 1, we scrambled up the gully exit and went back to the car. We made it back to camp around 7:00. At 6:00, there was a potluck at camp. We hung out around the fire and had a fun time munching and swapping stories. Tara and the kids were pretty tired and went to bed around 9:30. I stayed up until a little after 11:00.

Sunday, March 15 - We got up and made breakfast, then all gathered together. The original plan was to do Morocco Canyon or Merry Piglet Canyon, but we heard that both canyons had a lot of water, so we opted to do Death Canyon instead. We had a group of 15 people, which was a lot. The approach was a little slow with little legs, but we made it in good spirits and descended the canyon pretty quickly. At the two rappels, it took quite a while to sequence everyone through. There was a little puddle at the bottom of the second drop, so we clipped a tether to people and pulled them out from the water so they could stay dry. When Lila was being lowered down, she got her feet above her and slid down headfirst on her back. She didn’t appreciate that very much, so I waded in the water to catch her at the bottom. Everyone else stayed dry. We hiked back to the cars, then went back to camp where we loaded up all our gear, then left a little before 2:00. We stopped at Stan’s on the way home and got a couple of hamburgers and some ice cream and filled up with gas. Then we drove the rest of the way home, arriving around 6:00 p.m.

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